Maximum weight loss relies on expending more calories through physical activity than the total calories you eat. If you burn 600 more calories per day through exercise without changing your diet, you will lose 1 lb. of body fat in six days. One hour of running with some walking may burn between 400 and 600 calories per hour depending on your weight. Incorporate two types of aerobic exercise to reduce your risk of overtraining from a large volume of cardiovascular workouts. Include strength-training exercises to preserve and slightly increase your muscle mass, burning more calories at any given time.
Cardio
Step 1
Perform long cardiovascular or aerobic workouts three days per week totaling 60 to 90 minutes per day, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Divide these sessions into two sessions per day if you are short on time. Keep your intensity low to moderate in order to exercise for 60 to 90 minutes.
Step 2
Include two days of 30-minute, moderately intense aerobic sessions first thing in the morning into your exercise routine, fitness editor Alicia Rewega says in a 2010 article in Oxygen Magazine. Performing some cardio in the morning helps to burn stored body fat because you have not consumed carbohydrates within the past eight to 10 hours.
Step 3
Complete a high-intensity interval workout one day per week, advise Brad Schoenfeld and Jay Dawes in a 2009 article published by the National Strength and Conditioning Association; this burns more total calories compared with a long aerobics session, but it has a very high risk of injury.
Strength Training
Step 1
Burn a maximum number of calories by including circuit training twice per week using 60-second rest intervals between sets, according to an article by E. Paul Roetert, published by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Step 2
Do an upper body and abdominal circuit on Mondays. Perform 12 to 15 reps per set of chest presses, lateral pull-downs, crunches on an exercise ball, bicep curls, one-arm dumbbell extensions, lateral band raises and bicycle crunches. Complete three to four total rounds of this circuit.
Step 3
Perform a lower body and abdominal circuit on Thursdays. Do 12 to 15 reps per set of dumbbell sumo squats, straight-leg dumbbell dead lifts, double crunches, lunges, leg curls, V-ups on a bench and leg extensions. Complete three or four total rounds of this circuit.
Tips and Warnings
- Change the strength-training exercises in your circuit every four weeks to avoid plateaus.
- Gradually ease into your exercise program to reduce your risk of injury and extreme muscle soreness.
References
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines
- Oxygen Fitness Magazine: Ask an Expert
- "Strength and Conditioning Journal"; High-Intensity Interval Training: Applications for General Fitness Training; Brad Schoenfeld and Jay Dawes; December 2009
- "Strength and Conditioning Journal"; The Manipulation of Rest Duration While Completing a Circuit Weight-Training Protocol; Paul Roetert.; December 1999
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