Effective exercises for quick weight loss

There is no magic pill, and nothing better than diet and exercise has yet been invented for weight loss. Moreover, one does not work without the other. But even simple weight loss exercises will help you increase activity, burn calories and get a toned body.

So, you've decided to lose excess weight. What path will you have to go through?

1. Understand your diet so you don’t eat more than your body needs.
2. Review your daily routine, get enough rest and sleep, because fats are burned during sleep.
3. Learn a little theory about how the body works, how muscles grow and fat burns.
4. Buy sportswear and sneakers to avoid injury during training.
5. Try different exercises and choose the type of activity you like.
6. Train 3-4 times a week while maintaining a calorie deficit.
7. Enjoy your new lifestyle and your body.

By following this plan, you can lose weight and stay fit through exercise and nutrition. Now let's take a closer look.

Proper nutrition for weight loss

When losing weight, nutrition is the most important thing. Whatever workout you choose, you can’t do without understanding your diet. We will not load you with information about calories and diets, but will give you basic rules that will help you lose excess weight. The fitness trainer says that 80-90% of success in losing weight is nutrition. Your goal is to spend more than you consume. Sports can help you speed up the process of fat burning, increase the number of calories burned, but the basis of everything is nutrition.

The trainer advises:

1. Never make yourself feel hungry. The hungrier a person is, the more he will eat. When you are barely hungry, this is the time to eat, because in half an hour or an hour you will eat much more.
2. Keep your previous diet, but take a spoonful from your usual portion every day. This is a very small amount, but if you look at it over the course of a week, it’s already minus seven spoons per meal. The stomach quickly gets used to it, begins to decrease in size, and you are satisfied with less food.
3. Don't overeat. There is no need to wait for the feeling of "phew, I’m full. "The feeling of fullness comes 15–20 minutes after eating. Only after this time can one objectively assess whether a person is full or not. It is better to leave the table feeling full, but not gluttonous, when it’s hard to breathe.

When losing weight, proper nutrition should be predominantly protein and fat. Eat more meat, cottage cheese, eggs, fish. Don't forget about vegetables and cereals, whole grain bread. Healthy fats can be obtained from red fish, nuts, and avocados. This type of nutrition will not leave you hungry and will help you get all the necessary nutrients.

The diet should be balanced and varied so that there is no desire to break down. But if you really want to remember the taste of the cake and chips, then you can eat the "forbidden" food little by little. It is believed that if you eat 90% correctly, then you can afford 10% high-calorie foods.

Should you go on a diet or count calories? Everyone chooses a suitable nutrition system for themselves. On a diet, you eliminate certain foods and thereby reduce the caloric content of your diet.

Advice. Try creating a menu for the week with recipes that you enjoy. There is nothing magical about PP recipes, and they are often even higher in calories than regular ones, and desserts made with almond flour take a lot of time. Take simple whole foods and protein foods as a basis. Don't like oatmeal? Have breakfast with scrambled eggs and vegetables. You need a flexible approach to your diet, because a healthy lifestyle is with you for life.

And do not forget to maintain a drinking regime, especially during active sports. Always have a bottle of water on hand. If drinking plain water is difficult, add lemon juice or mint leaves to it.

What to choose: training at home or in the gym?

Each person chooses where to train: at home or in the gym. Both options have their pros and cons.

You need to go to the gym, pay for a subscription and stick to the schedule if you signed up for group training at a sports club. But it is equipped with all the necessary equipment and exercise equipment for effective weight loss.

Home workouts have become very popular recently. There is no need to go anywhere, stick to a plan and schedule. But it takes a strong will and some physical training to do the exercises correctly.

The exercises themselves for losing weight at home and in the gym are not much different. They must be effective, high intensity and varied. You can pump up your abs at home and in the gym with equal success. You can work with a trainer via video call.

What you need to start training: equipment and clothing

If you practice at home, a mat will come in handy. You may need small dumbbells of 2 and 5 kg, and fitness bands, if the training program includes them. In fact, you can exercise without any equipment at all and do fat-burning cardio and strength training with your own weight, without special equipment. The gym has everything you need.

In any case, you will need clothes for sports:

• sneakers with good cushioning and ventilation;
• leggings or well-stretched sweatpants;
• several T-shirts made of synthetic fabric (cotton takes a long time to dry from sweat);
• sports top for women.

This is a basic set that you can’t do without either in the gym or at home. You will also need a water container and, if possible, a fitness bracelet or watch with a heart rate function.

Advice.Bring a small towel with you to the gym. You will need to place it on the exercise equipment when doing exercises.

Types and types of training and exercises: what to choose?

Various types of workouts and exercises are effective for losing weight. This is explained by the individual characteristics of the body. The most effective type of training is considered to be aerobic (cardio). But anaerobic (strength) exercise is also needed so that the skin does not sag after losing weight.

Let's figure out what basic types of training for weight loss are found in the gym and when training at home. You will understand why different types of activity are needed to successfully get in shape. And finally, decide what is better - cardio or strength exercises?

Strength exercises

Strength training is aimed at hypertrophy, that is, muscle growth. In fact, strength training speeds up your metabolism, but gradually. Typically, those losing weight opt for other types of training, and there is a reason for this.

What are the benefits of strength training for losing weight?

1. After strength training, the body spends calories to recover.
2. When working "to failure, " microtraumas occur in the muscles, and the body expends energy to restore them.
3. Muscles require much more energy to "maintain" than fat.
4. There are elements of strength exercises in interval training, for the successful implementation of which you must first master the basic correct execution.

It is a myth that strength training is only suitable for men. Women can also successfully lose weight and build a figure with the help of squats, lunges, and weight training with dumbbells and barbells. You need to do strength training 2-3 times a week, alternating with cardio for effective weight loss.

Cardio exercises

Cardio exercise is a great option for weight loss. They quickly lead to fat burning, and at the same time pump the heart muscle and respiratory system. You can do cardio at home and in the gym. It's not always high-intensity training, but it will take some effort to burn fat. And beginners need to join training gradually.

Best Cardio Exercises:

• side step with arms raised;
• boxing;
• burpee;
• kicks to the side;
• raising the knees from a lunge;
• jumping rope.

Cardio exercise is beneficial for both men and women. You need to do workouts for weight loss 3-4 times a week for 40-50 minutes. You can finish your strength training by walking briskly on a treadmill or using an elliptical machine.

Aerobic training

Aerobic exercise helps you lose weight and improves the functioning of your heart and blood vessels. When performing them, the body consumes a large amount of oxygen. These workouts make a person more resilient. Aerobics is considered the best way to burn calories.

Aerobic exercise, or cardio exercise, as it is popularly called, is the best workout for losing weight. This includes running, an exercise bike at an intense pace, an ellipse, and fast walking on a treadmill. What is important is that the fat burning process begins within 30 minutes. The workout should last 40–60 minutes, but it is better to start with 10–15 minutes, adding 2–3 minutes every day.

Aerobic exercise includes running, dancing, group sports, and skating. In short, any load that makes your heart beat faster. However, in order to properly burn fat through aerobics, you need to adhere to a certain heart rate zone.

Aerobic exercise can be done every day. If you alternate them with other types of exercise, then twice a week is enough.

Anaerobic training

During anaerobic training, the body receives energy without oxygen. Muscles use up glycogen (a product of the breakdown of glucose) accumulated in the blood. These are strength training in the gym, which are aimed at developing and strengthening muscles, and short-distance running. They do not use fat as energy.

Anaerobic exercise burns fewer calories than aerobic exercise. How then can they be useful to you? The fact is that muscles spend energy for some time after anaerobic exercise - 12–36 hours. In addition, due to muscle growth, you will burn fewer calories at rest. But still, trainers agree that aerobic exercise is more effective for losing weight.

Interval training

To lose weight quickly, you need intense but not exhausting workouts that you could do regularly. HIIT (or HIIT in English) - interval training - is suitable for your goals. They are suitable for beginners and experienced athletes. You just need to adjust the pace depending on the degree of preparation.

A good example of HIIT is Tabata. Exercises should be done quickly (but efficiently) for 20–60 seconds. After this, you rest for 10–40 seconds. The longer your rest interval, the less intense the workout. A HIIT workout might look something like this:

• running in place;
• squats;
• plie squats;
• push ups;
• pulling your knees to your stomach in a plank.

As a rule, one circle consists of 5-6 exercises. Most often this is training with your own weight. Beginners can do three laps, advanced - five laps. Exercises can be repeated, but there is an option when each interval is aimed at working certain muscle groups.

Thanks to this scheme, within half an hour you will be wiping away your sweat and gasping with happiness that you managed to burn 300-500 extra calories.

Warm-up before doing exercises for weight loss: is it necessary or not?

Here, trainers agree: warming up before weight loss exercises is a must. Physical warm-up takes 5-10 minutes, but helps you get ready for the workout, avoid injuries and warm up all muscles and joints.

Before training, even before stretching, you need to warm up. Do the simplest warm-up exercises:

1. Slowly rotate your head 3-4 times clockwise and counterclockwise.
2. Make circular movements with your arms at an average pace 5-10 times forward and backward.
3. Extend your arms away from your chest 5-10 times.
4. Rotate your pelvis 5 times in both directions.
5. Do 5-10 tilts towards your toes with straight legs.
6. Do 5-10 bends in both directions.
7. Rotate your hips.
8. Stretch your hands and ankles.

After your warm-up exercises, you can walk on the treadmill at a fast pace for 10–15 minutes to warm up. And then proceed to the main complex.

Exercises for losing belly fat: crunches, leg raises, vacuum

It is impossible to lose weight in any one area, because fat leaves the body more or less evenly. But you can tighten your skin and strengthen your abdominal muscles with exercises to lose weight on your stomach and sides. These are basic strength workouts that will help you burn a little more calories.

Exercises for losing belly fat are no different for men and women: the technique is the same for everyone. The main thing is to train correctly and regularly, and then, provided you have a calorie deficit and sufficient basic activity, you will have the desired relief. When this happens - in a week, a month or six months, depends on your constitution and nutrition.

Ab crunch: straight, reverse, side

Lying press crunch technique:

1. Lie on your back on the mat with your knees bent.
2. Press your chin to your chest and bring your palms together at the back of your head.
3. As you exhale, lift your body slightly, lifting your shoulder blades off the mat.
4. Tighten your abdominal muscles.
5. As you inhale, slowly lower yourself onto the mat without straightening all the way.

There is no need to rise too high, lift your chin from your chest and pull yourself forward with your arms. The press should be constantly tense.

Reverse crunches on the flooris an exercise in which you need to lift your legs while tightening your lower abs:

1. Lie on your back on the mat.
2. Bend your knees so that your shins are parallel to the floor and bring your heels together.
3. As you exhale, lift your hips and lift your butt off the floor, placing your weight on your shoulder blades and pulling your knees toward your chest.
4. As you inhale, return to the starting position without straightening your legs completely. Always keep your abs tense.

Straight and reverse crunches can be done on a bench, holding the bench behind your head with your hands.

Side crunchesThe lateral abdominal muscles are strengthened on the abs. It is convenient to do lateral crunches on a hyperextension machine:

1. Adjust the height so that the top of the exercise pad is at the level of the pelvic bone.
2. Starting position - legs rest against the base of the simulator, body straightened, arms at chest level.
3. As you exhale, tilt your body down, and as you inhale, return to the starting position.

Lateral crunches should be done using the oblique abdominal muscles, and not by inertia.

Number of repetitions and approaches. For beginner men and women, three sets of abdominal crunches of 20 repetitions is enough. You can do the exercise at the beginning or end of strength training, in the morning, afternoon or evening.

Periodicity. At least once a week. The result of abdominal crunches depends on the structure. You can alternate between forward, reverse and side crunches.

Exercises for losing weight on the sides: plank, bends, swings

It is impossible to remove sides with weight loss exercises alone. To burn stored fat, you need to maintain a calorie deficit and move more. Planks, leg swings and bends are quite energy-intensive exercises, and they will help you lose excess weight, giving your body beautiful curves.

A set of exercises for losing weight on the sides at home must include exercises for the oblique abdominal muscles. When combined, these training elements will help you quickly remove fat deposits around your waist.

Side plank: strengthen all muscles

One of the basic exercises that allows you to shape your waistline, while working the muscles of the abs, back, legs and arms. It can be done without special equipment. The side plank has a simple technique:

1. Get into a regular plank position, resting on your forearms and toes.
2. Turn around and shift your weight to one side of your body.
3. Tighten your stomach and straighten your body, supporting yourself on your forearm and ankle.
4. Return to the starting position - a regular plank.

For those advanced in the side plank, you can add sit-ups to work the arm muscles and crunches to pump up your abs.

Number of repetitions and approaches. It is enough to hold in a static exercise for 30 seconds, gradually increasing the time. The exercise is performed in one approach.

Periodicity. You can complete every workout with a side plank.

Side bends: remove the sides

Bending over will not help burn fat in the problem area, but it will strengthen the corset muscles that support the spine. Technique for performing side bends:

1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squeeze your shoulder blades and keep your stomach toned.
2. Slowly lean to the side, stretching your arm along your body. You need to bend down as low as you can. Then return to the starting position.
3. Repeat the movement in the other direction.
4. You can do the exercise without anything at first, and then add 2 kg dumbbells, gradually increasing the weight.

Number of repetitions and approaches. Three sets of ten technical reps on each side is a great addition to your training.

Periodicity. Lateral bends to the side can be done once a week.

Standing hip abduction

The hip abduction movement involves the lateral muscles, which will help you tighten your body faster. This exercise has a simple technique, the main thing is to perform it thoughtfully and not swing your legs as quickly as possible.

1. Stand straight, place your hands on your waist.
2. Extend your leg to the side, trying to maintain an even body position.
3. Slowly return your leg to the starting position.

You can also do hip abduction on a machine or use an elastic band to increase the load.

Number of repetitions and approaches. Three sets of 15–20 reps on each leg.

Periodicity. Alternate this exercise with others, performing hip abduction once a week.

Leg raises while lying on your side

Lying hip abduction is the same as standing hip abduction, only performed on a mat.

1. Lie on your side and straighten your legs.
2. As you exhale, lift your leg up.
3. As you inhale, slowly lower your leg to the starting position.

You can do leg abductions while lying down with an elastic band or weights.

Number of repetitions and approaches. Three sets of 15–20 reps on each leg.

Periodicity. Can be done once a week, alternating with other exercises for losing weight on the sides.

Effective exercises for losing weight on legs

Legs and buttocks are a problem area for many women. Fat accumulates here quickly and easily, but it takes a long time and is difficult to lose. But if you do exercises for your hips, you will lose weight faster and be able to maintain the results for a long time.

Squats - a basic exercise for losing weight on legs

When you squat, you put stress on all the muscles of your legs and buttocks. If you do this exercise correctly, in addition to losing weight, you will get toned hips and buttocks. We will look at simple squats without weight: the exercise will help you develop technique and add weight.

1. Stand with your feet apart as if you are about to squat. Feet approximately hip width apart.
2. Straighten up, tighten your stomach, straighten your legs.
3. Lower your pelvis while spreading your knees out to the sides.
4. Tighten your buttocks and stand up straight.

There are many options for making the squat technique more difficult:

• Squats with a barbell in the gym under the supervision of a trainer.
• Squats with dumbbells in hands.
• Jump squats.
• Exercises with elastic bands on the hips.

Interesting fact: squats are useful for men and women, but for some reason this exercise is considered purely female. It is not recommended to do it only for people with problem knees.

Number of repetitions and approaches. Three sets of 25 reps with body weight.

Periodicity. You can squat with your own weight at least every day, but it is better to do it at least every other day so that the muscles have time to rest. Within 30 days you will see noticeable results from your hard work.

Exercises for losing weight on your arms

Exercises are very effective for losing weight on your arms and shoulders. They do not burn fat in this particular area, but they tighten the skin and strengthen the biceps and triceps. As a result, your hands look slimmer and more beautiful.

Exercises for losing weight in your arms can be done at home without dumbbells. Push-ups are available anywhere and anytime - you can even do them in the office while leaning on your desk.

Push-ups - classic workouts

Proper push-ups are a useful part of your regular weight loss workouts. The exercise works the triceps, abs and pectoral muscles. The classic version of push-ups - with wide arms:

1. Take a lying position with your arms wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Tighten your abdominal muscles and buttocks to maintain as level a body position as possible.
3. As you inhale, lower your body down while spreading your elbows to the sides. Lower yourself to the floor, but don't touch it.
4. As you exhale, return to the starting position.

Number of repetitions and approaches. Most likely, you won't be able to do many push-ups at first. Aim for 15-20 reps per set for men and 10-15 for women.

Periodicity. You need to do push-ups regularly to improve your technique. Do this at least once a week if you have three workouts in that period of time.

Knee push-ups

Those who still find it difficult to do regular push-ups should try doing push-ups from their knees. It is easier for girls to do this particular type of exercise. Technique:

1. Get on your knees, place your hands on the floor at shoulder level. The exercise is performed with a wide stance.
2. Tighten your abs, back muscles and buttocks so that you maintain a straight line from your knees to the back of your head.
3. Bend your elbows and touch your chest to the floor, then return to the starting position.

Number of repetitions and approaches. Three sets of 10–15 repetitions.

Periodicity. You can do push-ups from your knees at the end of each workout.

Reverse push-ups

The benefit of reverse bench push-ups is to work the triceps. You can do reverse push-ups from a bench in the gym or from a chair at home. Classic technique:

1. Stand with your back to a bench or chair. Place your palms on the support so that your arms are positioned symmetrically to your spine.
2. As you inhale, bend your arms at the shoulders and elbows at the same time, lowering your pelvis down.
3. As you exhale, straighten your arms and return to the starting position.

Number of repetitions and approaches. Three sets of 15 repetitions will be enough for beginners.

Periodicity. You can include reverse push-ups in every workout.

What to look for when creating a weight loss training program

• Never forget about warming up. A gentle warm-up minimizes the chance of injury and helps you get ready for your workout.
• Don't rest too long between sets. Your workouts should be intense, but not exhausting. Half a minute of rest between sets will be enough.
• Drink water while resting. It is especially important to replenish your water balance while doing cardio exercises.
• If you want to lose weight in one area, you should not perform exercises only on it. You will try to remove your belly by pumping up your abs and sides, and you will quickly overtrain, get tired and give up altogether. The set of exercises should be built harmoniously, including strength, cardio and working out problem areas.
• Choose exercises that you enjoy doing. If you want to lose weight at home without a trainer, here's some advice: exercise for fun. Don't work too hard, overloading your muscles and nervous system.
• We recommend that beginners contact a trainer. A professional will help you master the technique of performing exercises, create a training program and menu.
• Top tip for losing weight: combine physical activity with a calorie deficit. You won’t be able to lose weight through exercise alone; you need to reconsider your menu.