Losing weight and gaining muscle at the same time is a challenging task, because muscle is denser and therefore weighs more than fat. Hit both both goals in a one-hour workout by interspersing the types of activities you do. Keep the pace intense so that your heart rate stays raised, which burns more fat, resulting in weight loss.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Maximize calories burned in one hour by doing intense cardiovascular exercise. Depending upon your starting weight and your level of fitness, you can burn between 500 and 700 calories by jogging five miles in one hour. Increase these numbers to around 1,000 to 1,4000 calories by running eight miles in one hour. You will also build strength by running, but you will see more results if you pump light hand weights during your run.
Weight Training
Exercise physiologist Bob Greene recommends weight training for improving your strength and stamina. The muscle mass you build replaces body fat, making you leaner. Target major muscle groups by doing compound exercises that work different parts of your body simultaneously. The more intense the exercises, the more cardiovascular the strength workout becomes. Switch between challenging moves like pushups and pullups, which strengthen several upper body muscles, and doing squats, lunges and lateral raises, which target your lower body. Finish with abdominal crunches on a slant board.
Circuit Training
Doing a one-hour circuit of cardiovascular and strengthening exercises burns fat and builds muscle. In a gym, you can alternate between cardiovascular machines such as treadmills, the elliptical, stationary cycles and the stair climber. Intersperse these mini-workouts with sessions at the resistance machines or pump weights for bicep curls, shoulder raises and tricep extensions. Do not rest between stations.
Boot Camp
Boot camp workouts focus on vigorous, back-to-basics workouts. Calisthenics, outdoor challenges and doing obstacle courses keep the pace intense. A typical one-hour boot camp workout may involve sprinting uphill, hauling a bag of sand, doing jumping jacks, doing deep lunges across a room or a field, and repeatedly running up and down flights of stairs.
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