Regular exercise is greatly beneficial to your health. It can lower your risk of heart disease, improve your mood and brain function, keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar levels normal, and boost your sexual and reproductive health. It can also help you burn more fat and calories, allowing you to achieve your goal weight faster.
Factors that influence the number of calories you burn when exercising
The amount of calories that you can burn when working out is dependent on a variety of factors:
- Your weight
People who are overweight or obese tend to burn more calories than those who weigh less.
- Your height
Taller people are also more likely to burn more calories than shorter people.
- Intensity
High-intensity exercises, such as running and swimming, can burn more calories than mid to low-intensity exercises, such as walking, as they really work your heart and get it pumping so hard.
- Pace
Running at a pace of 7 miles per hour can burn more calories than running at a pace of only 4 miles an hour, as the former works your muscles hard and make them exert more effort.
- Duration
Exercising for one hour a day can burn more calories than exercising for only 20 minutes a day.
Exercises that are highly recommended for effective calorie-burning
Not all exercises are created equal. If you are looking for the best workout to do that can burn more calories to help you lose weight more quickly, try the following:
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Jumping rope
Jumping rope is a high-intensity cardio workout that can help you burn fat fast. It targets your arm muscles, leg muscles, and core muscles, making them stronger and toner. It also gets your heart and lungs working hard, enhancing your blood and oxygen circulation in the body. If you jump rope for 30 minutes a day, doing about 120 skips a minute, you can burn about 300 to 500 calories.
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Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a good fat-burning, full-body exercise that can help improve your strength, endurance, stamina, and flexibility. It can get your heart rate up, boosting your blood circulation and lowering your risk of heart disease. If you do it for 30 minutes, alternating between 90-second periods of kicks and jabs and 30-second periods of rest and recovery, you can burn about 300 to 450 calories.
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Running
Running is an excellent cardiovascular exercise that you can do anytime, anywhere. It is among the most effective calorie-burning exercises around that can boost your bone and muscle strength, endurance, stamina, and flexibility. It can also improve your heart and lung functions, reducing your risk of various health problems. If you run at a pace of 6 miles per hour for 30 minutes, you can burn about 350 to 400 calories.
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Stationary bike
Stationary biking is an exercise that requires a stationary bike. If your gym has a stationary bike or if you have a stationary bike at home, you can do high-intensity cycling to burn more calories. To start, cycle at a relaxed pace for about five minutes to warm up. Then increase your speed and intensity. Do this for 1 minute, before slowing down for 2 minutes to allow your body to recover. Alternate between cycling and recovery intervals. After 30 minutes, you can burn around 210 to 310 calories.
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Running up the stairs or hills
Running up the stairs or hills can burn more calories than running on flat ground. It requires a lot more effort, working the different muscle groups of your body harder and making your heart beat faster. If you live in a hilly area or have easy access to a stadium, you can do 30-minute running sessions a day, making about 70 to 80 steps a minute, and burn 200 to 350 calories.
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Swimming
Swimming is a full-body workout that works many different muscle groups in the body. It can enhance muscle strength, and boost heart function and lung capacity, improving stamina, endurance, and blood circulation. If you swim for 30 minutes a day, you can burn around 200 to 300 calories, the same amount of calories that you can burn if you jog for 30 minutes.
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Rowing machine
The rowing machine is a cardio workout that can burn fat and strengthen your muscles. It is basically like rowing while in a boat in the water, where you work your arms, back, abdomen, and legs. If you alternate between rowing at a fast pace for 1 minute and then taking a break for 1 minute for a period of 30 minutes, you can burn 250 to 350 calories. If done on a regular basis, this exercise can give you muscular and sculpted abs, arms, and legs sooner than you would imagine.
Safety tips to prevent injuries when exercising
Injuries, accidents, and other unfortunate events may happen if you are not careful and you ignore precautionary measures when exercising. To protect yourself and be injury-free and healthy, below are some tips:
- Listen to your body
If you are feeling some pain or there is something that does not just feel right, you should not push yourself. You should stop what you are doing right away. If the pain or discomfort persists, do not hesitate to go to a doctor.
- Hydrate
During exercise, your body loses more fluids than usual, so you have to drink more water than usual. Make sure to have a bottle of water nearby so that you can drink some before starting, during breaks, and right after you are done.
- Warm-up
Spend 5 to 10 minutes doing warm-up exercises before your main workout session. That way, you can stretch your muscles and avoid injuring them.
- Rest
If you are a beginner, you should not force yourself to do hour-long workouts every day. You have to understand that your body needs time to adjust to your new routine. You should start by exercising maybe two to three times a week at first, and then gradually increase the frequency over time.