Your body needs calories to do everything it does; breathing, organ function, everything. It needs more calories the more active you are. This is why exercise is key to weight loss; while consuming fewer calories will help you balance your energy intake with your energy consumed, exercise will help your body burn more calories than it takes in—this will help you to burn fat and lose weight.
To calculate your own caloric expenditure, use this formula taken from the Journal of Sports Science :
Women: Calories burned= [(0.074 x Age) + (0.4472 x Heart Rate) — (0.05741 x Weight) — 20.4022] x Time / 4.184.
One pound of fat is equal to approximately 3,500 calories. By using any of the 8 forms of exercise below, 4 times a week, you will have burnt ~3,200 calories.
- Treadmill Intervals –The American Medical Association, has ranked a treadmill as the Number. 1 cardiovascular machine for losing weight and burning calories. By changing speeds, inclines, and the posture in which you run (forward/backward) your body is going to be pushed to the max. By changing speeds and inclines, your body cannot adapt and heart rate will thus steadily rise. Mix in all out sprints here and there to really push yourself into the 80-90% max heart rate zone.
- Skipping – Squeeze in cardio with this highly effective activity, which can have you burning 130 calories every ten minutes (or 780 calories per hour). According to MedicineNet.com, you’d have to run an eight-minute mile to burn as many calories as jumping rope for the same amount of time, making it a good choice for someone who is starting a fitness regime and may not have the endurance to maintain a fast running speed for an extended period of time. If you have limited space and time, jumping rope is the most efficient way to see results. In addition, the high-impact nature of this workout means you’ll add bone mass, increasing your bone health.
- Hill Sprints – Sprinting not only burns HUGE amounts of calories, it also keeps your metabolism flying for days after. Find yourself a nice big hill (ideally at least 100 feet of clear space to run up). Sprint all the way up. Once at the top, perform 10 reps of a variety of exercises. Some total body, high caloric burn exercises would include squat jumps, squat twists, burpees, 180 planks, or push up jacks. Pick a variety of exercises and go for 10 reps at the top of each hill sprint. Run back down the hill, rest for 10 seconds, then sprint right back up. Perform this for 45 minutes and start kissing that stomach fat goodbye.
- Boxing – Get in front of a heavy bag and punch, kick, and/or strike the bag non-stop for 2 minutes. Take a 30 second break. Repeat 11 more times. Next, grab a jump rope and get jumping for 45 seconds, then take a 30 second break. Repeat this format a total of 20 times. Congrats, you will no doubt be looking like one who’s lean and fit.
- Cycling Sprints – Cycling is fantastic for building the muscles in your legs and butt while completely taxing your cardiovascular system. This strenuous workout increases your heart rate steadily which requires loads of energy, i.e. calories. Aim to cycle in the 16-19 mph range to burn almost 1,000 calories per hour. To keep things interesting, try doing 60 second all-out sprints every couple of minutes to spike your heart rate and really push yourself to the max.
- Compound Power Workout – By combining heavy compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, lat pull downs, wide grip pull ups, etc with intense bouts of cardio (instead of just standing around catching your breath after each set), you do two important things. First, you burn a ton of calories during your workout by not allowing your body a full rest. More importantly however, you effectively bump your EPOC, which results in a phenomenon that will have you burning massive amounts of calories after you’re finished working out. This is a great way to add serious muscle but not sacrifice your caloric burn; two birds, one effective 60 minute or less workout.
- Row it Out – A good, solid rowing workout can easily have you burning 800 to 1,000 calories in an hours worth of work. Remember to push yourself and keep intensity high during the workout. If you feel you are getting tired, try using HIIT. Row all out for 30 seconds, then back off for 1 minute. Repeat this cycle to keep your body guessing what is coming next, and your heart rate elevated.
- Swim – Swimming is the ultimate total body workout. You’re using almost every muscle in your body which will help tone and lean you out, while burning massive calories. Alternate between freestyle and butterfly stroke, with breast stroke here and there when you need a little break. Just 45 minutes in the pool will easily burn 800 excess calories just itching to be stored as fat.
Remember, recovery occurs within 24-48 hours, adaptation takes longer, usually 72-96 hours after an intense exercise session. By week five you will be operating at maximum intensity, which will require 3-4 days rest for full recovery and adaptation. Plan your training accordingly.
Related links
- Very Low Calorie Diet for obesity
- Cardio Timing: The Secret to Burning Fat Up To 300% Faster
- Treadmill: For Losing Weight and Burning Calories
- Jump Rope Workout
- Improving your metabolism
