3 Best Workouts for Weight Loss, According to Experts

In today’s fast-paced world, carving out time for workouts can be challenging. However, health experts emphasize that even a brief 15-minute daily exercise routine can significantly improve your well-being, demonstrating that even small adjustments can yield substantial health benefits. For those aiming for weight loss, understanding the most effective exercises is crucial. Many fitness programs promise guaranteed results, making the selection process potentially confusing. Fortunately, any form of physical activity contributes positively to overall health, regardless of weight loss objectives. To clarify the optimal workouts for weight loss, we consulted fitness professionals.

Effective Exercises for Weight Loss

1. Cardio

Cardiovascular exercise, or cardio, is a common initial choice for individuals seeking weight loss. While cardio excels at elevating heart rate and burning calories, it may not be the most efficient stand-alone method for shedding pounds. Cardio plays a vital role in any weight loss strategy, but combining it with muscle-building exercises enhances results significantly. Incorporating cardio and strength training into your weekly routine is highly recommended.

Cardio: Interval Training vs. Steady-State

The effectiveness of cardio for weight loss varies depending on the approach. Both steady-state and interval-based cardio contribute to a balanced fitness regimen, yet they differ in their execution.

Cardio Intervals: Interval cardio encompasses various activities like running, jogging, walking, or cycling but incorporates alternating periods of high and low intensity for recovery. For example, you might alternate sprinting with jogging. High-intensity intervals are typically short, lasting one to two minutes, followed by recovery periods roughly twice as long (two to four minutes), adjusted based on the specific workout.

Steady-State Cardio: Steady-state cardio involves maintaining a consistent pace during exercises like running or cycling. It effectively boosts endurance and stamina while burning calories by raising your heart rate, although generally to a lesser extent than interval training. Research suggests that interval training, such as HIIT, is more effective for weight loss compared to steady-state cardio. Many fitness enthusiasts alternate between steady-state and interval-based cardio sessions. A diverse range of cardio workouts exists, including biking, jogging, walking, and dancing. Even with weight loss as a primary goal, high-impact exercises are not mandatory, particularly for those concerned about joint stress.

High-Impact vs. Low-Impact Cardio

Both high-impact and low-impact cardio are beneficial. However, if joint health is a concern or previous injuries restrict high-impact movements, low-impact cardio offers a suitable alternative. Combining low-impact cardio with bodyweight exercises, such as the LIT Method, a low-impact, high-intensity workout, can be effective.

“Compound low-impact movements are among the best exercises for weight loss because they engage multiple major muscle groups, maximizing calorie expenditure while protecting your joints,” explains Justin Norris, personal trainer and co-founder of LIT Method. “Examples include squats, inchworms, modified burpees, and marchers. These low-impact exercises are high-intensity movements that are guaranteed to elevate your heart rate and allow for more frequent workouts.”

2. Strength Training

Strength training, whether utilizing body weight or lifting weights, stands out as a highly effective method for weight loss. It promotes fat reduction while simultaneously building muscle, which is advantageous for metabolism. Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, resulting in increased daily calorie expenditure, even during rest.

While muscle mass is not a substitute for dietary adjustments in weight loss, it plays a supportive role. The choice between lighter or heavier weights depends on individual preferences, but each approach necessitates a distinct strategy for effective muscle development. Generally, lighter weights demand higher repetitions and sets, while heavier weights require fewer reps and sets.

Strength training often incorporates dumbbells or weight machines, but specialized equipment is not essential. Utilizing body weight as resistance is a convenient and highly effective workout approach.

“Strength training is pivotal for weight loss because increased muscle mass translates to increased calorie burn,” states Bryna Carracino, fitness coach and founding trainer of BFIT New York. “Greater lean muscle mass elevates metabolism, thereby facilitating healthy weight loss.”

Full-Body Strength Training Workout by Bryna Carracino

Dumbbell Squat

Hold dumbbells racked on shoulders or with the back ends pressed into the front of the shoulder. Beginners may keep dumbbells at their sides.

• Initiate the squat as if sitting in a chair, pushing your hips back and lowering your body while maintaining a forward chest posture.
• Lift all ten toes to ensure weight is distributed towards your heels, engaging the posterior chain.
• Drive back up to standing, pushing through your heels and engaging glutes and hamstrings.

Medicine Ball Wood Chop

• Begin with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a medicine ball at chest level with both hands.
• Rotate your torso to the right, raising the medicine ball above your right shoulder.
• Squat and rotate to the left, bringing the medicine ball diagonally down towards the outside of your left foot.

Burpees

• Start with a squat, then place hands on the floor and jump back into a push-up position.
• Lower your body completely to the ground.
• Push back up to a push-up position.
• Jump feet forward, landing outside of hands, then jump as high as possible.

Modification: Remove jumping elements. Step back into plank, step forward into a squat, and omit the final jump.

3. Compound Movements

To optimize workouts for weight loss, combining cardio with strength exercises is crucial for both calorie burning and muscle building. “For effective weight loss, incorporate full-body compound movements cycled with cardio sessions,” recommends Brooke Taylor, certified personal trainer and founder of the Ignite Program. “A compound movement is a multi-joint exercise targeting several muscle groups simultaneously.”

Taylor emphasizes, “Integrating both weight training and interval cardio is essential for altering body composition, enhancing muscle mass, and toning supporting muscles. This approach also promotes bone density and strengthens the cardiovascular system.”

Full-Body Workout Incorporating Compound Exercises

For cardio, incorporate one minute of jump rope between each exercise in the following routine.

Push-Up to Renegade Row Tricep Kickback

“This exercise activates both the anterior and posterior chains of the body, elevates heart rate, and engages deep core stabilizers,” Taylor explains.

• Begin in a plank position with hands under shoulders, holding weights, legs slightly wider than hip-width, core and glutes engaged.
• Inhale and lower into a push-up, forming a 90-degree elbow angle, exhale to push back up.
• Inhale slightly, shift weight to one side, exhale and row the opposite elbow towards ribs, extending it back to hip alignment.
• Inhale to lower arm, switch sides, and repeat the row and kickback.
• Maintain neutral pelvis and spine, engaged abs, and tight core throughout.

Burpee to Bicep Curls

• Start in a plank with shoulders over wrists.
• Exhale, jump legs into a straddle position on the mat while simultaneously performing a bicep curl.
• Inhale to lower hands.
• Repeat for 15 repetitions.

Final Considerations

Ultimately, achieving weight loss requires a calorie deficit, achieved through diet and exercise. While exercise is vital, a balanced, nutritious diet and attention to macronutrients are equally important. Managing macronutrient intake can sometimes be more straightforward than calorie counting and, according to some, more effective. Determine your optimal macronutrient ratios based on your fitness goals, potentially with guidance from a professional or using a macro calculator.

Adequate recovery is as crucial as the workouts themselves. More exercise is not always superior; allowing your body time for rest and repair is essential to prevent overtraining syndrome, which can lead to injuries, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and setbacks in your fitness objectives.