whats the best exercise to help lose weight?

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Replies

  • quill16
    quill16 Posts: 373 Member
    I run for over an hour and see how many calories I can burn. I see how fast I can do a 5K then slow down a bit for 10K. Now I am trying to talk myself into 13.1K. After running, I go into the pool and do an hour of arm. leg , and toning exercise, then its the hot tub for a 20 min rest.You have to figure out what you can do regularly and keep doing for the long haul. The running plus calorie intake does it for me. On the days I just do the pool I seem to just maintain.
  • sandrajune72
    sandrajune72 Posts: 492 Member
    I'm no expert, but all the advice I've had is cardio, cardio, cardio! It doesn't matter how, just move that booty girl!! Best of luck :happy:
  • BarbaraC47
    BarbaraC47 Posts: 175 Member
    Well done with the weight loss - I'm in pretty much the same boat as you are. I am joining a gym and up till now my only exercise is walking, walking, walking. I am gonna have a go at everything in the gym and probably stick with the one I like the best to start with..... I do hope you find something that works for you!! :smile:
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
    honestly? Eat less and move more...and eat BETTER...quality, organic and less process/sodium...

    drink your water..that's gospel...

    just move more...

    however...they say running is the best overall cardio activity.
  • jsabet
    jsabet Posts: 51 Member
    i have been going to the gym almost everyday. i do 30 min on treadmill. the first part is trying to see how fast i can do a mile and am at 17.33 minutes now then i finish with trying to see how much a can do in 30 min and up to 1.70 miles now. then i do the machines for between 15 25 min. i throw the elliptical in there some days for 7 to 10 min. you read that cardio is not helping the weight u are suppose to do the machines first then the other was around. i am a 48 year old and 314 lbs. i have lost 21 lbs so far but want to do the best i can with this exercise for the most benefit. any suggestions?

    What's the best exercise to help lose weight?

    1.) The one you like doing, that you keep doing.

    2.) If you really wanna burn, interval training. Don't worry about distance. Just alternate between a minute of heavy pace running and a minute to two minutes (depending on your heart rate) of brisk jogging. Don't slow down to a walk. Slow down to a brisk pace that you can sustain and relax your heart rate.

    15 minutes of that has a better effect on burning fat than a sustained pace for 30 minutes if done right.

    3.) Something new every day. Your body adapts to make workouts easier. Alternate your workouts and keep your body guessing.
  • @igrsprs

    There are many fat burning zone calculators online. Just enter your data and you will get a rough calculation.

    One thing I found is I was working at too hard of an intensity and was never in my fat burning zone, according to the powers that be this will eventually get you there but if your goal is mainly reducing your weight as mine is at the moment it is more effective to go longer and in the fat loss zone. I've only been using a HRM for a couple of weeks now so we'll see if this proves correct next time I way myself.
  • jonthetrain
    jonthetrain Posts: 8 Member
    I couldnt bang out mile after mile on a treadmill it would bore me silly. So for my weight loss cardio i do 5 minutes row, five minutes cross trainer, 5 minutes treadmill then 5 minutes bike. I will do 3 curcuits and try to up the tempo on each curcuit. If, weather permitting., i go outside i will use lamp posts and walk to the first one, jog to next then sprint to the third and repeat for 20 minutes then a jog back,
  • HypersonicFitNess
    HypersonicFitNess Posts: 1,219 Member
    I'm going to recommend circuit training; even though you are at a heavier weight you can still do circuit training. The combining of cardio and weight training into one workout. The other part of that is blood flow and by that I mean doing something that gets you on the floor followed by something that has you up, then down again. Yes, it's tough, yes it's difficult...but it will get your cardio going, your blood flowing and your body working.

    If you are going to a gym, get a trainer

    Otherwise you can put together any cardio/weight training exercises you want to do for a circuit

    Work large muscle groups first (legs, chest, back)
    Followed by small muscle groups -- shoulders, biceps, triceps
    Abs can be tossed in anywhere *****NOTE Abs are the only muscle you can train to go IN or OUT, so make sure you are PULLING them IN or you can train them to PUSH OUT.

    Also, to get the most out of your weight training portion, you can include a large muscle group with every small muscle group...you'll burn more (side lunges and arm curls)

    You can start with a 5 minute warm up (this can be 5 minutes on the treadmill)
    2 minute cardio (or less if you cannot do 2 minutes yet) -- jumping jacks, mountain climbers, running in place (keep in mind for every exercise there is a low impact version or modified version....just google it)
    1 minute of a weight training exercise (like squats, lunges, leg press, chest press, pull downs)

    Remember FORM (quality) is more important than quantity

    Good Luck!
  • polo571
    polo571 Posts: 708 Member
    If you have access to an arc machine I suggest doing hiit.
  • Please be careful running (whether on a treadmill or not) until you loose some more weight because you are putting a lot of pressure on your knee joints carrying your current weight. Please accept that weight loss is a long term goal. Its great that you have lost what you have so far. Keep going and it will continue to fall. A cross-trainer is a good machine to use. Regular walking is also excellent to get your stamina levels up for when you are at a weight where you can start more vigorous training such as running etc.
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    whats the best exercise to help lose weight?

    Whatever you most enjoy doing.
  • mrk34
    mrk34 Posts: 227 Member


    I agree with the last sentence. I once read weightloss is 75% what we eat and 25% exercise. Then a couple years later it was 80% what we eat and 20% exercise. However- the running part?? I don't know. If you are more than 20 pounds over weight you can hurt your knees, hips and feet (plantar faccitis) if you run. No matter what kind of shoes you are wearing. My husband runs and has for over half his life. His experience in watching people with running is that the biggest misconception with running is people run to lose weight, when in fact you need to lose weight to run otherwise you can hurt yourself. Low impact aerobics will help your cardiovascular system for sure and burn some fat. Resistance training mixed in with it will tone and help your muscles get stronger, and that is never a bad thing :) Congrats on the life change!


    I agree. Your husband’s views and your recommendations are so right.

    I did not communicate clearly. I meant that if any form of exercise had any impact on the weight loss, it would be running.

    However, generally the exercise impact on weight loss is not significant.

    I attempted to start running two years ago, when I was 261 pounds. Two weeks later I injured my left knee, had surgery, and had to wait a year to receive medical clearance from my surgeon to start running. I did, and I have been running since. During 12 months of my recovery I lost 67 pounds with no exercise.