Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate in India every year, which is the root cause of many chronic diseases. We all know that exercise is crucial for overall health and fitness, but still, most of us don’t consider it a part of our daily routine thanks to our busy lifestyle! If you have made up your mind about losing the extra inches from your body, then you are in the right place! Here’s the list of the best exercise for weight loss.
In this article, we will mention the best exercises to lose weight as per the suitability of a beginner as well as a fitness enthusiast. It’s not hard to lose weight, but maintenance is!
You must inculcate in healthy eating habits, sound sleep patterns, and mental health along with consistency in exercises to get the desired result.
Table of Contents
1. Walking
Walking is the most easiest and convenient exercise for everyone. It doesn’t require any tool or equipment.
You just need to wear comfortable clothes and sneakers to start your journey of weight loss!
Walking is a lower impact exercise that means it’s easy on your joints. On average, a 70-kg person burns 167 calories per 30 minutes of walking at medium speed. This is one of the few exercises which can be done after having your meal. You can start initially with 30 minutes, for 3-4 times in a week, and escalate the timing as well as the frequency.
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A morning or evening walk with your companion in the lap of nature will definitely boost your stamina and mood with a noticeable weight loss. A study on 20 women shows that walking for 50-70 minutes 3 times per week decreased the Belly fat and waist circumstance effectively (1).
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2. Cycling
Cycling is a low-impact exercise that means it will not put stress on your joints. The craze of cycling can be seen in many countries such as Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Cycling is a sport and leisure activity which is more than fun if done outdoor! Most of the gyms or fitness centres have stationary bikes as an alternative to bicycles.
A 70 kg man can easily burn 260 calories in 30 minutes of cycling at moderate speed. Apart from weight loss, It provides overall fitness. People of all fitness levels can perform this activity thus it is one of the best exercise for lose weight.
A study shows that regular cycling can safeguard us against heart diseases, cancer, diabetes, and premature death (2).
3. Swimming
Adequate water intake is recommended in every weight-loss diet and if you love water then what could be more enjoyable to jump into the pool of water! Swimming is a low-impact exercise that doesn’t hurt your joints. It can be done by people of all age groups and fitness level. People suffering from joint pain, backache, or sports injuries may pick swimming as an exercise to lose weight. It’s very effective for flexibility and several chronic diseases.
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According to Harward Medical School, swimming can burn 298 calories through breaststroke, 409 calories with butterfly, and 372 calories by treading water in a 70 kg man with an hour of swimming. You should push more and more against the water to move either in break stroke or freestyle to burn extra calories. You can take a rest of a few seconds in between your movements (3).
4. Jogging Or Running
Jogging or running is one of the best exercise for weight loss in a short span of time, but it may hurt your joints if you are not used to it. Running is faster than jogging. You can do it for 20-30 minutes per week initially, and gradually the duration can be increased. Your knees, back, and hips must be healthy to indulge yourself in running.
It’s more beneficial if done outdoor because you use more energy to push yourself forward. It’s very helpful in reducing belly fat and chronic diseases. If you are bored of running on a flat surface, then it could be challenging with uphill that will make your legs strong and cut the belly fat in a short period of time. According to a study, running helps in burning bad fat which is linked to chronic diseases such as heart diseases and diabetes (4).
You can also try sprinting (a faster form of running) which is performed in short spurts. It’s much better than running for quick weight loss.
5. Interval Training
Interval training is defined as any form of repetitive exercise that spikes your heart rate and then comes down. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or Intense exercise is referred to the short period of heavy exercises that goes with recovery period or rest. Generally, intensity resets your metabolism to an increased rate during the workout that usually takes a few hours or days to get down again, which is called Excess post–exercise oxygen consumption(EPOC).
A study shows that Interval training can burn calories after the workout as compared to a workout at a continuous moderate speed. It’s able to burn 25 to 30% more calories per minute than any other form of exercise that includes cycling, weight training, or running. Interval training can be incorporated through many exercises such as biking, jumping, running to burn a high amount of calories in less time.
Interval training must be practiced for 45 seconds and then take the rest of 15 seconds. As you progress, you can slowly increase the time of activity and reduce the duration of rest (5).
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6. Yoga
Yoga is an amazing practice not only for weight loss but also for overall health and wellness. It can be performed under your comfort zone as well as through yoga classes, but it needs balance and stability. Yoga is very effective in promoting mindfulness and quality of sleep, which further helps in weight loss.
It increases the flexibility as well as the metabolism of the body. It promotes your willpower by reducing unhealthy food cravings and provides you the right direction for weight loss. Yoga should be performed 3-5 times a week initially to avoid stress on muscles. It’s advised to take complete rest, at least for a day in the week.
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Study shows that restorative yoga (includes few poses with props that allow relaxation) is capable of weight loss in an overweight lady, including the Belly fat. In the same way, Sun salutation or Surya namaskar may be very effective for losing weight (6).
7. Weight Training Or Resistance Training
Weight training may not be the fastest weight loss exercise but still, it’s popular because it improves the resting metabolic rate (RMR) by building muscle mass which means you can burn calories during and even after your workout. The metabolic rate is the number of calories your body loses at rest.
A 70-kg person burns 112 calories in 30 minutes of weight training. If you are willing to have an ideal weight for the long run, then you must consider weight training.
Study shows that doing strength exercises for 11 minutes 3 times per week can raise the metabolic rate by 7.4% and it’s helpful for preventing obesity (7).
8. Skipping
You must have done Skipping during your childhood or school days, but did you know that it can be included in the best weight loss exercises?
It’s cheap, portable, and can be done almost everywhere. Skipping is an ideal weight loss exercise, which is great for warming up and finishing up. It engages your full body to burn calories.
Your arms and shoulders lift the rope whereas the legs and calves move upwards to jump for its continuous movement thus it’s a good calorie burner in a short duration. You must wear shoes while skipping, otherwise, the rope may hurt you in case you skip it!
According to a study, rope skipping decreases cardiovascular risk and promotes the immune system of obese and overweight teens (8).
9. Zumba
Zumba is an aerobic and high-intensity weight loss exercise that includes fast dancing, which is quite popular, especially among women for quick results. If you are not a gym person or you are looking for some fun during exercise, then Zumba is your call!
You can maintain a healthy weight if Zumba is combined with a balanced diet and other forms of exercise. According to a study, the Zumba dance training is equivalent to aerobic high impact for the significant weight loss (9).
10. Pilates
Pilates is a low-intensity exercise which may not give you faster results like running, but anybody can perform it without much-needed skill or tools at home other than doing in the gym.
A study says that doing pilates for 90 minutes per week reduced the stomach, waist, hip circumference as compared to those who didn’t do any exercise. It can be performed for improving muscular endurance and flexibility, balance, and posture. Additionally, it may reduce the lower back pain hence it’s a must-try during pain or after an injury (10).
Factors That Effect Weight Loss
Initial Weight
Generally, the initial weight or the weight at the time of starting exercise is the body mass or aka weight. If you have a bigger body, then you may have a higher metabolism which helps to lose weight.
Weight Loss History
If you have already reduced weight in the past, then it may affect your speed of weight loss because metabolism rate comes down after losing weight therefore, weight loss becomes sluggish.
Eating Habits
Exercise doesn’t mean that you can eat whatever and whenever just because you are working hard to shed your weight. It’s better to avoid unnecessary calories than to burn them later on. The deficiency of calorie intake will ultimately help you to lose weight. Try indulging in healthy eating habits for weight loss.
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Age
Aging makes it hard to lose weight. Older people have more fat mass as compared to muscle mass that decreases the RMR and makes the weight loss journey tough. As you grow older and older, the weighting process becomes slow and slow.
Gender
Women have enough fat ratio than men which effects their PMR, and that’s why men seem luckier in this case because they can lose weight quicker than women and it doesn’t matter even if they consume an equal amount of calories.
Sleep Quality
A sound and deep sleep aid the weight loss process because we lose weight during sleep as well. Better quality of sleep can be seen as a good calorie burner. Additionally, it avoids the unwanted late-night cravings which turn to unhealthy snacks and weight gain. People who sleep less than seven hours may have a slow metabolism.
Hormonal problem
Hormonal health plays a vital role in weight loss. Thyroid and cortisol hormones improve weight gain and retention. Medical conditions like depression, hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome affect the weight loss program and the results are generally slow.
Genetics
On average, 20 major and more than 200 genetics affects fat storage and weight management. Some genetic conditions like obesity directly impact the weight loss journey as the pace of burning calories may be slow.
Conclusion
Seeing yourself in shape is very much fascinating, but it’s necessary to indulge in a balanced weight loss program for desired results. There are some factors that affect weight loss. Expecting too much and too early can lead to few health problems such as dehydration, irritability, constipation, hair loss, prone to regain weight.
After a piece of detailed information on the best exercise for weight loss, it would be better to stick to few exercises of your choice even after losing weight. A healthy diet, mental health, and sound sleep play a vital role in weight loss.
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