To lose weight, you need to increase the amount of physical activity you do. Reducing your calorie intake helps as well. The best kind of physical activity for weight loss is aerobic exercise, which includes any activity that gets your heart rate up and makes you breathe harder. According to Dr. Donald Hensrud a physician at the Mayo Clinic, studies show that people who exercise maintain a weight loss better than those who do not. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise routine to make sure it is right for you.
Moderate Exercise
Moderate exercise is any physical activity that increases your heart rate and breathing, but still allows you to have a conversation with someone. Examples of this type of exercise are hiking, biking at a moderate speed, playing actively with children and walking briskly for 15 minutes. Other moderate activities include stretching exercises, dancing and golf. Light gardening and yard work such as mowing the grass and raking leaves are also included.
Vigorous Exercise
Any physical activity that increases your breathing and heart rate so much that you cannot carry on a conversation with someone is considered vigorous. Examples of this kind of exercise are jumping rope, swimming laps, lifting weights, cross-country skiing, running and biking at more than 10 miles per hour. Competitive sports such as hockey, basketball, soccer and football are also examples of vigorous exercise. Heavy yard work such as chopping wood is considered a vigorous exercise.
Calories Burned
Vigorous exercise burns more calories than moderate exercise. For example, if a 154-lb. person hikes for 30 minutes, she will burn 185 calories. If that same person dances for 30 minutes, she will burn 165 calories. Walking for 30 minutes burns 140 calories and stretching for 30 minutes burns 90 calories. In contrast, if a 154-lb. person runs for 30 minutes, she will burn 295 calories. If the same person participates in a 30-minute aerobics class, she will burn 240 calories. A 30-minute walk at 4.5 miles per hour will burn 230 calories.
Tips on Exercise
Do an exercise that you enjoy. This will make it more likely that you will continue your exercise routine. If you become bored with an exercise, change to something new. Incorporate stretching exercises into your routine to keep from injuring your muscles. Do a warm-up before you exercise and a cool-down afterward. The warm-up will help prevent injury to your joints and muscles. Your warm-up should involve an increase in intensity and speed of your exercise. The cool-down involves a decrease in your exercise speed.
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