Designing a Balanced Workout to Burn Calories Effectively
Although working towards creating the perfect summer body might be late, you shouldn’t give up on doing some physical workouts, as they benefit your health greatly. Exercising helps keep your health in check and reduces the chances of developing illnesses like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or stroke.
However, it seems more difficult to be physically active, considering our sedentary lifestyles, which include sitting for prolonged hours. On top of that, increasing stress levels contribute to unhealthy habits such as binging or bed rotting.
Most people see exercise as a way to lose weight or put on some muscles. While this can quickly become an obsession, aiming to burn calories isn’t unhealthy, but you must do it adequately to still enjoy life while reaping its benefits. So, here’s how to create the best workout for it.
Study the exercises that burn the most calories
If you’re motivated to burn calories, try researching the exercises that are most efficient in doing so. Knowing what they imply will help you figure out if they’re fit for you. Some exercises include supplies, like a kettlebell, because it boosts core strength and assesses cardio.
Here are five of some of the best exercises for burning calories:
- Planks offer core strength, better balance, and flexibility;
- Squat-to-press exercises target multiple muscle groups in the lower and upper body;
- Renegade rows increase stability and build strength;
- Taking the stairs with weights burns the most calories in no time;
- Jumping lunges work the flutes and the core;
Including these exercises in your routine might become boring at some point, which is why you can find interesting and challenging variations of them. For example, you can do drag planks, hip raises, and rainbow planks. At the same time, you can increase the impact of a jumping lunge with a heavy jump rope.
Find a favourite aerobic exercise
Along with strength training, you should incorporate some kind of aerobic activity, which can boost your mood and improve your cardiorespiratory fitness. Walking is one of the most approachable activities, as you can do it anywhere, at any hour of the day. You can walk alone or accompanied for as long as your legs allow you, and it will count as effective aerobic exercise.
Biking is also doable since you only need a bicycle and some gear to protect yourself. Biking makes you burn calories since your metabolism is boosted due to the increase in your heart rate as the muscles are pushed to keep going.
Another great option is swimming, a sport with endless benefits for the body. Swimming is the equivalent of a full-body workout, working on the muscles of the back, chest, and arms simultaneously. Moreover, it’s safer than other exercises and easier on your joints.
Learn the factors that impact your exercises
While some people can burn calories faster, others simply cannot find the right recipe to do it. The main reason is that we’re all built differently, so our bodies process calories and exercise differently. For instance, consider the following elements when assessing your workout’s success:
- Your age. Ageing slows down the process of burning calories;
- The duration and intensity of the workout;
- Your sex. Some studies show that since males have more muscle mass, they burn more calories than women;
In some cases, it would be best to talk with a specialist regarding your exercise needs. They can better assess these details and fit them into adequate workout sessions. More importantly, they’ll be able to advise you on the diet type through which you can safely burn calories.
What should you eat to burn calories?
Regardless of your reasoning for burning calories, you must first consider avoiding supplements that promise to burn fat immediately. Most of these pills are unsafe or ineffective and can damage your health.
Usually, introducing more protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants can contribute to burning calories. So, these foods are important:
- Fatty fish;
- Coffee;
- Eggs;
- Greek yoghurt;
- Whey protein;
Although burning calories is a good goal, it would be best not to quantify it by the number of pounds lost over a certain period. Although losing weight might make you feel better, it won’t necessarily count as something healthy, especially if you choose to eat less in order to maintain a slim figure.
Find the best way to determine your calorie-burning journey
Some of the most obvious signs of losing calories include a better mood, better sleep, and a decreased appetite. However, it may not also be evident that you’re doing well in your journey, so you might want to look for certain tools to determine your success rate.
Effective methods include the following:
- An activity tracker for a closer estimation of your calories;
- A heart rate monitor to measure your effort;
- A MET ratio to learn how much energy you spend on specific activities;
You could coordinate these stats with the activities that burn the most calories, such as high-impact aerobics, biking, and resistance training. Of course, these might not work for everybody, so you might consider walking, swimming, or running for the best results.
Although it’s a double-edged sword, you could get some inspiration from other people who went on a similar journey as you. Just ensure you’re not entirely copying their workouts and expecting the same results because your bodies might differ. However, some guidance might encourage you to reach your goals more quickly.
Have you started your journey to burning calories healthily?
Burning calories can have numerous advantages for your mental and physical health. For example, it can improve blood flow to the brain and relieve stress. Despite its benefits, the activity can become addictive and unhealthy in the long run if you do it only to lose weight for short-term goals. Therefore, it would be best to approach burning calories with caution and research the subject thoroughly. Combine aerobics with strength training, eat nutritious foods, and take care of your overall health to get the best results.