Some forms of exercise are more efficient than others at burning calories, reducing body fat, and supporting long-term weight management. But the best workout for weight loss is one you’ll actually do.
“One of the biggest things is consistency. You want to participate in exercise that you can stick with,” says Amy Peters, CSCS, who provides weight loss coaching in Clarksburg, Maryland.
The good news? You can choose from several effective workouts to help support weight loss.
1. Walking
Walking is also a great entry point into exercise, says Renee J. Rogers, PhD, a senior scientist in the division of physical activity and weight management at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. “Asking someone to start with a 10-minute walk feels feasible,” Dr. Rogers says. “Not everyone has access to a gym, but people might be able to go out and walk — this can create confidence with exercise.”
2. Running
The exact number of calories you burn depends on your weight and pace. For example, a 30-minute walk at 4 miles per hour burns roughly 175 calories for a 155-pound person. By comparison, a 30-minute run at 5 miles per hour burns roughly 288 calories for the same person.
Over time, that calorie burn can translate into meaningful fat loss. Research shows that compared with their inactive counterparts, people who consistently run at least 6.2 miles per week have lower levels of overall body fat, including visceral (abdominal) fat, which is associated with increased health risks.
3. Cycling
At the same time, cycling is easy to scale to your fitness level, says Peters. If you’re an avid exerciser, you can crank up the resistance or pace to drive your heart rate higher and burn more calories.
4. Strength Training
More muscle also means a higher resting metabolic rate, since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat even when you’re not exercising.
To reap these benefits, physical activity guidelines recommend getting at least two full-body muscle-strengthening workouts per week.
5. Swimming
6. High-Intensity Interval Training
7. Yoga
As a mind-body practice, yoga doesn’t have a reputation as a weight loss workout, but it may help in indirect ways. Poor sleep, chronic stress, and musculoskeletal pain are all factors that can work against weight loss, and yoga addresses all three.
Research suggests that yoga can improve sleep, reduce stress, and ease pain. This matters because poor sleep affects appetite and can lead to increased calorie consumption. Stress and depression have been linked to obesity because they can influence food intake and promote fat storage. And musculoskeletal pain can discourage movement, while increased body fat can drive inflammation, making pain worse.
Yoga’s direct calorie burn is modest, at about 144 calories per 30 minutes for a 155-pound person. However, evidence suggests that various yoga styles can support modest weight loss.
Many common yoga poses, such as those in the sun salutation sequence, also strengthen major muscle groups through body-weight resistance. Adding resistance training to a weight loss plan helps increase fat loss and preserve muscle in people who have obesity or who are overweight.
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