What exercise is best?

JD0710
JD0710 Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all

I am keeping my calories to 1200 and hoping I might get somewhere! I want to know what exercise is best though. Should I do lots of swimming or lots of running? Or neither...? I'm a little confused as to which direction to take..!

Replies

  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    what is it you wanna do? do something you enjoy.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited May 2016
    There is not "best"..."best" is completely relative to your goals...as in your fitness goals. I'm a cyclist...thus I cycle.

    As far as weight management goes, not exercise is required (though I don't recommend that)...you simply have to consume less energy (calories) than you expend regardless of whether or not you're exercising or not. If exercise was simply for losing weight, why would all of these lean, healthy, and fit people like me be doing it who aren't trying to lose weight.

    Do what you like to do and what you will do consistently. That's all that matters.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    what is it you wanna do? do something you enjoy.

    This^

    Find something you enjoy doing and hopefully you will continue to do it, even after the weight is gone. Exercise would be a great lifestyle change to help you keep the weight you lose from creeping back up.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    If by best you mean the one that burns the most calories in the least amount of time....probably running. But, exercise is meant for fitness and health (and fun) If you enjoy running then run, if you prefer swimming or cycling or tennis etc do that.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
    Try a lot of things and see what you like. If you don't belong to a gym - see if there's any local gyms that will let you have a 'trial membership' - and try everything. Treadmills, weights, classes - see what you like. Just as everyone said previously - you have to really like whatever exercise it is, so you'll keep doing it.
  • monica_823
    monica_823 Posts: 12 Member
    What's your goal? Happy to suggest based on my experience and what I learned if you give us your goal? Gain muscle, lose fat, etc...
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    What exercise is best for what? What's your goal? Saying "I hope I might get somewhere!" is like jumping in your car and taking off on a trip with no map and no destination in mind. Sure, you're going to get somewhere - but where, and when?
  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
    Another vote for doing what you enjoy. If you like swimming, swim. If you like cycling, go ride a bike. If you like Zumba, dance. Whatever keeps you active is what you should focus on.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    The best exercise is the one you enjoy the most at the moment ... or the one that fits into your schedule ... or the one that will help you meet your goals.

    I'm not that keen on running ... so ... if I decided I was going to run every day, that would probably last about a day. But I love cycling and will be on my bicycle any chance I get.

    My life is busy so it's hard to fit everything into my day. If I decided that hiking up Mt Wellington was the thing to do, I could probably squeeze that into a day on the weekends, but I couldn't manage it regularly. However, I work in an 11 story building with stairs, and I can fit stair climbing in a couple times a day on my get-up-and-stretch breaks.

    You've got to go with what works for you.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    The best exercise is the one you do. If all you do is tap your feet to the music in your ears for an 8-hour desk job, that's a calorie burn. I don't know how much, but it's real.
  • eileen0515
    eileen0515 Posts: 408 Member
    I started just walking to my mailbox for my exercise. Now I run, and hike and lift.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    Id try upping your calories a bit. 1200 is extremely low, especially if you plan on exercising regularly. For exercise though, it depends on what you enjoy most. Some people it's running, others swimming, for myself it's weight lifting. You just have to find something you enjoy doing.
  • JD0710
    JD0710 Posts: 26 Member
    That's what the app came down with for me to start losing weight. I don't struggle on it either and am never hungry.

    I was more curious on which exercise was good for burning calories but I guess all forms of exercise win! I've been on a steady 1lb a week drop and was hoping adding additional exercise might up it to 2lb a week! (I totally understand the need to drop slowly and surely).
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    If you want to lose an additional 1lb a week from just adding exercise, assuming you eat NO extra calories (which is unlikely as it'll probably make you hungrier) you'd need to burn 3,500 calories. That's quite an effort for a normal lightly active person, your calorie burn will depend on your sex, height, weight, age, fitness level etc etc but say you burn 500cal in a spin class, you need to do 7 spin classes in 1 wk to get that extra 1lb off, or run for 5.5-6hrs, or swim front crawl laps for maybe 8hrs.
    These are just rough numbers but to give you an idea that your expectation for weight loss from exercise may be a little over ambitious, maybe aim for just 0.5lb a week or less even, just concentrate on being more active in general.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Burpees!
  • buddy7ove
    buddy7ove Posts: 13 Member
    Yoga....namaste
  • sigsigsputnik
    sigsigsputnik Posts: 37 Member
    whatever you do - build up slowly and get into a habit of doing it consistently. do not use sport for losing too much weight. you should enjoy it and you are enjoying it if you keep getting better at it and are properly fuelled. local gym may offer beginner running classes. if you are overweight, be a bit careful with the amount of running you do. set yourself a realistic sport goal. that motivatrs. good luck & fun

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