Excersises For Weight Loss

Reaching a healthy weight can help you reduce your risk for developing heart disease, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes and osteoarthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Regular exercise should be a part of your weight-control strategy, in addition to controlling the amount of calories you consume. Aerobic exercise, interval training and strength training can all be effective exercises to help you lose weight.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise, or exercises that use large muscle groups for an extended period of time, can help you burn calories and contribute to weight loss. Popular types of aerobic exercise include brisk walking, cycling, running and swimming. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends working your way up to 50 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise on five or more days each week to promote and sustain weight loss. This amount of exercise can be completed all in one session or in shorter exercise sessions lasting at least 10 minutes.

Interval Training

Interval training is another type of exercise that can help you burn calories and help break through a weight-loss plateau. Interval training consists of alternating short, intense bursts of activity followed by periods of lighter activity. An example of an interval training workout would be to walk or run at a faster pace for 30 seconds to one minute and then return to your normal walking pace for one or two minutes. Interval training can be incorporated into any type of aerobic exercise and can help you burn more calories in less time than a traditional aerobic workout done at a steady, slower pace.

Strength Training

Increasing your lean muscle mass through strength training exercises can give your metabolism a boost, which can help you burn more calories, even when you are not exercising. Strength training can include lifting weights, using resistance bands or doing exercises that use your body weight as resistance, including pushups, situps or pullups. The American Council on Exercise recommends strength training exercises for your major muscle groups at least two times each week.

Considerations

In addition to improving your exercise habits, making changes to your eating habits is also recommended for healthy weight loss. The Harvard Medical School suggests multiplying your current weight by 15 if you regularly participate in moderate exercise to estimate your daily calorie needs. Eating 500 to 1,000 fewer calories than your body requires can help you lose one to two pounds per week, the recommended weight for safe weight loss. Men should not eat fewer than 1,500 calories per day and women should not eat fewer than 1,200 calories each day, unless under the direction of your doctor.