There is a saying about weight loss
“It took more than a day to put it on, it'll take more than a day to take it off. Be patient.”
So patience is the key skill but in order to have a potent &
successful weight loss regime we must know which kind of exercises are the
most effective ones. Weightlifting & crunches are overhyped weight loss
solutions… a waste of time, energy & money. The parameters of finding a
good weight loss exercise are :
1) Calories burned
2) Muscle toning
3) Skill addition
Exercise
|
Calories
burned/hour
|
Muscles
toned
|
Cycling
|
850 -
950
|
It’s a
complete leg workout.
Major
muscles worked are thighs (Quadriceps & hamstrings) & calves. Shin
muscles assists
|
Taekwondo
|
800 -
900
|
It is
all about legs & will give you strong core (abs) & flexibility.
|
Rope
Jumping
|
750 -
850
|
From
forearms to your toe, skipping works all the muscles & if you do it
regularly I guarantee you the best toned calves.
|
Swimming
|
700 -
850
|
No
other exercise tones your upper body so well & burns this much calories.
Swimming will sculpt your upper back, shoulders & chest.
|
Jogging/running
|
700 -
800
|
The
complete leg workout.
|
Sports(football, basketball, tennis)
|
600 -
700
|
Complete
body workout. The best legs are of football players, best arms
bestowed to tennis players & the strongest upper body is of basketball
players.
|
Zumba/Aerobics
|
400-500
|
Complete
body workout.
|
*All the above approximate figures are given for a person weighing
160 pounds/73 kilograms. Calorie burning is directly proportional to
body weight & intensity of workout. With every 3500 calories burned
you lose 1 pound/0.45 kgs of weight.
Compared to the above exercises a hour of crunches will burn 342
calories (57 calories in 10 minutes on doing 100 sit ups), a hour of weight
lifting will only burn 200 - 400(vigorous) calories.
Skill addition is something which we always ignore but it is a
very important factor. Crunching 100 times, will it add to any of my
skills ? It may help me get better at certain activities but otherwise it’s neither
a wholesome workout nor very important unless you want to follow Arnold's
footsteps & believe me abs are made in kitchen. Compare the torture of crunches to the refreshing cycling, joy of
swimming or the benefits of knowing Taekwondo. All of these strengthen your core & tone your muscles too. The most awesome fact is that they
keep your heart strong & healthiest.
The purpose of this article is not to tell you to refrain from crunches
or weight lifting but to give you better options. To enable you choose wisely
among the exercises & plan your sessions according to your goals. The best
weight loss regimes can do without weight lifting & crunches.
Bodybuilding.com has come up with this awesome calorie burning calculator.
Check it out & redefine your workouts. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calories.htm
Train wise train hard.
Information sources for figures.
Weightloss.allwomenstalk.com
Ainsworth BE, et
al. 2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET
values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43:1575.
Bodybuilding.com
Bodybuilding.com
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