Exercises to Lose Weight

Javier Colomer 8 min. of reading Training Routines Leave a comment

Finding the Best Exercises to Lose Weight can feel like finding the “Holy Grail”.

There are actually plenty of effective routines to lose weight, some gentler, others stricter, and generally, they can be adapted to each person’s level. What really matters is that you find the exercises that suit you best, so you can squeeze them for maximum benefit.

Lose Fat, Not Weight

While the idea is to “lose weight”: Losing Weight is not the same as Losing Fat

Some people struggle to “get” this concept. Improving our body composition (lowering fat percentage and maintaining muscle mass) should be the top priority.

It doesn’t matter if there are 3 weeks left before your vacation and you haven’t had time to “do your homework”, what’s important is that you realize this journey is a long-distance race.

Don’t trust the scale, better try on those pants that didn’t fit before…

Following a motivating and effective plan can be even more important, as it will let you exercise no matter when or how…

Complement Strength Training

If our goal is to lose weight, strength training should be the pillar to build on

Add exercises that help increase calorie burn, and therefore aid weight loss. These exercises share a common trait: they work the cardiovascular or aerobic system.

Strength training is key to keeping our metabolism active

We can emphasize fat use as an energy source during fat-burning exercises

Effective Exercises to Lose Weight

As we said, it depends on the person to choose exercises based on their level and fitness, but among the options out there, we’ll introduce those considered quite effective at boosting calorie burn.

These exercises aim to maximize calorie consumption in the shortest time possible.

Forget endless hours of “cardio” on the treadmill, there are more effective and, above all, way more enjoyable methods

Some will be really motivating from the start, others will take time, but they’ll surely become great tools for weight control

Exercises to Lose Weight at Home

Most of the exercises suggested can be done perfectly at home, so now there’s no excuse!

For some, you’ll just need to spend a bit on some equipment (like a jump rope…), but the investment is definitely worth it.

Using your own body weight to exercise at home is another cool way to lose weight

Diet to Lose Weight

It’s no use grinding yourself in training if your diet doesn’t match your goal

Unless you’re an ultra trail athlete, burning an insane amount of calories, and generally, these people “can overlook” what they eat while in their sports phase (What would you eat after running 100 km in the mountains…?).

A good starting point would be to follow the HSN Protocol to Lose Fat

If you want to shed those extra kilos, you need to know that your training plan goes hand in hand with maintaining the right eating habits

Most Powerful Exercises to burn fat and lose weight

Jump Rope

Easy, simple, can be done anywhere, for the whole family, and in just a few minutes, your shirt soaked in sweat… Jump rope is one of the most effective exercises to burn calories fast.

Jumping is a plyometric exercise, meaning it involves explosive movements in short bursts.

No wonder professional boxers include jump rope to improve cardiovascular system, boost calorie burn, and stay in shape.

We can adjust the jump frequency: try to beat your record by increasing the number of jumps within time windows. For example, during 20 min, in odd minutes try to do the max jumps, and in even minutes rest

Burpees

You know when you start an exercise and you’re already tired…? Well, burpees have that effect. If you challenge someone familiar with burpees to a face-off, they’ll probably say, “okay, you win…”.

They’re really psychological, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Still, they’re super effective to get your heart rate through the roof and complement a routine to increase calorie burn. You can do them anywhere…

My favorite way to train burpees is with the Tabata method, doing 8 rounds of 20″ burpees and 10″ rest. You can chain several “tabatas” with a minute rest between them

“Rope Training” or Battle Ropes

If you go to the gym and see ropes on the floor tied at one end in the functional training area, they’re basically handing you a way to start burning calories! This exercise is addictive but also pretty tiring, gotta say. It forces you to keep your core fully engaged with every rope wave.

One of the best ways is to do the exercise timed: you can go for 15-20 min, keeping a work-rest rhythm of 30″-30″

Wall Ball Shot

For some, it has the same effect as burpees, which is good because it means it’s motivating, though it’s quite exhausting. It’s an exercise that involves a range of skills and abilities: maintaining proper posture, stabilization, coordination, agility, precision…

And on top of that, you’re doing squats…

Lots of variables that indeed use up a lot of your body’s resources, and it can be a great finisher to end a workout with this kind of “cardio” and help in your weight loss phase.

When doing wall ball shots, you can aim to complete a max number of throws, say 100, divided into rounds (4 sets of 25), where the goal is to do all throws in a row and then rest briefly, just enough to catch your breath…

Kettlebell Swings

Another gym tool, not so well known (or rather used): kettlebells

They’re a type of dumbbell, and just holding them triggers a reaction in your body because you have to constantly activate stabilizer muscles, and that, my friends, burns calories, especially if you include it in a metabolic circuit…

Basically, it’s because the center of gravity shifts when holding the handle, unlike regular dumbbells. You could say kettlebell training is functional…

Kettlebell swings are an effective way to burn calories in a short time

To train kettlebell swings, you can do it like wall ball throws: set a max number of swings and do them in rounds. If you have a kettlebell at home, you can go bigger: set a daily max, say 300 swings, and try to do sets of 15 or 20 throughout the day.

Squats

If you ever get to the gym and “don’t know what to train”, remember this: Squats are your friends!

By now, no one can miss the many benefits of squats. It’s an exercise that effectively works the lower body and also activates indirect muscles for stabilization, among other reasons. However, knowing the correct technique is key. I’m talking about deep squats, of course.

Try doing 10 sets of 10 squats, with a weight around 60% of your 1RM or One Repetition Maximum (if you never calculated it, use a weight you could easily do 12-15 squats with). Rest less than 2 min between sets. Oh, and keep a towel handy…

Fartlek

My favorite way to run

Fartlek, which originated in Sweden around 1940, literally means “Speed Play”, and since it has the word “play” in it, it should be fun, right?

Well, I’m afraid fun depends on who you ask. This way of running is quite similar to HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training, though Fartlek sessions tend to be longer (a well-done HIIT is very short, just the effective part…).

What I like most is that you can do it anywhere, and you set the “game” yourself, following the basic rule: there are two paces, one fast (not a sprint or HIIT level) and a lighter recovery pace.

One of the biggest benefits, besides improving fitness, is boosting the Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption or EPOC, which obviously increases energy expenditure.

You can do a Fartlek to lose weight like this: complete 5 rounds with 3 min rest between, of: 15″-15″ + 30″-30″ + 60″-60″ (fast pace – recovery pace)