9. CrossFit
CrossFit, like high intensity training, is only suitable for individuals who have been exercising on a somewhat regular basis for a couple of months.
Originally designed to train first responders and Special Forces, CrossFit is a workout regimen that involves weight lifting, endurance exercises, plyometrics, strength and speed training and kettlebell exercise routines, among other activities.
One thing you won’t lose with CrossFit is interest. Unlike other routines that involve doing one exercise for a specified amount of time, CrossFit incorporates many activities into one intense, fat-burning workout.
It’s designed to target all of the major components of physical fitness, including endurance, flexibility, speed, power and cardiorespiratory fitness.
No two days are alike when you’re doing CrossFit. An example of a CrossFit routine is five repetitions of 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups and 50 squats, all performed one after the other, with a three-minute rest between repetitions.
While definitely not for the faint-of-heart, CrossFit routines are highly effective at burning calories and fat, improving physical stamina and endurance, and increasing metabolism.
To get the most benefit out of CrossFit, you should perform a different routine at least three days a week, but ideally five days a week.
The good news is that the routines are short, lasting only 15 to 20 minutes when done properly.
10. Cross Country Skiing
If you enjoy nature, like the cold and love a good snow, cross country skiing might just become your favorite exercise.
Cross country skiing is a tough workout that works every major muscle group in your body as you glide along, providing both pushing and pulling movements for your muscles. It’s great for improving balance and coordination.
Cross country skiing is a combination of resistance training and cardio activity that’ll burn between 500 and 650 calories per hour, depending on how much you weight and the intensity of the workout.
While you’re skiing, your muscles are working hard. However, since they’re all working together and you’re getting moments of rest on the glide, the lack of muscle exhaustion enables you to sustain the activity for long periods of time. Likewise, your heart rate will be elevated throughout the workout, but won’t be so high that you have to stop to rest.
Make sure you have the right gear for safety and comfort during your workout. You don’t need to spend a bundle, but you’ll need warm clothes that are designed to insulate and breathe. Make sure your ski boots are comfortable and warm.
The right form is critical when cross country skiing. Beginners should start slowly, propelling forward with long, slow strokes until rhythm and form become natural. The moves should feel coordinated and be executed with smooth, fluid motions.
Once you’ve got the form and rhythm down, let the skis take you on a tour of the winter wonderland around you. Allow your mind to wander while your body does the work so that you’re relaxed and renewed by the end of the workout.
11. Jumping Rope
Jumping rope is a favorite activity on playgrounds across the country, but it’s hardly child’s play when it comes to losing weight.
Just ten minutes of rope jumping is worth an eight-minute mile when it comes to cardio benefits and calorie burning.
An hour of jumping rope burns over 800 calories and works the arms, legs, and core, as well as strengthens bones and joints.
It’s also an excellent activity for improving coordination, agility and endurance. Jumping rope is a high-intensity activity, and as such, you don’t need to do it for a full hour to reap the benefits.
However, to avoid injury, you do need to use proper form. Your knees should be slightly bent as you hold the rope at hip height with your palms facing your body. Push off on the balls of your feet, keeping your knees soft and your upper body perpendicular to the floor. Don’t bounce between jumps, or you’ll risk injury.
A great 13-minute rope-jumping workout involves one minute of intense activity followed by one minute of rest. Start with the basic jump, during which both feet push off and land at the same time.
Next, alternate your feet. Follow that with a combination jump during which you do the basic jump for ten turns of the rope followed by alternating your feet for ten turns.
Finally, perform the high step: Alternate your feet, but bring your knees up to a 90-degree angle with each jump. End the workout with an endurance round during which you jump rope in your favorite way for at least five minutes.
12. Step Aerobics
Developed and made popular in the late eighties by workout guru Gin Miller, step aerobics is a low-impact workout with excellent cardio and calorie burning benefits.
A 45-minute step aerobics workout will burn about 550 calories while targeting the muscles in the legs, hips, and bum, as well as work out the core muscles and improve coordination.
Step aerobics involves cardio routines that utilize an elevated platform. One foot is always either on the platform or the ground, which is what makes step aerobics a low-impact exercise.
An hour of step aerobics provides you with the same fat burning and cardio benefits as a seven-mile run. You can either enroll in a step aerobics class at the gym or invest in your own step and conduct the workout at home with the aid of a DVD. If you choose the at-home workout, it’s essential to buy a step that’s the right height to avoid injury.
A step that is too high puts more force on the knees, which can lead to soreness and injury. Choose a step that puts your knee at a 90 degree angle when your foot is resting on it. Your whole foot should land on the step during the workout; the heel should never extend over the edge of the step, which can cause Achilles tendonitis. Bouncing will also leave you at a higher risk for injury, including shin splints and stress fractures.
13. Treadmill Rounds
The treadmill is a great tool for getting in a good calorie-burning workout.
Unfortunately, walking or running on a treadmill is generally very boring, and it may be hard to get motivated to work out or stay with the workout for as long as you should. And that’s where treadmill rounds come in.
Treadmill rounds utilize the treadmill to get the heart rate up, followed by floor exercises that include plenty of resistance training to strengthen muscle and increase metabolism to help you burn more fat throughout the day.
In addition to combating boredom, treadmill rounds are brief but intense, meaning you can work out for shorter periods of time while giving your whole body a workout that includes cardio benefits.
Each of the three rounds is performed three times in succession before moving on to the next round. Before you begin, adjust your treadmill to a 10 percent incline for the duration of the workout.
Round One: Set your treadmill’s speed to 10.5 miles per hour. Run on the treadmill for 30 seconds, then hop off and do 10 pushups, followed by 10 lunges. Repeat two more times.
Round Two: Set the treadmill’s speed to 11 miles per hour. Run on the treadmill for 30 seconds, and then do 10 curls with a weight in each hand, followed by 10 crunches. Repeat two more times.
Round Three: Set the treadmill’s speed to 11.5 miles per hour. Run on the treadmill for 30 seconds, and then perform 10 pushups and 10 squats.
If you’re a beginner, start with just one repetition of each round and work your way up to three reps.
14. Pushups
A set of fifty pushups will burn about 100 calories, but the real weight loss magic happens because of the muscle you build.
Pushups are highly effective for building muscle in your core, abs, chest, shoulders, triceps, lower back and glutes.
Strong muscles ramp up your fat burn even when you’re not working out, and they give your body a fit, toned appearance.
The great thing about pushups is that no equipment is required, and you can do them nearly anywhere. Good form is essential for avoiding injury when performing pushups, and to get the most benefit from your workout.
Your pushups should be slow and deliberate so that you maintain full control of your movements and really work the muscles. If you do them too quickly, your muscles won’t benefit as much and you’ll leave yourself at risk for injury.
Lie facedown with your hands a little wider than shoulder width, positioned an inch or two in front of your shoulders, with your whole body supported on your hands and toes. Your body should form a straight line from head to heels. Keep your back straight and your head in a neutral position as you slowly lower your body to two inches above the floor by bending your elbows at a 90-degree angle.
If classic pushups cause pain in the wrist area, ball your hands into fists and support your weight on your knuckles.
If you’re a beginner you may want to start with modified pushups by resting on your knees with your ankles crossed, which reduces the weight load by about half.
15. Yard Work
If you’re one of the many people who think exercise is about as pleasant as a hot poker in the eye, keep in mind that you don’t have to do traditional exercises to build muscle and burn fat.
There are a number of activities that burn calories at a high rate, and yard work is one of them.
Raking, sacking yard waste, and planting burn about 300 calories per hour, while mowing with a power mower burns about 330.
An hour of mowing with a manual mower burns about 400 calories per hour, and pulling weeds for an hour burns about 350.
In addition to burning calories, yard work is effective for building muscle and improving flexibility, and it’s also a great way to work on your tan. You can bump up the calorie burn and work your muscles even harder by naturally incorporating simple exercises into your yard work routine.
For example, instead of kneeling on the ground while you weed, start from a standing position, lower yourself slowly into a squat, pull as many weeds as you can, then raise yourself back up using your leg muscles. As you water the lawn and garden, rotate your upper body as a single unit at the waist, reaching as far right as you can and moving back to the left to work your core muscles.
By making all of your movements slow and deliberate, you will burn more calories and build more muscle as you enjoy tending to the yard. This same principle applies to housework, such as picking up, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and doing laundry.
16. TV Commercial Workout
The TV commercial workout is ideal for couch potatoes who dread lacing up the running shoes or hitting the gym.
Instead of getting up for another bowl of ice cream during commercials, get up off the couch and do some simple exercises to burn calories, improve strength and rev up your metabolism.
An hour-long TV show contains about 18 minutes of commercials. If you watch just two shows a day, this workout can give you 36 minutes’ worth of exercise to help you lose weight and improve muscle tone.
During just one hour long TV show, you can burn 92 calories by doing jumping jacks or crunches during the commercials, or you can burn 205 calories by jumping rope during the ads. You can also perform pushups, crunches or squats, or use hand weights to perform standard weight training exercises.
If you want to get a full-body workout in during your two hours’ worth (or more) of TV, alternate exercises during each commercial break. For example, during the first break, do crunches. During the second break, jump rope. During the third break, perform squats, and so on. By the end of the evening, you will have worked all of your major muscle groups, gotten in some cardio and burned a number of calories.
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