Drop the Pounds: 8 Best Workouts for Weight Loss

Training is one of the most effective ways to get rid of hated pounds. But which one is the best for this? Scientists think you should pay attention to one of these eight species.

Walking is one of the best exercises for weight loss, and for good reason. First, it’s an easy way to start exercising without getting tired or buying a gym membership or home equipment. Second, it is safe – the risk of joint injury or overload is minimal.

According to Harvard Medical School, a person weighing 70 kg burns about 167 kcal in 30 minutes of walking at an average speed of 6.4 km/h. A 12-week study in 20 obese women found that walking for just 50-70 minutes three times a week reduced waist circumference by 1.5%.

At the same time, walking easily fits into your lifestyle: just walk on your lunch break, get off the bus one stop earlier, or stop using the elevators. You can start small: 30 minutes 3-4 times a week is enough. Gradually, you can increase the duration and intensity of walks.

Do they look like you? U.S. too! But it’s not the same. The main difference is the speed. Jogging involves a speed of 6.4 to 9.7 km/h, and anything faster is already considered running.

According to experts from Harvard Medical School, a person weighing 70 kg burns about 298 kcal in 30 minutes of running at a speed of 8 km/h. Additionally, studies in 2005, 2007, and 2012 showed that running helps get rid of harmful visceral fat, which can cause various chronic diseases.

Jogging and running are great exercises that can be done almost anywhere. You should start with short runs of 20 to 30 minutes three to four times a week. Specially equipped treadmills are best suited for training – they have built-in padding that reduces the load on the joints.

Cycling is not only possible in the fresh air, because now almost every fitness room is equipped with exercise bikes. Harvard Medical School estimates that a 150-pound person burns about 260 calories in 30 minutes riding a stationary bike at a moderate pace, or 298 calories if moving at 12 to 14 miles per hour.

Cycling is great for losing weight, but it also has other benefits. A 2011 and 2019 study found that regular cyclists have better overall fitness, increased insulin sensitivity and a lower risk of heart disease, cancer and death compared to non-cyclists.

Bodybuilding is very popular among those who want to lose weight. It is estimated that a person weighing 70 kg burns around 112 calories in 30 minutes of strength training.

Additionally, such training will help you get stronger and build muscle, which can increase your resting metabolic rate. In other words, the body will burn more calories even when you are doing nothing.

A six-month study found that just doing 11 minutes of strength training three times a week resulted in an average 7.4% increase in metabolic rate. On average, 125 calories disappear without any additional effort on your part.

In other studies in 2000, 2002, and 2015, scientists found evidence that our bodies continue to burn calories several hours after resistance training compared to aerobic exercise.

Interval training is the alternation of high and low intensity exercises. As a rule, such an activity lasts 10-30 minutes and allows you to burn a lot of calories. As one study has shown, interval training expends 25-30% more energy than other types of fitness.

Other studies conducted by scientists, the results of which were published in 2008, 2009 and 2013, proved that the “bad” visceral fat that accumulates in the abdominal cavity is burned during interval training.

Interval training is easy to fit into your schedule: just pick a sport you feel comfortable with and enjoy doing – running, cycling or swimming – and alternate between them. load intensity. For example, pedal as hard as you can for 30 seconds, then go to a more relaxed pace for one to two minutes.

Swimming is a fun and enjoyable way to lose weight and get in shape. According to experts from Harvard Medical School, a person weighing 70 kg burns about 233 calories per half hour of swimming.

The way you swim affects the number of calories you burn. On the back, you can spend 298 kcal in 30 minutes, breaststroke will save you 372 kcal, butterfly – 409 kcal. If you want to spend more energy, choose a new style!

A 12-week study in 24 middle-aged women found that swimming for 60 minutes three times a week helped with weight loss, improved flexibility and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

Another advantage of swimming is its gentle nature: it puts less strain on our joints. So if your knees hurt, it’s better to go swimming, not squat with a barbell.

Yoga is an excellent form of physical activity, which also helps to deal with stress. Usually, yoga is rarely considered a workout for weight loss, but it burns a very correct amount of calories: 149 kcal per half hour for a 70 kg person. Plus, yoga has additional health benefits that can help promote weight loss.

A 12-week study in 60 obese women showed that those who participated in two 90-minute yoga sessions per week had a greater reduction in waist circumference than women in the control group, on average by 3.8 cm. yoga improved their mental and physical well-being.

Yoga allows you to develop mindfulness, which will make you feel hungry and full in time and prevent you from overeating. You can do it anywhere: most fitness centers offer group workouts and many online instructions allow you to work out at home.

Pilates is a great form of fitness to help you lose weight. A person weighing 64 kg burns 108 calories during a 30-minute Pilates session for beginners and 168 kcal for an advanced workout. Yes, it is less than during aerobics, but many people like Pilates, and it becomes the key to long-term activities – they do not stop after a few months.

An 8-week study in 37 middle-aged women found that doing Pilates for 90 minutes three times a week significantly reduced waist, abdomen and hip circumference compared to a control group who did no training. exercise during the same period. In addition, Pilates improves flexibility, endurance and posture.

The answer to this question depends on several factors.

Experts recommend losing no more than 1% of body weight per week. Losing weight too quickly can be detrimental to health. For example, it can cause muscle loss and increase the risk of gallstones, dehydration, headaches, constipation, hair loss, and menstrual irregularities.

Also, keep in mind that people who lose weight too quickly tend to gain it back. Also remember that losing weight is a non-linear process that goes faster at the very beginning. Then the rhythm will decrease, and this is normal. And therefore, you should choose workouts that you like: it is important not to do a few months, but constantly, making fitness a part of your life.

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