If you’re trying to lose weight, you may feel overwhelmed by the long, intense cardio workouts being recommended to you.
Fortunately, you don’t have to jump into a cookie-cutter exercise plan in order to successfully lose weight, whether you want to drop a few pounds or lose a significant amount of weight.
A successful plan for weight loss exercise should be designed with a few things in mind: your current health, disabilities or injuries, the amount of weight you want to lose, and the schedule you have to maintain.
It’s wise to have a realistic idea about what you’re able to do and how much time you can dedicate per week to exercising.
In addition, if you experience joint pain or you have an injury to be mindful of, you’ll want to choose various low-impact exercise methods.
Here are four accessible, adjustable exercise types to try out if you’re working out for weight loss.
Yoga
Yoga is a helpful exercise to adopt if you’re trying to lose weight, being that it’s an exercise that can be done at home without the need for extra equipment.
Many yoga routines are slow-paced and suitable for beginners, and on top of being an ideal form of exercise, yoga also helps to relieve stress.
Yoga is quite versatile and individuals who are using it to lose weight can choose from several intensity levels and routine durations. This means that you can participate in yoga for weight loss twice a week for 90 minutes apiece, or five times a week for 30 minutes per session.
The discipline is designed to fit a practitioner’s schedule needs, and because yoga aims to enhance the connection between the body and mind, it can also be helpful in facilitating cleaner eating habits and paying attention to hunger/fullness cues.
Walking or Jogging
Walking is one of the most effective and most applicable exercises to take part in when trying to lose weight. It’s easy to do and can be adjusted to fit your individual needs, so if you’re just starting out, you can walk for 30 minutes and take a break. Eventually, you’ll be able to build endurance and extend your walking duration, speed, incline, or all of the above.
Walking at a moderate pace for thirty minutes burns about 160 calories, and when you add to the intensity of your workout, you stand to burn even more calories.
Start your routine at around 30 minutes per session, 3-4 times per week, and increase the length of time that you walk, the number of times you walk per week, or both.
If you’ve committed to walking for a certain length of time and you feel that a little more speed and impact might benefit you, moving up to jogging is a possibility. Jogging is still relatively low-impact but it can increase the number of calories you burn during a certain time period.
Swimming
Swimming is an excellent way to lose weight, especially if you’re looking for a low-impact exercise method.
Depending on the intensity of your swimming workout, you could stand to burn between 300 and 400 calories per 30 minutes of swimming. Backstrokes burn almost 300 calories, breaststrokes and treading water burns about 370 calories, and doing butterflies burns about 400 calories.
Swimming for just one hour three times a week stands to reduce significant body fat and cholesterol, and improve your overall energy levels as you progress.
Cycling
Riding a bike is another great way to lose weight and enhance your physical fitness. Despite needing a bike to facilitate cycling, it’s still relatively versatile. Individuals can cycle outside using a traditional bike, or use stationary bicycle options at home or at the gym.
At a moderate pace, thirty minutes of cycling on a stationary bike burns more than 250 calories, and the same time and intensity on a traditional bicycle burns about 300 calories.
This exercise method is adjustable, making it great for beginners and athletes alike. You can cycle once a week or several, for thirty minutes or longer. It depends on your schedule availability, preference, and current activity level.
In addition to helping individuals lose weight, cycling has been shown to lower a person’s risk of developing heart disease and certain cancers, as well as increasing insulin sensitivity.
Implementing a workout routine into your life takes practice and patience. You may experience times where you feel sore, tired, and discouraged, but keep working at it and adjust your routine as needed. Once the routine becomes a regular part of your week, you’ll start to notice the effects of your hard work.
On top of making exercise a part of your week, it’s also important to ensure that your diet contains the vitamins and nutrients you need to fuel your body and satiate your hunger.
SOURCES
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-exercise-for-weight-loss#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/exercise/art-20050999
https://www.cnet.com/health/fitness/these-are-the-best-types-of-workouts-for-weight-loss/
