Although exercise is important to losing weight, it is only part of the game plan. If your current diet is high in fat, sodium and simple sugar, you would have to exercise around the clock to lose weight. To make your exercise effective, switch to a diet that consists of nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains. Proper exercise includes both cardiovascular and strength training.
Step 1
Begin your workouts with a dynamic warm-up. Both cardio and strength training involve multiple muscles and joints working simultaneously. If you go into these sessions without loosening up properly, you risk suffering an injury. Perform dynamic stretches beforehand to get your body adapted to exercise movements. Leg swings, arm crossovers, arm circles, lateral lunges, deep knee bends, knee highs, ankle bounces and trunk rotations are examples.
Step 2
Perform cardiovascular exercise to burn calories and improve your aerobic capacity. The best type of cardio for weight loss is the kind that you enjoy and will do on a regular basis. Brisk walking, running, stair climbing, swimming, biking, inline skating and kickboxing are examples. The most important thing is that you get your heart rate elevated and breathe heavily while exercising. Begin your cardio sessions with a light five-minute warm-up and finish with a light five-minute cool-down.
Step 3
Lift weights to build muscle mass. A pound of muscle burns 30 to 50 calories per day just to maintain itself, according to the University of Michigan Health System. Add the most muscle to your body by doing compound exercises. Unlike isolation exercises, compound exercises work more than one joint and muscle at a time which leads to maximal gains. Do exercises like bench presses, shoulder presses, back rows, dips, chin-ups, deadlifts and squats. Aim for 10 to 12 repetitions and three to five sets of your exercises.
Step 4
Include interval training into your cardio sessions to boost your caloric expenditure. Interval training is alternating bursts of intense activity with intervals of lighter activity, the Mayo Clinic explains. Start with a light warm-up, exercise at 75 to 80 percent of your maximum effort for 20 seconds, then at about 50 percent of maximum for 40 seconds. Alternate for the duration of your workout and finish with a light cool-down.
Step 5
Exercise long enough and often enough to get results. Perform cardio four or five days a week and lift weights two or three days a week. Do weight training and interval training on non-consecutive days. To lose weight, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of cardio per day on most days of the week. Split your workout up into shorter sessions if you do not have time to do it all at once.
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