When it comes to working out, you want to get the most bang for your buck. In other words, the most calories burned for the least amount of work. No one wants to bust it at the gym day after day and see no improvement. While any exercise is better than no exercise, there's an actual science behind the best ways to burn calories, lose fat and get fit. Take a look at these four types of workouts that yield the best results for your effort.
Lower Body Exercises
Believe it or not, working your lower body helps decrease your entire body fat percentage. Think of it this way: your largest muscles are in your lower body, so by working them the most, you create more of those muscle tears that require your body to spend calories repairing. You get much more calorie-burn bang for your buck with lower versus upper body work. That’s not to say you should never work your upper body, but be sure you’re getting in that leg work – and stand while you work your arms.
Interval Training
Interval training is all the rage these days, and for good reason. Recent studies have found that women who incorporated interval training – alternating between short bursts of high-intensity exercise and longer periods of lower-intensity work – three times a week actually saw better results than those who spent more time doing steady-state exercise (such as jogging). The good news is that you can fit interval training into anything you’re already doing. If you love the elliptical, for example, simply amp up the speed to your max level for brief periods during your session.
Heavy Weights
Women are especially guilty of opting for more reps instead of heavier weights. You figure the more you do, the more calories you’ll burn, right? Wrong. To really grow your muscles, you need to challenge them. Stronger muscles equals higher metabolism, which helps you burn more calories. Using heavier weights for fewer reps builds muscle more effectively than lifting lighter weights more times.
Group Fitness
Everybody loves to workout with a friend. It passes the time and keeps you interested. But did you know it’s actually been proven to help you burn more calories? It’s for the very reasons mentioned here. Having that distraction allows you to spend more time exercising, and burn more calories as a result. Joining a group fitness class is a great way to get motivated.
At Downtown Athletic Club, we offer several group fitness classes to help you get in shape with friends. To learn more about these classes, personal training, and other ways we can assist your fitness goals, give us a call today.
Lower Body Exercises
Believe it or not, working your lower body helps decrease your entire body fat percentage. Think of it this way: your largest muscles are in your lower body, so by working them the most, you create more of those muscle tears that require your body to spend calories repairing. You get much more calorie-burn bang for your buck with lower versus upper body work. That’s not to say you should never work your upper body, but be sure you’re getting in that leg work – and stand while you work your arms.
Interval Training
Interval training is all the rage these days, and for good reason. Recent studies have found that women who incorporated interval training – alternating between short bursts of high-intensity exercise and longer periods of lower-intensity work – three times a week actually saw better results than those who spent more time doing steady-state exercise (such as jogging). The good news is that you can fit interval training into anything you’re already doing. If you love the elliptical, for example, simply amp up the speed to your max level for brief periods during your session.
Heavy Weights
Women are especially guilty of opting for more reps instead of heavier weights. You figure the more you do, the more calories you’ll burn, right? Wrong. To really grow your muscles, you need to challenge them. Stronger muscles equals higher metabolism, which helps you burn more calories. Using heavier weights for fewer reps builds muscle more effectively than lifting lighter weights more times.
Group Fitness
Everybody loves to workout with a friend. It passes the time and keeps you interested. But did you know it’s actually been proven to help you burn more calories? It’s for the very reasons mentioned here. Having that distraction allows you to spend more time exercising, and burn more calories as a result. Joining a group fitness class is a great way to get motivated.
At Downtown Athletic Club, we offer several group fitness classes to help you get in shape with friends. To learn more about these classes, personal training, and other ways we can assist your fitness goals, give us a call today.
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