To lose weight, burn more calories than you eat. Aerobic exercises like running, dancing, and cycling burn more calories than anaerobic exercises like weight lifting. Factors like weight, intensity, duration, and environment affect calorie burning. Non-athletic activities like gardening and house cleaning also burn calories. Exercise for at least 30 minutes daily and elevate heart rate for cardiovascular health. Every calorie expended counts for weight loss.
There is a simple formula that is guaranteed to help people lose weight: burn more calories than you eat. Almost all activities, from breathing to running, require the body to use energy and therefore cause the body to burn calories; However, there are certain calorie burning exercises that burn more calories than others. Additionally, many factors play a role in determining how many calories your body will use during an exercise session. These factors include the person’s weight, how vigorously they are exercising, the duration of the exercise, and the environment.
Aerobic exercises are among the best for burning calories. Aerobic exercises are exercises that require the supply of oxygen to the muscles through the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Among the highest calorie-consuming aerobic exercises are activities such as running, dancing, cross-country skiing, jumping rope, bicycling, ice skating, canoeing, and kickboxing.
Calorie-burning exercises, such as those listed above, will certainly use calories; however, the number of calories actually expended is a variable. For example, a person who weighs 135 pounds (61.2 kg) and runs five miles per hour (8 km per hour) will burn approximately 472 calories. If that same person runs a little faster at seven miles per hour (11.3 km per hour), he will burn approximately 679 calories. But, if the person weighs 190 pounds (86.2 kg), the 5 miles per hour (8 km per hour) run will expend 690 calories and the fastest run will burn 992 calories. Throw some hills on the running course and you’ll burn even more calories.
Not all exercises to burn calories need to be in the form of athletic activity. There are many opportunities to expend energy without going to the gym. For example, an hour of gardening will burn about 295 calories for a person who weighs 135 pounds (61.2 kg); again, more or fewer calories can be burned depending on the level of activity during gardening and the weight of the gardener. Other examples of calorie-burning exercises for non-athletes include babysitting and general house cleaning. Climbing the stairs to put away clothes, chasing a wandering child, and even scrubbing the bathroom floor burns calories.
Anaerobic exercises, such as weight lifting, also burn calories. Anaerobic exercises generally use smaller bursts of energy and do not use oxygen to fuel the muscles. Although weight lifting is beneficial for a number of reasons, it won’t burn as many calories as most aerobic exercises. For example, a 135-pound (61.2 kg) person lifting weights at a moderate pace will only burn about 177 calories over the course of an hour.
It is important not to confuse exercises to burn calories with exercises that maintain a healthy lifestyle. For example, while chasing a child around the house will burn calories, it may not be enough to improve a person’s cardiovascular health. Typically, exercise should be done for at least 30 minutes each day and the heart rate should be elevated for maximum cardiovascular health. If a person’s goal is weight loss, every calorie expended counts, even those that don’t raise the heart rate or make the person sweat.
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