Physical exercise is a keystone habit for healthy living. I have never met someone who lives a healthy lifestyle without exercise. Healthy living is a long journey that is built on many habits. The two habits that will give you 80% of the results are healthy eating and exercising. However, many people tend to overemphasis exercising when they want to lose weight. Exercising goes together with healthy eating. As you may learn more about these weight loss exercises remember this, “you cannot out-work or out-run an unhealthy diet”
What Are Your Exercise Goals?
When choosing an exercise plan it is very important that you identify your goals first. There are a couple of goals that people want to achieve. I can summarise the goals as losing weight, losing body fat, toning, gaining muscle mass, and preparing for a competition such as a marathon or CrossFit games. I have seen countless people frustrated when they followed other people’s training plans. They followed the plan without understanding the underlying goals. Identify the destination so that you can decide what is the best vehicle to take you there. People who want to lose weight are different from people who want to do endurance sports or gain muscle mass. What makes them different is the motivation and discipline level.
Motivation Vs Discipline.
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn
When people begin the weight loss journey their starting motivation or euphoria is at an all-time high. They have just realized that they need to lose weight and have identified thier ‘strong why’. As they continue with their journey the motivation level starts decreasing. Since running the #90DayswithoutSugar program I have observed that many people quit between weeks two and four. The starting euphoria disappears, and people need to start being deliberate with their actions. I call this stage the discipline or habit establishment level. It is not about how you feel any more but exercising because it is in your plans.
Start Small.
There are three things you need to consider when you start your weight loss journey. Firstly, these exercises will be new to your body. Your body needs time to adjust to the new exercise routines. You may have to do it a couple of times before it becomes your new norm. Secondly, results take time to show. Losing weight is a process. Many people want to make the process go very fast. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Everyone must pay their dues and go through the process. Finally, consistent actions produce consistent results. When you start your journey, it is not about how hard you go but going daily. Just focus on showing up frequently.
When you start exercising for weight loss is it important to start small. I remember when I did not know about habits and started with my exercises. I would attempt to run 10 kilometers to do 100 push-ups and 150 squats daily. Starting with so many things at once made me quit after two weeks. My problem was starting with too much too soon. Once I learned about habits, I started with running and kept doing it until my body was used to it. Start small and increase incrementally.
Exercises For Weight Loss.
- Walking. This exercise is excellent for beginners who want to lose weight. It does not need equipment or to follow the “right” form. Walking is a low impact exercise routine and will not put extra stress on your knees and ankles. A person who weighs 70 kilograms burns about 167 calories through a 30-minute walk. It is easy to incorporate walking into your life. Park far away from the elevator, walk taking calls instead of sitting, and take the stairs instead of the elevator. Set a goal to walk for 30 minutes 4 to 5 times a week. Increase it to an hour after a month as your fitness levels will improve.
- Jumping rope. Many people will burn 600 to 900 calories when jumping rope for an hour. You can skip your rope while watching the news or quickly before you take your morning shower. All you need is a skipping rope. Modern skipping ropes are digital which records how many skips you have done. Start small with mastering basic skips for 30 minutes 4-5 times a week. After a month start doing an hour and then on the third-month challenge yourself and attempt doing ‘double unders’ skips.
- Running or Jogging. I lost 13 kilograms in 3 months through running. When I began my weight loss journey I was ‘wogging’ (walking and jogging). I would run as far as I could and then walk fast, then start running again. A person who weighs 70 kilograms will burn 298 calories through jogging for 30 minutes. When you start running forget about the pace and focus on being consistent. My pace started to increase as my fitness levels improved. Aim to run 30 minutes, 4 to 5 times a week. Watch the weight fall off!
- High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This workout routine is very popular for not only losing weight but also developing strength. With many people working out at home, HIIT has grown in popularity. The workouts should last 10-30 minutes and burn plenty of calories. You will be able to burn more calories with HIIT than normal running or cycling. Some tudies have shown that HIIT is effective at burning belly fat. An example of HIIT is done on the treadmill. Try doing 10-minute jog warm-up, followed by four minutes fast and four minutes slow (walk and recover). Repeat it four times for a total of 16 minutes.
- Weight Training. Weight Training is very intimidating to a beginner. If you can afford a physical trainer then it would be your best way to lose weight. A person who weighs 70 kilograms will burn 112 calories through 30 minutes of weight training. One of the greatest benefits of weight training is helping your body burn calories even after you exercise. These exercises will raise your resting metabolic rate, this means how many calories your body burns at rest. Weight training helps you lose weight burning calories during and after exercising.
Weight loss is not an easy journey. Reading and learning more about it will help the journey be easier. The more information you have and belong to a community the faster you can reach your goal. One of the reasons I created the 90 Day Movement Standard Membership was to help share specific information and stories. You can get access to the membership site here to help you make your weight loss journey easier.