The most effective way to lose pounds and get in shape is to perform some type of aerobic exercise at least 5 times per week and no less than 30 minutes per session. The best and most effective exercises to burn fat are aerobic activity exercises and those that significantly increase the heart rate. The goal is to increase the heart rate high enough to be within your body's fat-burning zone and to keep it there for at least 20 minutes. To assess whether or not you're in your fat-burning zone, use a heart rate monitor watch to safely check it. If you don't have a watch, you're in your zone if you can comfortably breath and carry on a two to three word sentence conversation while you are exercising.
The Weight of Fat
In order to lose one pound of fat, you must burn at least 3,500 calories in addition to what your body normally burns each day. To achieve this fat loss deficit, plan to burn about 500 calories a day through exercise over a seven day period. This will amount to 3,500 calories per day. Coupled with reducing your caloric intake by 20% through what you eat, you should be able to achieve your goal. You can achieve a weight loss of at least two pounds per week by following a few standard exercises in addition to reducing your calorie intake.
The elliptical machine at the gym is a great tool for burning fat. The motion causes no undue burden on the joints or the knees and can be completed for up to 45 minutes or 90 minutes per session. People typically burn about 750 calories in an hour on the elliptical machine. Over a 5-day period, this can add up to over 3,750 on that machine alone!
The stationery bike is another excellent tool for fat burning. Exercising on the bike can give a typical fat-burning session of over 1,000 calories if you're within your target heart rate zone. Over a 5-day period, that's 5,000 calories expended through exercising. Coupled with the caloric reduction in your diet, you can safely see a 2 pound per week weight loss.
Running and Power Walking
Other aerobic activity like running and power walking are also productive exercises that can help you lose at least 2 pounds per week. For the average person who weighs 150 pounds, running for one hour burns 542 calories. Over a five-day period, that's 2,710 calories burned. In power walking, that same 150-pound person burns 525 calories in one hour, and 2,725 calories over a five-day period.
These exercises are very effective and can be done with or without special equipment or gym access. The key to ensuring that the exercises are effective is to reduce your food intake each day keeping it to 1,500 calories for women and 1,800 calories per day for men. With those factors in place, you can experience true, steady weight loss.