How to exercise to lose weight

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By jlb724
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If you want to exercise to lose weight then you have made the right decision. Studies have shown that those who add exercise to their weight loss plan lose more weight than those who only diet. Of course adding exercise is not the only step. You must also eat healthy and watch your calorie intake. The best exercise to lose weight is any activity that will get you moving. Combine both aerobic exercises and strength training. See the example beginner’s weight loss workout below.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Resistance bands, dumbbell weights or weight lifting equipment.
Optional equipment may include treadmill, elliptical machine and exercise mat.

Step 1

Day 1 - Do 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise. This can be a brisk walk and exercise DVD or anything that gets your heart pumping. Be sure to warm up and stretch before you start and remember to cool down and stretch again.
Step 2

Day 2 - Now it’s time for some strength training. By doing strength training you are building lean muscle and the more lean muscle you have the more calories you burn. You can use resistance bands, dumbbell weights or weight lifting. Select 2 muscles in the upper body, lower body and core muscles. Then do 10 to 12 repetitions of each exercise.
Step 3

Day 3 - Time to take a break however if you are up to it, then you could do a quick 15 minute aerobic exercise and then do a full body stretching routine.
Step 4

Day 4 - It’s back to aerobics. Pick something different to keep your exercise routine varied and fun. You could do a quick brisk walk and then climb your stairs several times. This will work different muscles and still be burning fat and calories.
Step 5

Day 5 - Time for strength training again! You can pick the same strength training exercises or choose different muscles to train. As always warm up and stretch your muscles before you start to strength train. This will minimize the risk of injury.
Step 6

Day 6 and 7 - Take these days off to give your body a chance to recover. You did great!

Comments

jlb724 said

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on 8/30/2008 Hey there Michigander,

Sorry no motivation in a can but does give me an idea for my next article. If only we could by weight loss in a bottle we would all be skinny.