While plenty of gyms and personal trainers want you to think that working out requires spending a great deal of money, you can take advantage of the free workout programs provided by everyone from medical professionals to celebrity fitness experts. Before implementing a new workout routine, establish your weight loss and fitness goals. Consult with your health care provider if you have any medical concerns.
Types
The American Heart Association, or AHA, has recommended that people integrate three types of workouts into their weekly schedule. Cardiovascular exercise, the most important for burning calories and losing weight, may consist of moderate activities, like walking or dancing, or more vigorous exercise, like running or kickboxing. In addition, people should do two or three strengthening sessions per week, which may involve using weights, adding light hand weights to your cardiovascular routine, using resistance bands or doing strength-building exercises, like lunges and push-ups. Finally, people should incorporate stretching or yoga to improve flexibility.
Time Frame
The minimum amount of time people should exercise totals 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity every week. Strengthening and flexibility sessions may last about 20 minutes. The AHA adds that you can split up these minutes into mini-workouts of as short a duration as 10 or 15 minutes each, as long as you raise your heart rate for the duration of the workout. People who want to lose weight more quickly may want to add more cardiovascular activity to their weekly workout. Try free activities, like using the stairs, walking to work, bicycling with family or friends, playing Frisbee with your kids or attacking your garden weeds with gusto.
Expert Insight
Dr. Mehmet Oz, surgeon and author, proposes people begin their day with a series of sun salutations. Not only does this basic set of yoga poses increases your flexibility, it gets you breathing and, when done fluidly and with intensity, raises your heart rate. Lay down a blanket or a yoga mat. Begin in a standing position, smoothly progressing through touching your toes, plank pose, cobra, up-dog, down-dog and, on both sides of your body, warrior and triangle poses. Oz adds in push-ups and plank poses to amp up the strengthening portion of the workout.
Considerations
The MayoClinic.com guide to interval training describes how short bursts of intense speed maximizes the calorie-burning power of your workout. Start a 30-minute workout with a brisk cardiovascular activity, such as hiking, cycling, running, speed walking or jogging. Every few minutes, take your pace to your maximum speed, and hold the pace for 30 seconds. Slow down to recover, and then work your way up to another sprint a few minutes later. Repeat this cycle until the 30 minutes are over.
Warning
As you lose weight and gain fitness, your workout becomes less challenging. Keep up the calorie-burning power by increasing your pace, adding more workouts or diversifying your workout with circuit training.
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