Best Workout for Weight Loss

While the fitness industry has seen a lot trends over the years, exercise fundamentals have pretty much stayed the same. To get toned, the best workout for weight loss are the ones that challenge your muscles with heavier weights and confuse them at the same time with new exercises to burn fat and calories. Whether you choose to workout at home or the gym there are several basic exercises that will stand the test of time and help you lose weight, get toned, and always get you in the best shape of your life.

While exercising at a moderate level does burn calories, the harder you push yourself, the more calories and fat you’ll melt away. But vigorous sessions are physically demanding, so you shouldn’t do them every day. To get a high calorie burn you must maintain and spend most of your workout time at your lactate threshold or LT, which is your fastest substitutable aerobic state. Depending on your fitness level, that can be anywhere from 60% to 80% of your maximum heart rate. After a 5 to 10 minute warm-up exercise for 15 to 20 minutes your LT. You might have to experiment to find a level that feels hard but sustainable. Finish with a 5 to 10 minute cool down. If you cannot maintain your LT for 15 to 20 minutes, breakup your workout into shorter segments with rests: do five minutes after LT, rest for one minute, and repeat three times. Try to build up to 20 minutes solid. During this you should be breathing hard, but not out of breath at your lactate threshold. You need to get at least  30 – 45 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise  (That’s a level where you can talk but not sing while you workout) 5 days per week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association.

Your workout should consist of resistance training routine that will kick start your body into high gear to start burning those extra calories. For each exercise, choose a weight that will fatigue your muscles within the suggested rep range (for example a 12 to 15 rep max means that most weight you can lift 12 to 15 times). The best workout for weight loss will always be the one that provides a significant amount of resistance using compound movements which forces your body to work larger muscle groups harder and burn more calories during and after your workouts.

Monday:

  • Chest Press: 4 sets of 12 – 15 reps with 20 lbs
  • Shoulder Press:  4 sets of 12 – 15 reps with 8 lbs dumbbells
  • Triceps Kickbacks: 4 sets of 12 – 15 reps with 5 lbs dumbbells
  • 30 Minutes Cardio
  • Workout – 45 minutes + Cardio – 30 minutes = 1 hour 15 minutes Total

Tuesday:

  • 30 Minutes Cardio

Wednesday:

  • Back-Bent Over Row: 4 sets of 12 – 15 reps with 10 lbs dumbbells
  • Biceps Curls:  4 sets of 12 – 15 reps with 10 lbs dumbbells
  • Abs – Stability Ball Crunches: 4 sets of 12 – 15 reps
  • 30 Minutes Cardio
  • Workout – 45 minutes + Cardio – 30 minutes = 1 hour 15 minutes Total

Thursday:

  • 30 Minutes Cardio

Friday:

  • Squats: 4 sets of 12 – 15 reps with 10 lbs dumbbells
  • Hamstring Curls: 4 sets of 12 – 15 reps with 30 lbs
  • Seated Calf Raise: 4 sets of 12 – 15 reps with 40 lbs
  • 30 Minutes Cardio
  • Workout – 45 minutes + Cardio – 30 minutes = 1 hour 15 minutes Total

Saturday:

  • Rest

Sunday:

  • Rest