Your body requires physical exercise for the same reason it requires food, oxygen, and water; to stay healthy. Exercise offers some unique benefits that can’t be achieved through dieting. It lets you boost your metabolism and turn your body into a fat burning machine. It also helps build muscles, gives you a toned body, and can help improve your body shape. To lose weight, you need to take part in high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, and strength training. Even though those workouts aren’t revolutionary, they have proved to offer a lean body in no time. By using these ways to lose weight, you can crush calories and build muscles that can burn fat while avoiding the burned out plateaus that most diets and exercises cause.
Many women are hesitant when it comes to lifting weights, believing that they will gain more muscle than wanted and look unattractive. What many people don’t understand is that building muscle helps to burn calories at a faster rate. The more muscle your body has, the more calories you’ll burn. By using that information to your advantage, you could get lean legs, rock-solid abs, and defined arms in no time. Some of the ways to lose weight by burning calories include:
Squat to Press
- Squats are great for slimming thighs, sculpting hamstrings, and giving you a tight bum. By adding the core and the press, the shoulders will be engaged throughout the exercise as well. Get a pair of dumbbells and place both feet hip-width apart. Bend the elbows and bring your weights to the shoulder height. Start to lower yourself down and squat, making sure that you shift your hips backward at the same time. Then raise yourself into a standing position and press the weights directly overhead. As you lower your body into the next squat, lower the weights to your shoulders again and repeat. Try to do this at a quick pace and do at least ten reps for a good workout.
Split Squat Jumps
- These are powerful jumps that will blast calories and also engage each and every muscle in the body. Start by getting into a lunging position and make sure that both of your knees are bent. Your front knee should be directly above your ankle. Place both hands on your back and jump as high as you can while switching your feet into the opposite position in which you began in. Continue on at a faster pace and do five jumps on each side for a total of ten jumps.
Single-Leg Deadlift
- This is an exercise that will target the hamstrings and glutes, thereby giving the body a perfect definition. It has the added benefit of giving you a perky bum, which is what everyone wants nowadays. Grab two dumbbells and hold them to your sides, slightly in front of your thighs. Keep your feet shoulder width apart and your knees bent slightly, then shift your weight onto one leg. Bend your hips and lower your torso while raising one leg behind you so it is in line with your torso the entire time. Bend down until you feel you’ve reached a ninety degree angle with the leg holding you up, then stand back up straight. Do at least eight reps on both sides.
Broad Jumps
- Just like other jumps, this exercise will burn more calories faster. It will also keep the heart rate up while engaging every muscle. These jumps can also improve the overall athletic performance. Begin by standing with both feet placed shoulder width apart and the knees slightly bent. Extend your arms behind your back and jump as far forward as possible, using your arms as momentum. Bend your knees as you land to avoid wobbling or bouncing and use your core muscles to remain solid. Do at least eight reps.
Jump Rope
- Jumping rope is another quick way to get cardio benefits without spending a lot of time exercising. To do it effectively, make sure that your are light on your feet and your chest is pushed out to keep yourself from slouching. Use your wrists more than your arms when swinging the rope and make sure to not move your elbows. Do this exercise for a minute or more, depending on your level of fitness and determination.
Planks with Dumbbell Row
- Nothing can beat planks if you want to strengthen the deepest abdominal muscles. This will flatten your stomach and build definition in your shoulders, upper back, triceps, and biceps. Get a set of dumbbells and get into plank position. The feet need to be wider than should width to do this exercise correctly. Brace your core while lifting one dumbbell off the surface in a rowing movement. Bring the dumbbell back to the surface and switch sides. Start alternating at a quicker pace. Don’t forget to keep your hips still and legs engaged during the entire workout. Do at least eight reps on each side for a total of sixteen reps.
Sprints
- Sprinting is an effective way of improving athletic performance and keeping your whole body strong and lean. Begin in a lunging position and keep your back at a 45-degree angle. Your weight should be shifted forward. Take bounding steps forward for ten yards, rest for thirty seconds, and repeat. Ideally, five sprints is the best goal.
Walking Lunge with a Bicep Curl
- This exercise will build strength in the core, quadriceps, upper body, and glutes. A single-let exercise like this one also improves stability and balance including the dynamic flexibility in the ankle, knee, and hip joints. Take two dumbbells and then stand tall as you hold the weights by your sides. Step into a lunge, both knees bent, and curl the dumbbells towards your shoulders. Then come to a standing position and repeat on the other foot. Your elbows should be kept in place. Do at least ten reps on each leg.
With these ways to lose weight, you can reach your weight goal in a timely manner by increasing the amount of calories you burn dramatically. If you’re worried about gaining too much muscle, then limit the amount of time you spend on these particular exercises and focus on other calorie burning methods instead.