Exercise is one of the key components of any healthy weight loss program. If you’re used to being sedentary, any increase in physical activity will help you slim down. Most people, however, need a high amount of exercise to shed extra pounds and keep them off unless they are also cutting calories. You don’t need to join a gym or community center to start burning fat quickly. Simple exercises you can do at home are also effective.
Jumping Rope
While it may be just fun for kids, jumping rope can pack a punch when it comes to revving up your aerobic capacity. It provides heart and lung benefits that are similar to running or jogging, according to North Shore Medical Center. Besides increasing your heart rate, it also increases muscle endurance. Jumping rope or skipping is also an affordable activity that you can easily learn or do at home. It also helps you battle boredom, because there are so many different routines you can do.
Walking
It may not fill you with excitement the way an indoor cycling or step class might, but this low-key activity is still one of the best ways to lose weight. Just 30 minutes of brisk walking can burn 2,100 calories in a week or 35 lbs. in one year, according to Ann Louise Gittleman, author of “The Fat Flush Plan.” Walking before a meal also helps to suppress snack cravings that can increase body fat while you’re trying to lose it. Increase the pace or distance during your walking sessions to burn fat more quickly.
Muscle Building
As you age you lose muscle mass, which increases the percentage of fat in your body, according to Edward Laskowski, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Mayo Clinic. Strength training can help you maintain and build muscle at any age to burn fat more efficiently. To easily incorporate strength training into your workouts, use free weights, such as hand weights or ankle weights, when doing exercises. Also, do push-ups against a wall or counter if you find performing them on the floor too difficult. Lunges and squats can also help to build muscle mass in your legs and do not require any special equipment.
Training for Faster Fat-burning
A simple tweak to your aerobic sessions can make them more effective at burning fat. It’s called interval training. This form of exercising involves alternating high-intensity activity with moderate-intensity during one workout. For example, you can alternate two minutes of fast-paced skipping with one minute of slower skipping. Researchers from the University of Guelph in Canada found that interval training increased fat burning by 36 percent and cardiovascular fitness by 13 percent during an hour of continuous cycling that included 10 sets of four-minute bursts of riding at 90 percent effort with two-minute rest intervals.
Warning
Fast weight loss can cause uncomfortable and even dangerous side effects. You may become dehydrated, feel sluggish or tired or become sick. It can also undermine your goal of losing weight because you’ll be burning off mostly water and muscle as opposed to fat, according to HelpGuide.org. Consult your doctor for more advice on the right weight-loss pace for your weight and health status.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight
- North Shore Medical Center: Jumping Rope: It's Not Just Kid Stuff
- MayoClinic.com: Strength training: Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier
- Journal of Applied Physiology: Two Weeks of High-Intensity Aerobic Interval Training Increases the Capacity for Fat Oxidation
- HelpGuide.org: Healthy Weight Loss and Dieting
- “The Fat Flush Plan”; Ann Louise Gittleman; 2002



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