These workouts can help if
your goal is to lose weight.
You 're probably on the
market for a heart-thumping, blood-pumping, balls-to-the-wall workout, if
you're reading this right now. And we have you covered, friend. Whether that
means getting stronger, hitting a new PR or losing weight, we 're all about
helping you get sweaty in pursuit of your goals.
But let's be honest here for
a second: the tricky thing about weight-loss exercises is they're kind of,
sorta ... A myth. Don't get me wrong — if you're trying to lose weight, your
program will include a good workout routine. It's probably not the only part of
it.
Here's the thing: Working
out on its own isn't enough to induce weight loss. There's so much more going
into weight loss and body fat loss; actually, in many instances, exercise isn't
even theoretically required. If you want to lose weight — and it's totally cool
if you do, and if you don't, it has to be step numero uno to adopt healthy
eating habits.
You need to build a calorie
deficit to get technical, which means consuming more calories in a day than you
consume — and the consumption aspect plays a far greater role in this than
burning calories in the gym, or taking your grocery stores around, or any of
the many countless ways you put your muscles to work every day.
Other lifestyle habits, such
as managing sleep and stress, and health conditions (think about thyroid
problems, to name just one of many) also affect your weight. Point is, weigh tloss is a complicated and extremely personal journey from one person to the
next which does not look or work exactly the same way.
And before we get any
further into it, I would be reluctant to not point out another really important
detail here: Weight loss is not for everyone. For some people, ignoring your
weight altogether is actually much healthier, or never thinking about calories,
or focusing on anything else literally.
This is especially true if
you have a history of disordered eating; if that is you, you should talk to
your doctor before you go into any weight-loss plan. Indeed, even if you don't
have a history of disordered eating you should talk to a doctor about a healthy
weight loss.
Holding eating well and
sleeping enough in mind, there are several exercises and activities that can be
particularly useful to help you lose weight or burn fat or improve your body
composition. Such exercises tend to have a few things in common: They are
usually high-intensity and in a limited period of time they consume a lot of
calories.
Here are the types of
fitness trainers recommended to make the most of your time in the gym (or park,
or living room).
1.
Interval
Training
The experts are turning to
number one training method for weight loss again and again: interval training.
What is it? Any form of exercise where your heart rate spikes, and then repeatedly
descends. Usually this means going tough for a set time interval (hence the
name), followed by active rest, then going to hard again.
The active portion of
recovery is essential. Until ramping up to a higher intensity level, you need
to take it down a notch — OK, many notches.
Training at high-intensity
intervals, or HIIT, is one of several types you can do. Another common one is
indoor cycling, although this workout tends to focus towards cardio over
strength training, cycling requires you to use various muscles in your body —
quads, hamstrings, glutes, and core, for starters — which once again translates
into weight loss.
Simply put, the more muscles
you have to incorporate, the more calories you 're going to burn because all
those muscles need energy to work, and the more energy you 're using, the
higher those calorie-burning numbers are going to increase. It is a loop
everything.
2.
Boot
Camp
Switch to boot camp for a
workout which will keep the metabolism up, as these courses incorporate two of
the most common training styles: interval and resistance. You must perform exercises,
some more cardio-focused and others with an emphasis on strength, full-out for
brief bursts of time, combined with short rest periods.
But if you're going to a
boot camp class for the first time, speak up. A good instructor will help you
determine when you need to crank up your weight or intensity (tip: if you can
ride through 10 reps without any trouble, it's too easy), keep your shape on
par, and can always make changes to any move that might be too tough or annoy
an injury.
3.
Boxing
Boxing is really another
form of interval training in its essence. Here's the trick to remember: It's a
common mistake for beginners to punch using their arm strength only, but most
of your power will come from your core and you'll be using muscles that are
typically ignored in other workouts (hey there, obliques).
Logging this type of workout
in a class is best, as it's important for beginners to learn the right form
from an instructor that can help keep your intensity level high.
4.
CrossFit
CrossFit has been such a
thriving part of the fitness industry — it works so long as you're not
overdoing it. Workouts are diverse – from kettlebell swings to rope climbs and
box jumps to front squats you can do everything – and the exercises are built
to be fast and intense.
The most crucial thing to find
when searching for the box (CrossFit slang for "gym") that best suits
you: a well-informed coach who can demonstrate and modify the moves, and ensure
you don't push yourself to the point of injury. They 're great for weight loss
because CrossFit movements burn calories and boost metabolism.
5.
Tabata
If you're crunching your
biggest excuse for missing a workout for time, Tabata is making your dream come
true. It's planned to be a four-minute high-intensity interval training
consisting of 20 seconds of all-out action, followed by 10 seconds of rest,
repeated 8 times.
This protocol can be used
for any number of different exercises. You'll increase your heart rate and
metabolism in four minutes but if you're trying to lose weight, Squires advises
against making this time period a routine. Your body will adapt quickly to that
interval, and you'll need to increase the volume or intensity to continue to
get a benefit.
This can be achieved by
extending your session and using the same format to 20 minutes. Simply choose
four exercises — think jumping rope, squats, mountain climbers, and squat jumps
— then each do as hard and fast as you can for 20 seconds (while maintaining
proper shape, of course), then recover for 10 seconds and only 10 seconds.
It is recommended that you repeat on that one move for eight rounds (so, four minutes of work) before you
rest for a minute and move on to the next exercise.
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