There's a myth that working out at a low intensity puts you in the so-called "fat burning zone," burning more calories from fat than if you work out at a high intensity. But according to the American Council on Exercise, both low- and high-intensity workouts burn about the same number of calories from fat. Burn 3,500 calories more than you take in, whether they're coming from fat or not, and you'll have lost a pound of weight.
Walking
Walking is low-impact and intuitive. It's literally as simple as putting one foot in front of the other, and there's very little pounding on your joints. According to Harvard Health Publications, a brisk 4 mph walk will burn 400 calories per hour if you weigh 185 pounds. If you weigh more, you'll burn even more calories.
Swimming
Swimming is another good fat-burning activity if bad joints keep you from tolerating land-based high-impact activities. The cool water of a swimming pool can also help keep you comfortable as you exercise, since you won't feel like you're overheating right away. If you weigh 200 pounds, you can burn 637 calories in an hour of swimming laps, as cited by MayoClinic.com.
Bicycling
Harvard Health Publications ranks vigorous stationary cycling as the best calorie burner in the gym, at about 932 calories per hour if you weigh 185 pounds. Outdoor cycling, at a speed of between 14 and 16 mph, burns a comparable number of calories: about 888 per hour.
Running
Running tops both the Harvard Health Publications and MayoClinic.com lists of outdoor weight loss activities. You can easily burn 1,000 or more calories per hour if you run 8 mph or faster.
Martial Arts or Dance
Martial arts and dance are both activities that, if they appeal to you, may keep you so entertained that you'll work out for hours without stopping to think about how many calories you've burned. But martial arts are, according to Harvard Health Publications, a better fat burner than dance. If you weigh 185 pounds, you can expect to burn about 532 calories per hour of fast dancing such as the twist; but doing martial arts such as judo or kickboxing has the potential to burn up to 888 calories in the same amount of time.
Kettlebells
Although regular weightlifting burns calories and builds extra muscle mass--which in turn burns even more calories--a kettlebell workout offers an even more impressive calorie burn. According to an American Council on Exercise-commissioned study published in 2010, a 20-minute kettlebell workout burns an average of 272 calories, which works out to 816 calories per hour.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Will I Lose Body Fat More Efficiently by Performing my Aerobic Workouts at a Low, Rather than a High, Intensity?
- MayoClinic.com: Walking for Fitness
- Harvard Health Publications: Calories Burned in 30 Minutes for People of Three Different Weights
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise for Weight Loss
- American Council on Exercise: Kettlebells: Twice the Results in Half the Time?
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