What are the best exercises to lose weight – 4 Effective home exercises
Today we are going to delve into the most pertinent question, namely what are the best exercises to lose weight.
Losing weight is an absolute nightmare for many of us, and sadly, it is much, much harder to lose weight than it is to gain weight. Now, when it comes to weight loss, of course you need to ensure that you watch what you eat, and that you consume fresh, healthy, and nutritious foods, whilst keeping your calorie consumption in a deficit, but that is only half of the battle.
As well as following a healthy diet, you also need to ensure that you get plenty of exercise and physical activity as well. Healthy weight loss is all about balance, and ideally it should be gradual, being obtained via a combination of exercise and healthy diet protocols.
As far as working out is concerned however, one of the best excuses that people like to make, is claiming that they don’t have enough time to get to the gym and train. They’ll claim that they’re too busy to travel to the gym in an evening after work, yet they will find the time to sit in front of the TV and watch absolute nonsense for several hours each night.
Some people genuinely don’t have the time to travel to the gym of course, and some people can’t afford to do so, but even so, that does not mean that they can’t exercise.
In reality, you can actually exercise in the comfort of your own home, and still lose weight. People often wonder ‘what is the best exercise to lose weight’, when in reality there isn’t just one, there are several. Here’s a look at some effective exercises you can perform at home, to help you achieve a healthy weight loss.
4 Best Exercises to Lose Weight:
Mountain Climbers – Don’t worry, you don’t really need to climb a mountain in order for these exercises to be effective. In fact, you don’t really need to leave your front room if you don’t want.
Mountain climbers exercise is a very effective body weight exercise, that helps to not only obliterate calories, but they also help to strengthen and tone the core, as well as various other muscle groups in the process, especially those located in the legs. It is one of the best exercises to lose weight fast.
The exercise gets its name, because when you perform it, you simulate the movements you would perform if you were climbing a real mountain. Here’s what to do:
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- Begin by getting into a standard push-up position, making sure your hands are firmly planted on the floor.
- Next, bring up one knee of the ground, and bring it as close to your chest as you can, making sure to keep the other one where it is.
- Next, in a controlled manner, return the leg back to where it was, and repeat the motion with the opposite leg.
- Continuously switch legs making sure to keep up a relatively fast tempo, and repeat for as many reps as required.
Push-ups – Push-ups are perhaps the most common home exercises in the world, but that doesn’t make them any less effective. Push-ups are great for achieving a healthy weight because not only do they help to burn calories, but they also tone and build muscles as well. The exercise primarily targets the chest, though it also functions as a compound exercise as it works the triceps, the deltoids, and even the core as well. Although the first few may seem easy, after several reps, you’ll begin to feel the burn and those dreaded calories will begin to melt away. Here’s how to perform push-ups:
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- First, place your palms firmly on the ground just wider than shoulder-width apart, and extend your legs backwards so that your toes bear most of your weight.
- Next, drop your back so that it makes a flat line from your ankles to your shoulders, and, bending at the elbows, begin to slowly lower yourself down to the ground.
- Keep going until your chest grazes the ground, hold for a second, and then slowly return to the starting position, where you should begin feeling a deep stretch in your chest.
- Repeat for as many reps as required.
Squat jumps – For people looking to maximise their fat loss, the squat jump is considered by many to be the best exercise for weight loss. Squat jumps are plyometric exercises that combine the squats with a jumping movement – hence the name. Users basically squat down, and rather than reversing the exercise to return to the starting position, they instead jump up into the air. Squat jumps really target the leg muscles and recruit fast-twitch muscle fibres, which in turn helps to generate explosive power and speed. Here’s what to do:
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- Begin by placing your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Next, stick your butt out in the same manner as you would if you were sitting down on a chair.
- Slowly squat down, making sure to keep your head up, and keep going until your knees are at least parallel to the floor.
- Then, pushing through your heels, generate as much force as you can, and jump upwards into the air.
- As soon as you land, repeat the process and return to the squatting position, and repeat for as many reps as required.
Burpees – If you were to attend any circuit training class, or any Boot Camp class placing an emphasis on fat loss, burpees would almost certainly feature heavily, and rightfully so. Burpees strengthen the core and legs, whilst burning calories and providing cardiovascular benefits in the process. In terms of the best exercises to lose weight at home, burpees are certainly contenders for that title. Here’s how they’re performed:
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- Begin by squatting down from a standing position, making sure to place your palms down flat on the ground, just next to the position of your feet.
- You should then jump backwards with both feet, until your legs are now in a push up position. During this movement, your hands should not have moved at all.
- You should then jump forwards with your feet, hopping them underneath your body, before you jump up into the air as hard as you can.
- Upon landing, you should instantly get back into the low squatting position and then repeat the exercise for as many reps as required.
So there you have it, just 4 incredibly effective, and relatively simple exercises that you can perform in the comfort of your own home. If you’re struggling to find the time to exercise and hit the gym, why not break out the exercises included above and have yourself one heck of a workout, without even setting foot through your own front door?