If you asked the average person what they would most like to change about the way they look, you would likely find that a lot of people would say that losing some weight would be at the top of the list. While we all know that exercising is a critical part of losing weight, the reality is that finding the time to get in a workout is not so easy. We all live very busy, hectic lives, especially when trying to juggle a career and a family. If you are serious about improving your fitness level, then you need to make time to exercise. If you can set aside a 1-hour period a few days per week, you should be able to get in the workouts that you need to get in shape and lose weight.
When you start to exercise, look for those workouts that are designed to burn calories fast. You will lose weight at a healthy rate if you can burn off those calories in your workouts, but which of the many exercising options is best for getting that burn? We have picked out 10 great exercises that burn calories fast and ordered them from the least calories burned in an hour to the most. So let’s get right to them and get you losing some of that excess belly fat. Check these 10 great calorie burning exercises:
1. Walking at a Slow Pace
If you are looking to burn calories at home, walking is one of the best ways to get the job done. It’s also a great way to ease into exercising if you have been living a bit of a sedentary lifestyle for an extended period of time. When maintaining a steady pace of just 2 miles per hour, you can burn off 255 calories, which is excellent for something that seems so leisurely. Walking is a fantastic way to improve your cardio and prepare for those tougher exercises.
2. Cycling at a Slow Pace
Whether you want to get on a stationary bike at the gym or hop on your own bike for a trip through the park, you can help your weight loss goals by getting into biking. Again, you can start out slowly and still burn off a lot of calories by going for a ride at a slower pace. By slow, we mean maintaining a speed of less than 10 MPH, which can help you burn off as many as 364 calories in a single hour.
Related: How to Exercise for An Hourglass Figure
3. Golfing
Trying to lose weight can very often feel like a chose that is not a lot of fun, but it doesn’t need to be that way. Hitting the golf course is a great way to have fun and kill a few hours, but it’s also an effective burn calories workout. Now, we should mention here that in order to achieve the calorie burning number we are about to mention, you need to walk the course and carry your clubs. If you do that, expect to burn as much as 391 calories per hour. Swinging the clubs really works your core and can help reduce belly fat.
4. Low-Impact Aerobics
Once you have improved your cardio using the exercises mentioned earlier, you can start to step up the pace a little by moving into low-impact aerobics. There are a perfect set of exercises for those of you who have joint issues, as you will not be putting any sort of stress on your knees or elbows. You probably won’t have any problem finding a class near you, but you can also burn calories at home by simply performing a few low-impact aerobic exercises. Expect to burn off up to 455 calories per hour.
5. Resistance/Weight Training
Once your weight loss starts to kick in, you will probably want to start toning and building some muscle. This would be the perfect time to hit the weights or turn to some form of resistance training. For this type of workout, you are probably going to have better luck at the local gym, although there are still some things you can do at home, especially if you use the smaller kettlebells. You can expect to burn 455 calories per hour with this type of workout.
Related: The 20 Best Shoulder Workouts
6. Lap Swimming
If you have a backyard pool or one close to home, you have an excellent opportunity to lose weight quickly. Swimming is not only fun and relaxing, it’s also a great way to burn a lot of calories simply by doing some laps at a moderate pace. If you are around the 200-pound mark, you can easily expect to burn off as many as 528 calories in the space of an hour in the pool.
7. Hiking
Walking is fun, but if you really want to work hard and lose weight, get out into nature and hit those hiking trails. If you strap on a pack that contains your water and some other hiking essentials, you will be adding some resistance that might allow you to burn off more calories than the number we are about to mention. On average, expect to scorch off 546 calories per hour when hiking.
8. Racquetball
Much like golf, there are other sports pastimes that feel more like having fun than an actual workout. Racquetball is certainly on that list of activities, as it’s an excellent workout that is also incredibly fun. Perhaps best of all, you and a friend can get to burn off some of that belly fat while getting a little bit of a competitive game going. You can burn as much as 637 calories per hour playing racquetball.
9. Tennis
There are a lot of communities across the country that have a clubhouse and tennis courts open to those who live there. If you live in one of those areas or have a tennis court nearby, get your sneakers on grab a racket, and go in search of a singles game. Playing singles tennis for one hour can see you burn as much as 728 calories per hour, making it a truly effective burn calories workout.
10. Running
If you are looking for something a little more challenging than a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, look into joining a running club. Even by maintaining just a moderate pace when you run, you can expect to burn off about 755 calories, which is an incredible number. The weight is going to start falling off if you can get in some running sessions a few times per week.
Related: Start Running: 6-Week Training Plan to Build Up to 5K (3.1 miles)
In Conclusion
As you can clearly see, weight loss does not have to be a chore that isn’t any fun. Besides the exercises on our list, there are countless more that you can add to your gym visit or home workout. What we should mention here, though, is that you should always add 5 minutes to the start and end of every workout. That is time that should be devoted to stretching and warming up at the start, and effectively cooling your body down after a tough workout. This really is the best way to enjoy what you do and reduce the risk of an injury that could potentially sideline your fitness efforts.
