Everyone knows that weight loss is achieved through maintaining a healthy diet and getting sufficient exercise. However, the type and frequency of exercise makes a bigger difference than most people realize. Doing too little exercise or doing the wrong kind can result in a lot of wasted effort and little improvement.
When your exercise routine doesn’t yield results, you have to make a change. If you’ve already established a routine that you like and don’t really want to start anything new, adding a few calorie torching exercises to your regimen can help speed up your progress.
These are four of the simplest yet most effective exercises to add to your weight loss routine now:
1. Burpees
This simple cardio exercise can burn over 500 calories per hour and works your entire body. Burpees are easy to do because they don’t require a gym, special equipment, or even a yoga mat. The best thing about them is that they’re highly adaptable and can be altered for whatever fitness level you’re at.
To perform a basic burpee, crouch down and put your hands on the ground. Walk or jump your feet back and get into a plank position and do a push-up. Jump or walk your feet forward into your starting position and jump up for a jump squat. Repeat as many reps as you’d like and be sure to take short breaks in between.
High-intensity exercises like these help you lose weight by burning more calories and speeding up your metabolism. This means that you continue to burn more calories throughout the day even after you’ve completed your exercises. Burpees can be physically demanding, so start with a few modified reps if you need to and work your way up from there.
2. Lunges
Lunges hurt the next day, and that’s how you know they work! They can either be done using only your body weight, or you can do them while holding weights. Doing lunges can be both a strength training exercise and a cardio workout depending on how fast you do them. However, the number of lunges performed is not as important as your form. Doing lunges correctly avoids injuries and helps you get the full benefits of the movement, so doing them right is worth your energy and focus.
To do a proper lunge, stand up straight (but not rigid) with your chin up. Step forward with your right foot and begin lowering yourself into a kneeling position. Stop when your knees form right angles, and push yourself back into your standing position. Make sure that your knee doesn’t touch the floor, and keep your hands on your hips to maintain your balance. Repeat with your left leg and do as many reps as you can handle.
3. Running
Running is usually a subject of divided opinion: either people hate it or they love it. People who love it enjoy the freedom of being outdoors, and some even benefit from a “runner’s high”. Even on a treadmill, runners still get a rush of endorphins and a good cardio workout. On the other hand, people who hate running detest feeling out of breath, and all they want to do is STOP running. If you’re anti-running, you might still want to consider incorporating it into your routine once in a while.
You can burn well over 100 calories for every mile you run, and even a long run of several miles can be completed in under an hour. That probably beats many of your current workouts! Running also works to tone your entire body while you shed weight. Adding intervals to your run torches even more calories and keeps your metabolism revved up for the rest of the day.
4. Jumping rope
Not just for kids, jumping rope is an amazing exercise if you’re looking to burn calories fast and have some fun while doing it. It can burn more than 10 calories per minute and can burn even more calories than running. This exercise also strengthens your arms, legs, and core when done correctly and is a total body workout.
Jump ropes are cheap and can be used anywhere, which is what makes this exercise even more awesome. Try to fit it into your routine a few times a week, or use it as an alternative to running when the weather is bad.
Good exercise sessions push your body hard enough to build muscle and get your heart pumping. These exercises help you do just that, and adding them to your routine will help you burn more calories, build more muscle, and lose more fat. Check out other great exercises for losing weight and change up your routine to reach your fitness goals even faster.
