When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to find the best exercise to burn calories and get in shape. However, this isn’t as simple as it sounds, as nutrition and genetics play a role.
One of the best exercises to burn calories is HIIT. It’s a type of interval training that involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by periods of recovery.
1. Walking
Walking is a simple yet effective exercise that not only helps you burn calories but also boosts your mood and improves your sleep. It also improves your cardiovascular health and reduces your risk of several diseases.
While walking doesn’t burn as many calories as a fast-paced workout such as running or swimming, it still creates the calorie deficit that is essential to lose weight. Moreover, it is easy to fit into your daily routine.
Walking can improve your mood by releasing feel-good hormones, which can help you cope with the stress and anxiety of the day. It can even help you avoid illnesses such as the cold and flu.
2. Jogging
Jogging is the best exercise to lose weight because it helps you stay fit and burn calories. It also improves cardiovascular health and reduces blood pressure levels.
It doesn’t require expensive equipment and can be done from the comfort of your home or at a gym.
Another benefit of jogging is that it’s low-intensity, so it’s ideal for those who are new to exercise.
It can also help you build muscle. Like light strength training, jogging stimulates slow-twitch muscles (the ones that burn fat).
3. Push-ups
Push-ups are one of the best exercises to lose weight because they can be modified and performed anywhere, without any extra equipment. They strengthen muscles in the chest, shoulder and triceps as well as the core.
These muscle groups help boost metabolism. Muscles have a higher resting metabolic rate than fat, so by performing more push-ups, you will burn calories at a faster pace.
The number of push-ups you can perform depends on your fitness level. If you are just starting out, it is best to do between 4 and 6 repetitions.
4. Swimming
Swimming is a fantastic exercise for everyone, offering an all-round body workout that can be enjoyed all year round. It is also a low-impact exercise that is great for people with joint pain or injuries, as well as those looking to lose weight.
A relaxed swim can burn around 500 calories in an hour while a rigorous one can burn up to 700. This means that swimming is not only a great way to exercise but also a fat-burning activity, thanks to the fact that water is 800 times denser than air.
5. HIIT
One of the best exercises to lose weight is HIIT, which is short but intense and helps your body burn calories in a shorter amount of time. Several studies have shown that HIIT can elevate your metabolic rate for hours after you finish exercising, which can help you burn more calories than you might otherwise.
HIIT workouts can include running, cycling, swimming or any other form of cardio you prefer. However, if you are new to HIIT and don’t have a lot of experience with it, it’s important to start off slowly and gradually increase your intensity as your fitness level improves.
If you want to maximize the weight loss benefits of HIIT, it’s also important to incorporate strength training into your routine. This will help you build muscle and make your resting metabolism more efficient, which will also contribute to a higher afterburn.