For most people, effective weight loss means taking more than a few pounds off and keeping it off. To do this, you'll need to use exercises that let you continue to work at a high intensity without tiring you to the point of stopping. Aerobic exercise is the weight loss method of choice for many, because it burns the most calories without requiring an intense, high-impact workout like the ones competitive athletes use.
Weight Loss Exercise
Not all exercise helps you burn enough calories to lose the weight you may want to shed. Bodybuilding exercises, for example, build muscle but don't raise your metabolism for long periods. Effective weight loss exercises are those that raise your heart rate to a point that you breathe hard and sweat but can continue for 30 minutes or more. If you are just starting exercise, you can exercise at a less intense pace, similar to a brisk walk.
Getting in Shape
If you are not in shape, trying to work out in your aerobic heart range for 30 minutes or longer may prove so difficult that you give up. Start at a moderately intense pace that you can continue for 15 minutes or more. Add minutes or miles to each workout until you can exercise for 30 minutes or more without stopping. Walking at 2 mph for 1 hour burns more than 180 calories in a 160-lb. person, according to MayoClinic.com. Riding a bike at a leisurely pace burns almost 300 calories. Once you can exercise at this pace without stopping, start raising the intensity of your heart rate so you can progress to aerobic exercise.
Aerobic Exercises
If you can raise your heart rate about 20 percent from your beginner workouts, you will get much more than a 20 percent increase in calories burned. For example, walking at 3.5 mph vs. 2 mph burns almost 280 calories as opposed to only 180 calories. Jogging at 5 mph raises that to almost 600 calories per hour. You can create aerobic exercises with many familiar activities, such as swimming, biking, dancing, rowing or calisthenics. The American Heart Association suggests that cardio workouts that last 60 minutes or more are the most effective for losing weight, if you exercise several times per week.
Machine Exercises
Exercise machines are effective for weight loss exercises because they are designed to move your arms and legs in ways that raise your heart rate without causing muscle fatigue that makes you stop. Treadmills, exercise bikes, rowing machines, ellipticals and other workout machines create simple, repetitive movements that let you keep exercising without stopping. To prevent your muscles from getting used to a particular movement or set of movements, decreasing the benefit you get, use a different machine each time you exercise if you have access to a gym or fitness center.
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