If your goal is permanent fat loss, you need to burn enough calories to make a significant impact. Here's why: In order to lose a pound in one week, you need to create a 3,500-calorie deficit; in other words, you need to burn off 3,500 more calories than you eat. A 30-minute power walk on flat ground burns about 120 calories. So, to burn off 1 pound of fat by walking, you'd have to hoof it for more than 2 hours a day.
Don't worry — no one should suggest that you exercise two hours every day! The best way to lose fat is to create a calorie deficit by burning calories through exercise and cutting calories you eat.
For example, over the course of a week, you may cut 250 calories per day by switching from mayo to mustard on your sandwich at lunch and snacking on light yogurt instead of Fruit-on-the-Bottom. Meanwhile, you could burn an extra 250 calories a day by taking a one-hour walk or a half-hour jog.
Cardio exercise is only one part of a weight-loss plan. You also need to revamp your eating habits and embark on a weight-training program. Also, keep in mind that losing weight is not as easy as it sounds on TV diet commercials. It takes a lot more commitment than just drinking that delicious shake for breakfast. And it takes time.
Don't try to lose more than 1/2 pound to 1 pound each week, and don't eat fewer than 1,200 calories per day (preferably more). On a super-low-calorie diet, you deprive your body of essential nutrients, and you have a tougher time keeping the weight off because your metabolism slows down. Realize, too, that genetics plays a large role in weight loss. It's easier for some people to lose weight than it is for others.
Here are some general cardio guidelines for weight loss. Consult a registered dietitian and certified fitness trainer to come up with a plan best suited to your specific goals and schedule.
How often you need to do cardio for weight loss
Here's the cold, hard truth: You probably need to do five or six workouts a week.
How long your workouts should last for weight loss
Here's another dose of reality: You should aim for at least 45 minutes of exercise, a mix of cardio and
strength training, six days per week. Again, you don't need to do all this sweating at once, but for the pounds to come off, the calories you burn need to add up.
How hard you need to push for weight loss
To make a serious dent in your fat-loss program, work out in your target zone most of the time. But keep in mind: If you're pretty darned "deconditioned," as the politically correct like to say, even exercising at 50 percent of your
maximum heart rate can help build up your fitness level.
You may have heard that exercising at a slow pace is more effective for weight loss than working out more intensely. In fact, many cardio machines have "fat burning" programs that keep you at a slow pace. But this is misleading. As it turns out, the concept of a fat-burning zone is no more real than the Twilight Zone.
During low-intensity aerobic exercise, your body does use fat as its primary fuel source. As you get closer to your breaking point, your body starts using a smaller percentage of fat and a larger percentage of carbohydrates, another fuel source. However, picking up the pace allows you to burn more total calories, as well as more fat calories.
Here's how: If you go
in-
line skating for 30 minutes at a leisurely roll, you might burn about 100 calories — about 80 percent of them from fat (so that's 80 fat calories). But if you spend the same amount of time skating with a vengeance over a hilly course, you might burn 300 calories — 30 percent of them from fat (that's 90 fat calories).
So at the fast pace, you burn more than double the calories and 10 more fat calories.
Of course, going faster and harder is not always better. If you're just starting out, you probably can't sustain a faster pace long enough to make it worth your while. If you go slower, you may be able to exercise a lot longer, so you'll end up burning more calories and fat that way.
Which activities burn the most calories
"Maximize your workout and burn over 1,000 calories per hour!" That's a claim you may see in advertisements for
treadmills,
stair-
climbers, and other cardio machines. And it's true. You can burn 1,000 calories per hour doing those activities — if you crank up the machine to the highest level and if you happen to have bionic legs.
If you're a beginner, you'll last about 30 seconds at that pace, at which point you will have burned 8.3 calories, and the paramedics will be scooping you off the floor and hauling your wilted body away on a stretcher.
There's a better approach to calorie burning: Choose an activity that you can sustain for a good while — say, at least 10 or 15 minutes. Sure, running burns more calories than walking, but if running wipes you out after a half mile or bothers your knees, you're better off walking.
The following table gives calorie estimates for a number of popular aerobic activities. The number of calories you actually burn depends on the intensity of your workout, your weight, your muscle mass, and your metabolism.
In general, a beginner is capable of burning 4 or 5 calories per minute of exercise, while a very fit person can burn 10 to 12 calories per minute.
The table includes a few stop-and-go sports such as tennis and basketball. Activities like these are not aerobic in the truest sense, but they can still give you a great workout and contribute to good health and weight loss. The numbers in this chart apply to a 150-pound person. (If you weigh less, you'll burn a little less; if you weigh more, you'll burn a little more.)
Calories Burned during Popular Activities
| Activity | 15 min. | 30 min. | 45 min. | 60 min. |
|---|
| Aerobic dance | 171 | 342 | 513 | 684 |
| Basketball | 141 | 282 | 432 | 564 |
| Bicycling at 12 mph | 142 | 283 | 425 | 566 |
| Bicycling at 15 mph | 177 | 354 | 531 | 708 |
| Bicycling at 18 mph | 213 | 425 | 638 | 850 |
| Boxing | 165 | 330 | 495 | 660 |
| Circuit weight training | 189 | 378 | 576 | 756 |
| Cross-country skiing | 146 | 291 | 437 | 583 |
| Downhill skiing | 105 | 210 | 315 | 420 |
| Golf (carrying clubs) | 87 | 174 | 261 | 348 |
| In-line skating | 150 | 300 | 450 | 600 |
| Jumping rope, 60-80 skips/min. | 143 | 286 | 429 | 572 |
| Karate, tae kwon do | 192 | 834 | 576 | 768 |
| Kayaking | 75 | 150 | 225 | 300 |
| Racquetball | 114 | 228 | 342 | 456 |
| Rowing machine | 104 | 208 | 310 | 415 |
| Running 10-minute miles | 183 | 365 | 548 | 731 |
| Running 8-minute miles | 223 | 446 | 670 | 893 |
| Ski machine | 141 | 282 | 423 | 564 |
| Slide | 152 | 304 | 456 | 608 |
| Swimming freestyle, 35 yds/min. | 124 | 248 | 371 | 497 |
| Swimming freestyle, 50 yds/min. | 131 | 261 | 392 | 523 |
| Tennis, singles | 116 | 232 | 348 | 464 |
| Tennis, doubles | 43 | 85 | 128 | 170 |
| VersaClimber, 100 ft./min. | 188 | 375 | 563 | 750 |
| Walking, 20-minute miles, flat | 60 | 120 | 180 | 240 |
| Walking, 20-minute miles, hills | 81 | 162 | 243 | 324 |
| Walking, 15-minute miles, flat | 73 | 146 | 219 | 292 |
| Walking, 15-minute miles, hills | 102 | 206 | 279 | 412 |
| Water aerobics | 70 | 140 | 210 | 280 |
Fitness Glossary
aeroboxing, kickboxing
A class that takes the moves of a kickboxer’s training and choreographs them to music.
Fitness Glossary
anaerobic threshold
The point at which your body switches from using oxygen as its primary source of energy to using stored sugar. When you’re in poor physical shape, you hit your anaerobic threshold while exercising at relatively low levels of exercise.
Fitness Glossary
barbells
The larger weights (for power lifting in a weight training program) that include a long bar with weights added to each end. You need to use both hands to lift a barbell.
Fitness Glossary
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis BIA
A method of measuring your body fat in which you lie on your back while a signal travels from an electrode on your foot to an electrode on your hand. The slower the signal, the more fat you have.
Fitness Glossary
blood pressure
A measurement of how open your blood vessels are. Low numbers mean that your heart doesn’t have to work very hard to pump the blood through your blood vessels.
Fitness Glossary
body composition
How much of your body is composed of fat and how much is composed of everything else. Your body composition is also called your body-fat percentage.
Fitness Glossary
body mass index BMI
A way of relating your height and weight to estimate how fat you are. You can use a simple formula to determine your BMI.
Fitness Glossary
body sculpting
A non-aerobic, muscle-toning class, usually focused on core strength.
Fitness Glossary
BOSU
A domed, flexible apparatus that helps to improve balance and can be used in a step aerobics exercise routine. BOSU is an acronym for Both Sides Utilized.
Fitness Glossary
chi
Otherwise known as "life energy," this is the life force that pulses through your body and keeps you vital. Blocked chi can cause sickness or unhappiness.
Fitness Glossary
circuit training
A fast-paced class or exercise routine in which you do one exercise for 30 seconds to 5 minutes and then move on to another exercise at the next station. Combines cardio exercise with strength training.
Fitness Glossary
core
The abdomen, obliques, lower back, butt, and so on, that form the midsection. Many forms of exercise focus on strengthening the body's core.
Fitness Glossary
core conditioning
A non-aerobic, muscle-toning class, usually focused on core strength.
Fitness Glossary
cross-training
A method of varying your workouts to take your fitness to the next level by adding new forms of training to your current routine.
Fitness Glossary
Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry DEXA
A method of measuring your body fat that also determines where the fat is located on your body, a more relevant health indicator.
Fitness Glossary
dumbbells
Smaller weights (for a weight training program) that you can lift with one hand.
Fitness Glossary
elliptical trainer
The hottest trend in cardio machines, which is part stair-climber, part treadmill, part stationary cycle. Your legs travel in an elongated circular movement, and, on some models, you pump arm poles back and forth for an upper-body workout.
Fitness Glossary
exercise ball
A large plastic ball that is an excellent tool for doing challenging exercises (with or without weights) that require varying forms of strength and control.
Fitness Glossary
Fartlek
A type of interval training program that doesn't use an exact measure of time or distance. You just do your intervals whenever you feel like it. The term Fartlek means "speed play" in Swedish.
Fitness Glossary
fitness walking
A faster and more intense walking technique than casual (lifestyle) walking that burns more calories and helps you lose weight. When you fitness walk, you generally move along at a brisk pace of 3.5 to 4.3 miles an hour, covering a mile in 14 to 17 minutes.
Fitness Glossary
flexibility
The range of motion or distance you can move a joint through. Stretching is the key to maintaining your flexibility.
Fitness Glossary
free weights
Portable weights used in a strength training program.
Fitness Glossary
high-impact aerobics
A traditional dance-inspired routine that involves jumping or hopping and moves at a slower pace than low-impact aerobics. High/low combines the two types of routines.
Fitness Glossary
interval training
A training technique in which you alternate short, fairly intense spurts of exercise with periods of relatively easy exercise.
Fitness Glossary
kickboxing; aeroboxing
A class that takes the moves of a kickboxer’s training and choreographs them to music.
Fitness Glossary
lifestyle walking
A casual walking technique that is low to moderate intensity and relatively slow paced. Most lifestyle walkers walk an average of 2.5 to 3.5 miles per hour, which means that they walk about 1 mile every 17 to 24 minutes.
Fitness Glossary
low-impact aerobics
A traditional dance-inspired routine in which you always have one foot on the floor — you don’t do any jumping or hopping. High/low combines the two types of routines.
Fitness Glossary
marathon
An organized 26.2-mile race for runners and walkers.
Fitness Glossary
meditation
A mental process involving focused attention, or calm awareness, which is also called mindfulness.
Fitness Glossary
mountain bike
A fat-tire outdoors bicycle with upright handlebars that is built to withstand rough terrain.
Fitness Glossary
multi-gym
A home gym contraption that looks like a bunch of health-club weight machines welded to each other.
Fitness Glossary
muscular failure
In a strength training program, the point at which your last repetition with weights is so difficult that you cannot perform another repetition.
Fitness Glossary
orthotics
Fitted shoe inserts designed by a podiatrist that correct weight distribution along the foot.
Fitness Glossary
periodization
A method of organizing a strength training workout program into several periods, each lasting about four weeks. Each phase has a different emphasis.
Fitness Glossary
Pilates
A form of exercise that emphasizes correct form using your body’s core. Pilates is named after its inventor, Joseph Pilates, who invented the technique for injured dancers.
Fitness Glossary
plantar fasciitis
An inflammation of the tough fibrous band of tissue that runs the length of the bottom of your foot.
Fitness Glossary
pulse
The number of times your heart beats per minute.
Fitness Glossary
Qigong
An element of a T'ai Chi practice that covers many different types of movements that involve using and feeling the body's energy.
Fitness Glossary
recumbent bike
A type of stationary bike with a bucket seat that provides back support so that you pedal straight out in front of you.
Fitness Glossary
repetition rep
One complete motion of an exercise, often used in reference to strength training.
Fitness Glossary
RICE
An acronym that stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation — common treatment methods prescribed for runners with training injuries.
Fitness Glossary
road bike
The traditional type of outdoor bicycle with curved handlebars that is built for speed.
Fitness Glossary
rolling stair climber
A cardiovascular machine that resembles a section of a department-store escalator. A set of stairs rotates in a circle so that you climb continuously, but never getting anywhere.
Fitness Glossary
set
A group of consecutive repetitions in a strength training program.
Fitness Glossary
Spinning
A popular group studio cycling program invented by ultra-distance cyclist Johnny G. and licensed by Schwinn, which manufactures the bikes used in these classes.
Fitness Glossary
stationary bike
A cardiovascular machine that comes in two styles: upright bikes and recumbent bikes.
Fitness Glossary
step aerobics
A choreographed routine of stepping up and down on a rectangular, square, or circular platform.
Fitness Glossary
stride frequency
The number of strides that a runner takes over a certain time period.
Fitness Glossary
studio cycling
Group exercise classes that are taught on stationary bicycles.
Fitness Glossary
T'ai Chi
An ancient martial art focusing on smooth, slow movements that cultivate inward focus and free energy flow. T'ai Chi is properly pronounced tie-jee.
Fitness Glossary
target heart-rate zone
A range that is between 50 percent and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate that can tell you what heart rate to aim for during a workout.
Fitness Glossary
upright bike
The traditional kind of stationary bike, which resembles a regular bicycle.
Fitness Glossary
walk-run
A workout in which you alternate walking and running. By sprinkling running intervals throughout your walking workout, you can spike up exercise intensity and burn more calories.
Fitness Glossary
weight machines
Stationary equipment mostly found at gyms that are easy to use and help you to safely and quickly advance through a strength-training workout.
Fitness Glossary
weight-bearing exercise
A type of exercise in which your skeleton is supporting any sort of weight, as it does when you walk, run, or lift weights.
Fitness Glossary
Wushu
The “martial art” or traditional self-defense activities practiced with or without weapons (includes T'ai Chi).
Fitness Glossary
yin and yang
The terms for opposites that are opposing yet complementary. A concept used throughout all of T’ai Chi and Qigong.
Fitness Glossary
yoga
A series of poses (known as asanas) that you hold from a few seconds to several minutes. The moves — a blend of strength, flexibility, and body-awareness exercises — are intended to promote the union of the mind, body, and spirit.
Well it is a very healthy information regarding weight loss.Hope it is useful for all the people who wants to reduce weight.Thanks for sharing this details to us.
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