The 8 Best Exercises for Weight Loss

Weight loss is aided by the increased calorie expenditure that results from many different types of physical activity. Depending on your age, diet, and beginning weight, your rate of weight loss may differ.

Half of all American adults, by some estimates (1Reliable Source), make weight-loss resolutions every year.

People who are wanting to lose weight often combine a healthy diet with regular exercise. It helps you lose weight by increasing your metabolic rate.

Exercising not only aids in weight loss, but also boosts mood, fortifies bones, and lowers the risk of numerous chronic diseases (2, 3, 4).

The top 8 weight loss exercises are shown below.

1. Walking

When it comes to losing weight, walking is one of the most effective activities.

It's a simple and accessible approach for new exercisers to get moving without feeling overwhelmed or having to invest in expensive equipment. It's a lower-impact form of exercise, so it's easier on your joints.

Walking at a moderate pace of 4 mph (6.4 km/h) (5) for 30 minutes can burn about 175 calories for a 155-pound (70-kg) person, as reported by Harvard Health.

Walking for 50-70 minutes three times weekly reduced body fat and waist circumference by an average of 1.5% and 1.1 inches (2.8 cm), respectively (6 Trusted Source), in a 12-week study of 20 obese women.

Walking can be easily included into your everyday schedule. Take the stairs instead of the lift, walk your dog more often, or use your lunch break to get in some extra exercise.

Start with walking for 30 minutes, three to four times a week. As your fitness level improves, you can walk for longer periods of time or more frequently.

2. Jogging or running

Jogging and running are excellent activities for weight loss.

A jogging pace is between 4 and 6 miles per hour (6.4 and 9.7 kilometres per hour), while a running pace is greater than 6 miles per hour (9.7 kilometres per hour), despite their superficial similarity.

Jogging at 5 mph (8 km/h) for 30 minutes burns around 288 calories for a 155-pound (70-kg) person, whereas running at 6 mph (9.7 km/h) burns about 360 calories (5).

In addition, jogging and running have been shown to aid in the loss of visceral fat, sometimes known as belly fat. Circumferential fat is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions (7, 8, 9).

Jogging and running are both fantastic exercises that can be easily included into your weekly regimen and can be done virtually anyplace. Aim for 20-30 minutes of jogging, three to four times a week to begin.

Try jogging or running on grass if you feel the impact of running or jogging on your joints to be too great. In addition, some joint pain may be alleviated by the cushioning included on many treadmills.

3. Cycling

Cycling is a popular form of exercise since it boosts fitness and can aid in weight loss.

While most people associate riding with the great outdoors, stationary bikes can be found in nearly any fitness centre.

At a moderate pace of 252 calories per 30 minutes, Harvard Health reports that a 155-pound (70 kg) person burns around 288 calories every 30 minutes on a bicycle travelling at a speed of 12-13.9 mph (19-22.4 km/h) (5).

Studies have shown that persons who bike on a regular basis have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and death, as well as improved overall fitness and insulin sensitivity (10, 11).

People of all fitness levels, from newbies to pros, can benefit from cycling. It's also a low-impact, weightless form of exercise, so it won't hurt your joints too much.

4. Weight training

Lifting weights is a common method of weight loss.

About 108 calories are burned in 30 minutes of weight exercise for a 155-pound (70-kg) person (5).

You can increase the number of calories your body burns at rest, or your resting metabolic rate (RMR), by engaging in weight exercise (12 Trusted Sources).

Strength training for 11 minutes three times a week can boost your metabolism by 7.4 percent, according to a 6-month research. According to the results, that boost equated to an additional 125 daily calories burned (13Trustworthy Source).

Another study indicated that after 24 weeks of weight training, men's metabolic rates increased by 9%, which translates to an extra daily calorie burn of about 140. For women, this equates to an extra 50 calories a day (14Trustworthy Source).

Studies have also demonstrated that unlike aerobic exercise, weight training causes your body to continue burning calories even after you've stopped moving.

5. Interval training

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a frequent name for interval training, which simply refers to the same concept but with a shorter name.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) typically lasts 10-30 minutes and can burn a lot of calories.

Nine healthy males participated in a study that demonstrated HIIT to be 25-30% more efficient at burning calories per minute than weight training, cycling, and treadmill running (16Trustworthy Source).

This means that you can get more out of your workout time with HIIT.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been proven to be particularly efficient in reducing abdominal fat, which has been linked to several health problems (17, 18).

HIIT is a simple addition to any existing workout plan. The only things you have to do are decide on an activity (such running, jumping, or riding) and a time frame (for both exercise and recovery).

On a bike, for instance, you may go all out for 30 seconds before slowing down for another minute or two. Do this for 10 to 30 minutes.

6. Swimming

Swimming is a great activity to help you get in shape and burn calories.

According to Harvard Health, a person who weighs 155 pounds (70 kilogrammes) should expect to burn about 216 calories in a half an hour of swimming (5).

It indicates that caloric expenditure varies with swimming technique. According to research conducted on competitive swimmers (19Trustworthy Source), the breaststroke burns the most calories, followed by the butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle.

Twelve weeks of swimming for 60 minutes three times weekly reduced body fat, increased flexibility, and lowered numerous risk factors for heart disease in middle-aged women (20 Trusted Source).

Swimming's low-impact nature is beneficial since it reduces stress on the joints. As a result, those with injuries or joint pain have a viable alternative.

7. Yoga

To unwind and strengthen one's body, yoga has gained widespread popularity.

While it may not be the first exercise that comes to mind when thinking of ways to shed pounds, dancing actually burns quite a few calories and has many other health benefits that make it an excellent choice.

According to Harvard Health, a 144-calorie deficit will occur after 30 minutes of yoga practise for a 155-pound (70-kilogram) individual (5).

Sixty overweight women participated in a 12-week trial, and those who practised yoga for 90 minutes twice weekly saw the greatest reduction in waist circumference (1.5 inches or 3.8 cm).

The yoga group as a whole also saw their emotional and physical health improve.

Yoga has several benefits outside weight loss, including the ability to focus and calm the mind. (22)Reliable References.

Yoga classes are available at most gyms, but you don't need a gym to do yoga. Learning can be done anywhere with an internet connection, including at home, thanks to the abundance of helpful online tutorials.

8. Pilates

Pilates is a fantastic activity that can help you reduce weight and is also perfect for beginners.

A 30-minute Pilates lesson for beginners will burn 108 calories for a person weighing roughly 140 pounds (64 kg), whereas an advanced class will burn 168 calories for the same person in the same amount of time (23).

Pilates may not be as effective at fat loss as cardiovascular activities like jogging, but many individuals find it fun, making it more likely they will continue doing it.

Compared to a control group that didn't exercise at all, 37 middle-aged women who practised Pilates for 90 minutes three times a week saw significant reductions in waist, stomach, and hip circumference after 8 weeks (24 Trusted Source).

In addition to helping you lose weight, Pilates can also help you become stronger, more balanced, more flexible, and more endurance-oriented (25Trustworthy Source, 26Trustworthy Source), which is great news for your back health.

If you're interested in giving Pilates a try, you can ease into it by adding a few sessions per week. You can perform Pilates on your own, or you can join one of the many fitness centres that now offer Pilates classes.

Pilates is most effective for weight loss when combined with a nutritious diet and other forms of exercise, such as weight training and cardiovascular exercise.

How much weight can you realistically expect to lose?

There are a lot of variables that affect how much weight you might anticipate to lose with exercise.

Among these are:

People who are heavier to begin with have a greater BMR (basal metabolic rate). What this means is that your body uses this many calories just keeping you alive. Your resting and working caloric expenditure will be higher if your basal metabolic rate is high (27Trustworthy Source).

Age: As you become older, you naturally gain more fat and less muscle, which lowers your BMR. When your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is low, weight loss can be challenging (28 Trusted Source).

BMR can be affected by gender because women often have a higher fat-to-muscle ratio than men. Therefore, even when both sexes consume the same number of calories (29), men typically experience faster weight loss.

Calorie deficit weight loss happens when energy expenditure exceeds dietary intake. This means that a calorie deficit is necessary for weight loss (30Trustworthy Source).

Lack of sleep has been shown to delay the rate at which you lose weight (31Trustworthy Source), and to increase your desires for high-calorie foods (32Trustworthy Source).

Illnesses and injuries Medical problems such as depression and hypothyroidism have been linked to sluggish weight loss in certain patients (33).

Genetics Some people with obesity may have trouble losing weight due to genetic factors, according to research (34Reliable Source).

Experts recommend aiming for a weight loss of 1% of your body weight per week (35Trustworthy Source), which translates to a loss of 1-2 pounds (0.5-1.36 kg) per week, despite the fact that most people desire to lose weight quickly.

The health risks of rapid weight loss should not be underestimated. Gallstones, dehydration, exhaustion, malnutrition, headaches, irritability, constipation, hair loss, and irregular periods are just a few of the health problems that might arise as a result (36 Trusted Source, 37).

In addition, rapid weight loss is associated with a higher risk of regaining the lost weight (37).

It's crucial to remember that weight loss is not a straight line, and that first rapid weight loss is to be expected.

The bottom line

There are several weight loss-friendly exercises out there.

Weight training, interval training, yoga, Pilates, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, and so on are all excellent options for shedding pounds.

However, there are a wide variety of additional exercises that might also be helpful.

Pick an activity that you will look forward to doing regularly. This increases the likelihood that you will maintain your effort over time.