Before you begin choosing and using specific exercises, learn how to perform them to achieve different goals. For example, use dumbbells to build muscle, improve muscular endurance or burn calories. Some exercises are better for improving strength and stamina, while others are more efficient at helping you lose weight. Whatever your goals, you can find more than a few ways to exercise to help you get fit or lose weight.
Walking
Walking is one of the most frequently recommended exercises for easing into working out. Brisk walking improves heart health and burns calories. Walk longer to build cardio stamina and muscular endurance, and walk faster to burn more calories.
Tennis
Unlike aerobics, tennis is an anaerobic sport because you do it at a higher heart rate and burn mostly glycogen rather than fat. Even though you take frequent breaks in tennis, the calorie burn is higher. MayoClinic.com estimates that a 160-lb. person burns 511 calories doing an hour's worth of high-impact aerobics, but burns 584 calories playing an hour of singles tennis.
Circuit Training
Circuit training is a method of exercising that keeps you moving from one exercise to another in rapid succession during a workout. Rather than using one machine for 30 minutes or an hour, you might do one minute or about 20 reps of an exercise, take a 30-second break, then start another short set of a new exercise. You can do calisthenics, dumbbell exercises, resistance bands exercises or a combination of these.
Swimming
Swimming is a completely no-impact exercise you can use for beginner, intermediate or advanced workouts. Swim at a moderate, steady speed if you're a beginner. Pick up the pace for aerobic workouts. Sprint laps, taking a break after each one, for advanced sports training.
Jumping Rope
Jumping rope is a high-impact, high-calorie-burning exercise, depending on how fast you do it. In the beginning, it may be tough to continue as your leg muscles adjust to the intensity of the exercise. Add sets of 30 to 60 seconds of jumping rope to other workouts to add variety and increase calorie burning.
Hula Hooping
Believe it or not, you can burn more calories using a hula hoop than by doing a boot camp workout, advanced Pilates, power yoga, cardio kickboxing or step aerobics, according to research sponsored by the American Council on Exercise. Work toward keeping your hula hoop up for at least 10 minutes for a good workout.
Dancing
Ballroom, freestyle and aerobic dancing are effective ways to stretch and tone muscles and burn calories. With or without a partner, dance to your favorite music using a wide variety of arm, core and leg muscle movements.
Cycling
You have four five for cycling workouts. You can ride on the road, join an indoor cycling class, put a road bike on a stand or trainer, use an upright stationary bike or choose a recumbent exercise bike to relieve stress on your back. Ride at a steady pace for a beginner workout; add hills and sprints for a more advanced workout.
Basketball
Two-, four- or six-person basketball games can challenge your cardio system while you work your muscles. This high-intensity, start-and-stop activity gives you an anaerobic, high-calorie-burning workout.
Traditional Exercises
Pushups, situps, pullups, chinups, crunches, dips, squats and lunges are efficient ways to build muscle and burn calories. Do them slowly to build more muscle, and quicker, with more reps of each, to burn more calories.
References
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise for Weight Loss: Calories Burned in 1 Hour
- American Council on Exercise; Hooping—Effective Workout or Child’s Play?; Jordan Holthusen, et al.
- USTA; Health Benefits of Tennis: Why Play Tennis?; Jack Groppel
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