Best Exercises to Lose Weight

Physical Training Works for Fat Loss

In this section of our website, we look at the best exercises to lose weight. This includes both strength and fitness training. These are all excellent for fat loss!

In addition to walking, there are a number of good alternatives for mild fitness training. Regular physical training works to achieve permanent weight loss because it promotes balance.

As we explain in the general section on physical training it's important to engage in both strength and fitness training if you are serious about permanent weight loss.

To learn more about that, see our free weight loss exercise programs:

Weight Loss Exercise Programs

What other mild fitness exercises work well?

It's important to be honest with yourself. It's important to pick a mild fitness exercise that is fun for you. If you select one you don't enjoy, you'll be less likely to achieve permanent weight loss.

This is one reason why walking outdoors is a good selection. At least if you are able to walk in the country or even in a suburb, walking can be quite pleasant—and it makes little difference what the weather is. The Norwegians have a saying: "There's no bad weather—only bad clothing."

Some people, though, just don't enjoy walking outdoors. For them, walking indoors on a treadmill may be an excellent alternative. Still, walking is time-consuming.

At least if you don't jog too intensely, jogging, too, can be very enjoyable, and it takes less time than walking.

If you are really heavy, though, this may not be an option at all. Even for trim athletes, jogging or running involves a lot of pounding that simply may not be sustainable in one's 50's or beyond.

We recommend on the program presented at this free website a minimum of three mild fitness training sessions weekly. If you want, use multiple exercises.

A good walk is a four-mile walk in just under an hour (but not faster than 56 minutes). If you walk on a motorized treadmill, walk at a 1% incline at 4 mph for one hour or at some equivalent incline and speed. What other exercises would be good substitutes?

One is cycling. Unlike either walking or running, it doesn't involve any pounding. Due to winds and hills, it can be somewhat difficult to measure.

Still, if you enjoy cycling, it's an excellent option. A good ride is an eight-mile ride in just under 32 minutes (but not faster than 29 minutes); alternatively, ride thirteen miles in just under 75 minutes (but not faster than 70 minutes).

Since we recommend stationary cycling for intense fitness training, it shouldn't also be used for mild fitness training. However, if you substitute some other exercise for your intense fitness training, you may use stationary cycling for mild fitness training.

Obviously, it has the advantage that it's done indoors. This avoids weather and traffic problems and permits you to listen to, or watch, a program while you train. If you cycle at the equivalent of 20 mph, which is about 75 rpm, you should train for 45 minutes.

Swimming is excellent exercise, but for various reasons we do not recommend it on this program. If, however, you really enjoy it, want to use it for mild fitness training, and are able to do it regularly, then go ahead. A good swim is 800 yards in just under 13 minutes 20 seconds (but not faster than 13 minutes); alternatively, swim 1250 yards in under 42 minutes.

Rowing is an excellent exercise. If you use it for mild fitness training, row continuously using two oars at 20 strokes per minute for 45 minutes.

An hour of any one of the following three is a good substitute: aerobic dancing, cross-country skiing, or minitrampolining.

There are many other choices that may be used, but the ones we have listed above are the best for the program recommended here. Circuit weight training is a cross between strength and fitness training, and it doesn't do either one well. Besides, if you are like us, you won't enjoy it anyway.

Because they are simply too hard on your body, we do not recommend either stationary running or rope skipping for your mild fitness training. Since you'll be training your quads during your strength workouts, we don't recommend stair climbing for your mild fitness training.

If you are an athlete, you may use your sport to substitute for mild fitness training. The best sports for this are handball, racketball, squash, basketball, soccer, hockey, and lacrosse. Other sports such as football, volleyball, wrestling, boxing, fencing, and snow skiing may be adequate substitutes if you engage in them long enough, usually 90 to 120 minutes.

Be careful, though, about lying to yourself. We have seen a lot of people play various kinds of competitive games who thought that they were getting a lot more exercise than they really were.

To avoid that danger, use engaging in a sport as a reward for exercising rather than a substitute for exercising. If you are competitive, performing better at your sport can serve as additional motivation for regular training.

Please be kind to yourself. In the present context, if you have not been getting regular exercise it's important to work up do doing even mild fitness training slowly.

It may be several months before you are able to walk four miles in an hour several times a week – or its equivalent - without any residual discomfort.

Furthermore, as you install the present program into your life, initially only do the minimum. Once you are doing the minimum mild fitness training, and the twice-a-week intense fitness training, and the strength training, then, and only then, should you consider doing more than the minimum mild fitness training if you want to lose weight more quickly.

The physical keys to achieving lasting weight loss are excellent nutrition and proper strength training.

It is possible to achieve lasting weight loss without doing any (mild or intense) fitness training. It's easier for most people to do fitness training in addition to strength training, but it's not necessarily better or healthier.

We mention this to ensure that your training priorities are in line with your goal. If you are interested in only doing strength training, we refer you to a program for doing exactly that on our exercises for weight loss section:

to Exercises for Weight Loss

We have known many people, especially women, who do all kinds of fitness training and no strength training whatsoever.

If you are like that, please realize that strength training is more fun than fitness training as well as much more beneficial in terms of increasing lean muscle mass.

It would be better to do only strength training than to do only fitness training. Why not do both?

If you use the present program as recommended, you'll avoid unnecessary disappointment. Yes, mild fitness training is beneficial, but keep it in perspective.

Click on the first link, listed below, to go to the next page in this section:

to Running Weight Loss

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