Looking to shed a few pounds? In addition to maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet, exercising is a great way to burn calories and achieve your weight loss goals.
Here are 5 fat burning exercises to do at the gym:
1. Walking
Believe it or not, walking is an excellent exercise for weight loss. It’s a simple way for beginners, seniors and everyone in between to exercise without feeling overwhelmed. Walking is also a lower impact exercise, which means stress to your joints is minimal.
So, say hello to the treadmill because it will become your new best friend! Aim to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes 3-4 times per week. You can gradually increase the length and frequency of your walks as you become more fit.
2. Jogging or running
The treadmill continues to be your new best friend, as it can also be used for jogging or running. What’s the difference? Running typically occurs at a faster pace than jogging, so choose which is best for you and your fitness level.
Not only do jogging and running effectively burn calories, they can help burn belly fat, which is where many of us experience fat deposits. Hit the gym 3-4 times per week and jog or run for 20-30 minutes.
3. Cycling
Cycling is a popular exercise that improves your overall fitness and can help with weight management. Although cycling is traditionally done outside, you can use a stationary bike at VTAS Fitness Centre to cycle indoors.
Cycling is great for all fitness levels – from beginners to athletes. You can incorporate 10-15 minutes of cycling into your warm-up or cool down session, or aim for 25-30 minutes of cycling as a full workout. Remember, you want to add some resistance to your cycle to increase your heart rate, feel your muscles working and burn those calories!
4. Weight training
Ahhhh, weight training. Lifting weights can help burn fat, build strength and promote muscle growth. It can also raise your resting metabolic rate, enabling your body to burn more calories as you rest. (Heck, yes!)
If you’re a beginner, aim to do 10-12 minutes of weight training (not including breaks in between sets) 3-4 times per week. If you’re more advanced, aim for 20-25 minutes of weight training several times per week. Frequency, weight, reps and sets can all vary depending on your fitness level.
5. Interval training
Interval training, also known as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), refers to short bursts of intense exercise that alternate with recovery periods. HIIT workouts often last between 10-30 minutes and can burn a lot of calories, which means you can burn more calories while spending less time at the gym.
HIIT is easy to incorporate into your exercise routine. Simply choose a type of exercise, such as running or cycling, and your exercise and rest times. For example, when cycling, pedal as hard as you can on the stationary bike for 30 seconds, then maintain a slow pace for 1-2 minutes. Repeat this pattern for 10-30 minutes. You can also find a variety of HIIT workouts online.
Now that you have a toolkit of 5 fat burning exercises to do at the gym, you can get started right away. Good luck!
