What's the best type of exercise for weight loss?

Many different types of exercise help burn calories, build muscle ,and lead to weight loss.

But what's the best kind of exercise for weight loss?

The answer depends on your preferences and lifestyle as well as your goals.

Read on to learn about some different types of exercise, their positive and negative aspects, and how they can help you meet your weight loss goals while improving your health and feeling great!

Cardio vs. Resistance Training

While most people think about cardio and resistance training separately, an intelligent approach is to combine both types of workouts into one cohesive routine.

According to research published in 2013 in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, this can reduce your workout time and increase results.

The researchers found that subjects who completed an aerobic training program and a circuit resistance training workout—three days per week for four weeks—lost more body fat than those who did aerobic exercises.

(And, yes, we're talking about losing inches from your waist.)

The group doing both types of workouts lost 5% more body fat than their counterparts who were doing cardio exercises.

Even better: The total calories they burned were 64% higher than those doing cardio alone.

HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, has become wildly popular because it's a super-effective way to burn fat.

By alternating between short periods of hard work and easy rest, HIIT forces your body to break a sweat while boosting metabolism.

Researchers had two groups complete four 15-second sprints in one study, followed by 12 seconds of rest over six minutes.

One group performed that routine ten times at 85 percent max effort; the other completed ten repetitions at 50 percent max effort.

Researchers found that both groups burned around 473 calories in those six minutes—but only half that amount came from their legs!

Cycling, Running, and Walking

Research shows that people who incorporate aerobic activities into their workouts tend to be more successful with long-term weight management than those who do not.

Aerobic activities are generally characterized by light to moderate intensity and low impact on joints.

Good examples include cycling, walking, running, and swimming.

Cardiovascular exercise is even good for maintaining muscle mass as you lose fat since it supports hormone balance while reducing body fat levels in other areas.

It also has a relatively low risk of injury compared to high-impact exercises like jumping or plyometrics.

So, if your goal is to shed pounds quickly, consider pairing high-intensity exercises with cardiovascular training sessions on alternate days for optimum results.

Sports

Many men and women swear by sports as a great form of weight-loss exercise.

Marks are considered a valuable part of maintaining good health, but picking an active sport that helps support your personal fitness goals is essential.

Not all sports are created equal when assisting with weight loss, so you should choose an activity that complements your specific needs.

For example, if you're looking to build muscle mass and shed some fat, powerlifting is not ideal.

On the other hand, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may help speed up your metabolism and stimulate more muscle protein synthesis than strength training alone.

Weightlifting

There's one word that's key when it comes to gaining muscle and losing fat: progressive overload.

This means you should consistently be upping your lifting weights as you get stronger and, thus, better at losing weight.

Lifting weights—and doing so safely—can also burn more calories than fat-burning activities like cardio.

For example, an hour of yoga burns about 300 calories, while an hour of squats burns about 600 calories.

If you want to lose body fat quickly and prevent yourself from regaining those extra pounds, a combination workout that includes both strength training and cardio is ideal.

To slim down faster, try lifting weights three times a week in addition to performing 15-20 minutes of cardio each day during your strength training workouts.

Boxing & Kickboxing

Although combat sports might seem like a departure from traditional workouts, they're among some of the most effective ways to lose weight.

They incorporate one of bodyweight training's most significant benefits: building muscle.

Boxing and kickboxing both create an intense calorie burn, which has been known to increase metabolism after workouts are finished—which is why it's no surprise these cardio-kickboxing hybrids can help people drop pounds quickly.

Research has found that individuals who consistently participate in physical activity that uses large muscle groups (like in boxing or boot camps) will often be physically healthier and even live longer than those who don't work out regularly.

Yoga

The practice of yoga is as old as human history.

There are many different forms or styles, and practitioners have found that they can help improve physical health in countless ways.

Yoga has long been known to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and enhance flexibility.

Yoga also offers numerous mental benefits like improved concentration and relaxation.

Many practitioners believe that yoga is particularly effective at improving overall body tone, including muscles and fat.

By combining deep breathing techniques (pranayama) and core exercises that engage all parts of your body at once (asanas), you can lose weight while enjoying an easygoing workout routine that is good for both your mind and body.

Crossfit

If you're interested in losing fat as quickly as possible, CrossFit can be a good option.

Why?

Because your body uses up more calories while working out at such high-intensity levels, it takes a bit longer to regain them once your workout is over.

So you have a double-whammy effect that is very effective for taking off excess pounds.

Dancing and Pilates

If you're looking to drop pounds and keep them off, dance and Pilates might be your new favorite activities. Several studies have shown that people who do these workouts lose more weight and keep it off longer than those who don't.

The reasons are simple: Both dancing and Pilates are great low-impact cardio workouts.

Other Methods

When shedding pounds, you can get started in a few simple ways.

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The first is to ditch fad diets and super-restrictive methods and focus on improving your overall diet and eating more healthfully—exercising is an integral part of that, but focusing more on what you're putting in your body than on how many calories you're burning at the gym.

In other words: eat clean, train dirty. Another method is known as intermittent fasting.

You can read more about intermittent fasting here, but in short, it involves going without food (ideally water) for 12-18 hours a day and then eating during regular daylight hours.

This allows your body to enter a fasted state, which helps burn fat faster. It also gives you longer feeding windows, so you don't have to worry about when or where your next meal will come from if you're not feeling hungry.

Intermittent fasting isn't limited to time frames either; some people do 24-hour fasts once or twice per week with great results!

There are even ways to do a modified version of intermittent fasting by only restricting certain types of foods or meals throughout the week.

Again, check out our guide for more information on these strategies. Finally, don't forget that regular physical activity is key no matter what type of diet or exercise plan you're following!

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