Best exercise for weight loss

julie3079

julie3079

New member
hi,
I have been following a calorie controlled diet for a few months and have managed to lose 27lbs so far. I'm losing on average 1.5-2lb a week which I know is a steady weight loss. I am joining my local gym and wondering the best workout to boost my weight loss? I do not want to build muscle but would like to be more toned. Any suggestions? Many thanks Julie.
 
Alot of girls make the assumption that by lifting weights; even weights that are not heavy for them are going to make them "muscle y and bulky". It's not true at all, unless you're taking growth medications. (Protein supplements don't count)

My first suggestion is to hire a personal trainer for one session. They can orientate you around the gym, show you how to properly do the exercises, and how to use the gear. The can also give you a plan fitted for your goals, ie: weight loss. Also watch people. You'll notice people with certain physiques do similar things.

The best exercises are the ones that use your larger muscle groups. Your butt is your biggest muscle, and it burns the most calories. Squats are great for working the butt. Doing things like push ups and chins ups may be hard for girls, but they're great exercises. These are refered to as "compound exercises", you'll be able to find tons of these on google.

You should also know that you can't spot kill fat. So if you're not pleased with fat around your thighs, it wont come off by only working your thighs. It will once you bring your overall body fat to a certain percentage (genetics also plays a part) That isn't to say you should neglect any specific body part. Do it all!

Cardio is also important, but don't go overboard. If you do too much cardio, I find that just makes you hungrier and want to eat more, even if you resist temptation, it won't necessarily lose weight that much faster. Cross training cardio is the best route, meaning do a combination of things if you can: running, biking, elliptical, swimming, ect.

Your body will be causing you pain for the first while. It takes a bit for the nervous system to adapt to the damage you're doing to it. Typically, within 3 weeks that pain will settle down a lot.

A rule of thumb I use for weights is that if i can lift it 6 times or more, it isn't heavy enough. You should follow the same principle, but maybe increase that number to around 10. That's my personal estimate, a personal trainner might recommend something different. I find high rep exercises to only be useful for people who have achieved the weight/body composition that they want; to refine strength and work on the finer muscle fibres. If you can do something 15 times, it's too light.

Don't neglect proper diet, it's just as important, if not moreso than exercise. Good luck!
 
Best exercise? Just exercise! LOL Though that is totally true in the most basic sense, I have gotten great advice on this forum about using resistance training to help combat muscle loss during weight loss. Yes, you'll burn calories while performing the moves, but the magic is in the calorie usage your body systems will be using to help repair that tissue over the next day or so. Twofold, muscle burns more than fat, so that should be your incentive to maintaining your current muscle mass.

And don't worry about gaining muscle during all of this. Females just don't have the ability to make big enough muscle gains, especially not in the beginning- it takes female body builders a lot of time, hard work--and sometimes hormone treatments--to get to their size. Since you're currently in a caloric deficit, proof being in your diet and your consistent weight loss, your body won't have enough materials to build larger muscles on you. So, that coupled with the fact that you are female, you've got nothing to worry about in terms of gaining muscle.

Resistance training is a fantastic tool in weight loss, IMO.

Add to that some cardio 2-3 times a week, and you'll be golden. Don't worry if you can't complete 20 minutes all in one shot- I started out with run/walk intervals for 20 minutes (run 1 minute, walk 30 seconds or run 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds). To me, that was a great stepping stone into building up my endurance to run 20 full minutes. This can also be done using a bike, workout DVDs, elliptical machine, stair climber, swimming, etc.

Cardio has many health benefits beyond burning calories for weight loss. You'll build your endurance and enhance systems not stimulated by lifting weights alone. By incorporating both (either one at a time or together, just so long as you eventually use them both in your workout plan), as well as a healthy diet, you'll enjoy the benefits of having a well-rounded health and fitness plan. Just some of those benefits being weight loss, improved fitness, higher energy, and a better sense of self.

Good luck to you!! Let us know how you do!!
 
Advice

Thanks for the advice guys it was really useful. I wasn't really concerned about the appearance of muscle though just the affect on weight loss as that is the measure I am using for my success. I think I will take body measurements as well just to monitor my progress also. Great tips many thanks :hurray:
 
Stretch your muscles!

In addition to the above replies I would suggest stretching. It will make your muscles and joints more flexible and tone them up.
 
hi first of all congratulations on your weight loss that is truly some huge numbers you are pulling.
As far as a technique to use i would suggest this one:

Go to a treadmill or exercise bike.
Simple warm up
Then when your warm increase speed (steady pace) a bit higher for about 1 to 1.30 mins
Then for 30 seconds increase the speed to your max.

continue this process over and over until you believe you can't go on anymore.


Hope it helps let me know if you try it
 
mpod said:
In addition to the above replies I would suggest stretching. It will make your muscles and joints more flexible and tone them up.
Click to expand...

Flexible? yes. "toned" no.

Dont get me wrong, I do advise stretching. Just not for that reason.
 
Coddy said:
The best exercise is the one to whom you enjoy. Exercising forcefully is not a good option to loose weight. Choose exercise according to your interest. You may choose any sport also. If you like to go to gym then you should go with that. Choosing exercise according to your liking is the best exercise to loose weight.
Click to expand...

I like the exercises that get the best results.... So now what?...
 
Well The best exercises are the ones that use your larger muscle groups. Your butt is your biggest muscle, and it burns the most calories. Squats are great for working the butt. Doing things like push ups and chins ups may be hard for girls, but they're great exercises.
 
Just to say I had exactly the same question and the advice has been very helpful :) as I'm joining a gym for the first time next month.
 
jasikamarshel said:
It is a common misconception that aerobic exercise tones and firms muscles,Actually it accomplishes very little toning and firming. Resistance exercise weight training is where real toning and firming of muscles occurs,There are many options to choose from today,Bicycling, aerobic dance, swimming, walking, and stepping are all examples of aerobic exercise,Which ones to chose depends on your physical condition, your history, your interests and your goals,Many experts believe it is better to alternate between 2 or more types, to get a better workout,from now you are going to avoid all the low calorie/faded foods,These crazy foods will increase your fat, but not fat burning hormones. In scientific terms, fat burning hormones increases with good calorie foods, first you need to increase metabolism,This could be easily done with the input of right amount of calories at the right time. Shifting the calories in each and every meal also boosts metabolism,The combination of right exercise and right diet to peak metabolism is the success behind the latest weight loss program. With this routine, you can easily drop more weight in four weeks.
Click to expand...

The bullshit is strong in this one.
 
Jynus said:
I like the exercises that get the best results.... So now what?...
Click to expand...

:p

"best results" needs context. If your goal is to be a marathon runner, then lifting weights is not the exercise to give you the best results. If your goal is to be a body builder, then running is probably not the exercise to give you the best results. If your goal is to lose weight, the best "exercise" is calorie counting. You can lose weight without any physical exercise at all, but you can exercise until your legs fall off and you won't lose any weight if you're eating too much. Physical exercise comes second to diet, to maximise fat loss, minimize muscle loss, and better general fitness.
 
I think Walking is said to be one of the best exercises for losing weight. and Running with At 7 minute mile running per day.
 
smithsjhons said:
I think Walking is said to be one of the best exercises for losing weight. and Running with At 7 minute mile running per day.
Click to expand...

it's actually one of the worst... the best exercises for weight/fat loss are ones that make use of the bodies atp-cp and lactic acid energy systems continually. Cardio does not do this...

This is why people doing strength or sprint training for things like the olympics need like 10k calories a day, just because their body uses that much energy from the extreme demand that type of exercise requires. Myself without doing any cardio at all have seen aprox a doubling of calories needed to gain weight due simply to 6 hours of strength training a week.. So don't kid yourself, the "best" exercises by far are any that are intense enough to make use of those higher energy systems..

the catch is of course that the vast majority of beginners to weight loss simply cannot exercises at this level of intensity, this is why for a lot of people, cardio may be "best for them". But once they get a few months into training, they should be looking to make the switch away from cardio and into higher intensity resistance training to truely maximize results.
 
Just my own experience, I find I can lose weight by walking but sometimes my metabolism slows down if I'm lowering my calorie count. However when I strength train, my metabolism tends to stay higher and I find I lose weight a lot quicker. I prefer working my upper body every second day. Even something as simple as push-ups will do it. All the best. =)
 
This is a common misconception that aerobic exercise tones and firms muscles. In fact, it gets a little 'refreshing and toning. Resistance exercise is when the real toning and firming the muscles occurs.

Do both aerobic and weight training is the best way to lose more fat and gain more muscle. If you try to lose weight, studies show that weight loss increases by 56 percent with aerobic and strength training combined.
 
weigt loss treadmill

Treadmill is effective in burning the unwanted fat, because it gets your heart rate going. When the heart rate increases-your body is making use of fat or calories to keep moving. Be careful, and increase the speed gradually.

Note down your target heart rate- to know your heart rate, minus your age from 220. Now multiply this number by 0.6 and 0.9. The number you will get is the target heart rate you should look for. The best possible option is to buy a heart rate monitor which you can wear when using the treadmill or during other exercises.
 
Running is more effective than regular exercise for weight loss.Running requires a lot of energy and lots of calories are being burnt by the body while running.
 
You can also try cycling and swimming. I'm sure it will not make you muscular but trim and beautiful.Who says muscles are bad any way !!!!!!. CHEERS
 
Ideally you need to combine cardio (running, cycling etc) with resistance training. Its really important to do resistance training as this is what tones the muscle. Light/medium weights, high reps = toning NOT bodybuilding!

XSM
 
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