Every diet needs a good exercise routine for you to lose weight and keep it off permanently. Diet pills and crash diets may seem to work in the short term but these methods may do your body more harm than good. The best approach to healthy and permanent weight loss is to eat the right kinds of food, observe portion control and have a regular workout.
You should not dread a good workout as there are many types of exercises that you can do that are fun and easy. Aside from motivating yourself with visions of a slimmer body, having a workout buddy may be enough initiative to keep your exercise schedule. As with all forms of exercise, you should consult a health professional before starting any fitness program to avoid injuries.
The following are 8 of the best weight loss workouts:
Running
Running is easy, inexpensive and provides a complete body workout that strengthens your legs, core muscles and arms, improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood cholesterol and blood pressure, and boosts metabolism. To get a full body exercise, make sure to swing your arms as you run. Start with a combination of walking or jogging and gradually increase the time you spend running until you are able to jog for 20 minutes at a time.
Cycling
Cycling or biking tones your leg muscles, improve cardiovascular fitness and endurance with less stress to your joints. Together with a healthy diet, cycling for at least 20 minutes a day, 3 to 5 times a week will help you lose weight. Always start your workout with a warm-up routine to prevent injuries and end your exercise with a warm-down.
Weights
Strength training builds muscles which contribute to weight loss because muscles burn calories even at rest. As a beginner, the weight that you need to lift will depend on what is comfortable without being too easy for you. Add weights or repetitions gradually when your routine starts to feel too easy. Always give your muscles ample time to heal by taking a one-day break from lifting weights after a session. For best results, get a workout 2 to 3 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes.
Jumping rope (skipping)
Jumping rope is another inexpensive and complete body workout that you can do any time and anywhere. Research shows that a mere 10-minute workout is as effective as 30 minutes of jogging. Start by doing 5 minutes per day and work your way up to 10 to 15 minutes per day,
Dancing
Dancing is fun way to exercise and lose weight. As a total body workout, dancing tones and tightens the major muscles of your body. It can burn as many calories as biking and swimming, if sustained for 30 minutes.
Brisk walking
Walking at a moderate pace, similar to how you would walk when you are running late for an appointment, for 30 to 60 minutes burns stored fat and boosts your metabolism. The cardiovascular workout you get does not cause damage to your knees unlike running and jumping.
Swimming
Swimming is another low impact cardiovascular workout that you can combine with a healthy diet to lose weight. To reap its health benefits, you should swim at least 30 to 45 minutes a day, 4 to 5 times a week.
Stair climbing
Walking up stairs is a high impact aerobic exercise that burns more calories than walking, running or dancing. You can start by climbing a few flights of stairs and work your way up to climbing 20 flights of stairs. Once you are able to climb 20 flights comfortably, you can increase the difficulty of stair climbing by climbing two steps at a time.
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