So, you’ve decided it’s time to do something about that spare tire around your mid-section. Good for you. Though there are exceptions to the rule, most people looking to lose weight tend to get the best results when they combine a healthy diet with regular exercise.
Unfortunately, it is easy to decide to start exercising only to be intimidated by the options. The point of this post is to present you with five choices that are easy to get into without forcing you to invest thousands of dollars.
As you read, bear in mind that cardio exercise – which is to say exercise that gets your heart pumping – is the best type of exercise for weight loss. Cardio burns excess calories while simultaneously exercising key muscle groups. No single form of cardio is better than any other. You have to find one that is right for you.
1. Swimming
Swimming is an excellent cardio exercise that’s also easy on the joints. It could very well be the king of low impact exercises. At any rate, swimming laps will definitely get your heart pumping. Start out slowly, though. Don’t try to swim a mile if you have trouble just making it across the pool once.
Your local high school may offer public pool times throughout the week. If not, perhaps you have a community pool or local branch of the YMCA. If all else fails, most chain hotels with pools offer affordable pool memberships to local residents.
2. Indoor Cycling
Salt Lake City’s Mcycle studio highly endorses spin classes for weight loss. Like swimming, spinning (indoor cycling) is high-intensity but low-impact. Mcycle also says you don’t have to take classes. Riding a stationary bike at home works just as well. If you don’t own a bike, there is no point in investing a lot of money in one you won’t use. So take a few classes before you buy, just to see if you like it.
3. Stair Climbing
If you have access to a couple of good flights of stairs, climbing them is a great form of cardio exercise that doesn’t require that you spend a dime. Just put on your shorts and sneakers and start climbing. Start out slowly and work your way up from there. You will find that 30 to 45 minutes of daily stair climbing, 3 to 5 times per week, will do wonders for you.
4. Jogging or Brisk Walking
Taking a leisurely two-mile stroll every day is absolutely good for your health. But if your heart rate barely increases, you are not doing cardio exercise. For that, think about jogging or picking up the pace of your leisurely walk to make it a brisk walk instead. Remember that working your heart burns calories. You want to work it enough to cause you to break a sweat. As a side note, the one downside of jogging is that it is high-impact. It puts a lot of stress on the ankles, knees, and hips.
5. Rowing or Canoeing
Do you have access to the water and a boat? If so, both rowing and canoeing are great cardio options. They combine the work of propelling the boat with the natural resistance of the water to give you a fantastic workout. In the absence of your own boat and water to put it into, all of the local gyms in your area are likely to have rowing machines.
Remember that when it comes to exercise for weight loss, cardio is key. All five exercises mentioned in this post can help you lose weight when combined with a healthy diet.
