5 Effective And Simple Exercises To Lose Weight

November 26, 2009 by admin

In addition to a proper diet, proper exercise is an extremely important element for anyone wanting to lose weight. In this article, you’re going to read about 5 effective, but simple exercises anyone can do to lose weight.

There are all kinds of ways to do it, considering all the various machines and routines, but we’re going to zero in on exercises that fall into the two main types of exercises- aerobic and anaerobic (strength training).

The primary role of aerobic exercise is to help your body burn fat calories during the exercise routine. Meanwhile, strength training’s contribution to weight loss is to burn a number of calories while you rest, which is known as increasing the speed of your resting metabolic rate (RMR).

Interestingly, the more muscular your body is, the more your RMR actually increases (i.e., burns more calories) because it takes more energy maintaining muscles than it does to maintain fat. So, with that in mind, here are 5 aerobic and strength training exercises that can easily be done almost anywhere, and done with consistency, will certainly assist you in losing weight.

Do each of these 5 exercises in sets, 2 to 3 sets, 10-20 of each per set. However, if you’re just starting a training program, consider beginning with fewer sets and fewer reps per set, and also possibly just 2-3 days/week, except the walking.

Squats

These will build your leg and buttock muscles, which are the largest muscles in the human body. Each day, or at least every other day, stand in front of mirror if possible, place your feet at shoulder/s width and squat down and up. As you begin to build strength, add 2 lb. or 5 lb. dumbbells to your routine, holding them in your hands and your work out. Be sure to loosen up a little first, and if you feel any pain in your knees, stop immediately.

Pushups

While doing pushups, you are supporting nearly 70% of your body weight, so these are a form of strength training. These will strengthen your arms and will increase your RMR.

Jumping Jacks

Perhaps you haven’t done any of these since elementary gym class, but this is an excellent aerobic exercise that affects the entire body. These can be noisy, so be considerate of neighbors if you live in any room above the first floor.

High Stepping

This is a great way to not only burn calories, but to also give your heart a good workout. If you have stairs at your place of residence, use them. You can also use stackable step mats (stack from 12 to 15 inches high <38cm>), or a step stool with a wide, solid base. This is also a good exercise for shaping your rear-end and legs.

Don’t overdo it at first. If you can only do one set of each of these four exercises initially, that’s fine.

Fast Walking

Once you’ve finished with the first 4 sets of exercises, finish with fast walking, which is better than regular walking in that it burns fat even quicker (a great aerobic exercise). After first stretching and loosening up, build to a fast speed and try to maintain it for some time. Once you get tired, rotate between a few minutes of fast and then slower walking. 30-60 minutes is ideal once you build to that ability.

Utilizing just these five effective and simple exercises to lose weight, you are combining exercises that build muscle (strength training) and burn fat (aerobic exercises). They may seem a bit old school, but they really work!

Filed under: Exercise For Weight Loss
Tagged: exercise routine, Exercises To Lose Weight