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Calorie Burning Workouts That Help You Lose Weight

Working out supports your weight loss and improves your overall health. Discover the best exercises that burn the most calories so you can lose weight fast.

Alexander Singh
June 6, 2022

When it comes to weight loss, burning calories is key. Burning more calories than you consume is one of the first steps to losing weight.  This balance between diet and exercise are the most important aspects when it comes to losing weight. While there are endless exercises to choose from, some burn more calories than others. 

What Is a Calorie?

Calories refers to a unit of energy found in food that can be used by your body for many functions. When you're trying to lose weight, it's tempting—and easy—to cut back on calories, but there's more to weight loss than simply cutting out excess food. How many calories you should eat each day depends on your age, sex, and height; it also depends on your activity level. And even if you're not looking to lose weight right now, eating too few calories can cause problems like anemia and muscle wasting so it’s still important to have a handle on how many calories you need each day.

3,500 Calories Equals 1 Pound

Simply put, 3,500 calories equals 1 pound. In other words, if you want to lose weight, you need to eat less than your body uses each day. To maintain a healthy weight—and avoid gaining it back after losing it—you should aim for a 1,500-calorie deficit each day. This could mean eating fewer calories or burning more through exercise; either way will work, but burning more is preferable since it's impossible (or extremely difficult) to out-eat an unhealthy diet. 

How To Calculate Calories Burned

Calorie burn is a function of heart rate, age and weight.  According to the Journal of Sports Science, the below formula will calculate how many calories you burn during a workout.

Calories Burned = [(Age x 0.2017) – (Weight x 0.09036) + (Heart Rate x 0.6309) – 55.0969] x Time / 4.184. 

Types of Exercises for Weight Loss:

Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for weight loss. It helps to burn calories and keep your metabolism going. But what are the best exercises for weight loss?

Running

This is probably one of the most popular exercises when it comes to weight loss.  When you run, your body has to work hard to pump oxygen-rich blood to your muscles. This burns calories and helps you lose weight. Running is also a great way to tone your body. When you run, your muscles contract and expand repeatedly. This causes them to become stronger and leaner over time. Plus, running can improve your overall fitness level. A moderate-paced run can burn up to 700 calories per hour.

Cross Country Skiing

This exercise is a great calorie burner. It can help you burn up to 600 calories per hour. In addition to helping you lose weight, cross country skiing has other benefits as well; for example, it can help improve your cardiovascular health, strength, and flexibility.

Jumping Rope

Jumping rope is a great way to lose weight because it burns a lot of calories. In just 10 minutes, you can burn around 100 calories. That’s the equivalent of running a mile!Jumping rope also has other benefits. It can help improve your cardiovascular health, strengthen your bones, and improve your balance and coordination.

Cycling

Whether you’re cycling outdoors or on a stationary bike, this is a great exercise for calorie burning. Cycling is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories and lose weight. How many calories you can burn while cycling depends on your weight, speed, and duration. But generally speaking, you can expect to burn around 400-500 calories per hour. Cycling also has a number of other health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, reduced risk of cancer, and strengthened bones. 

Step Aerobics

If you’re looking for an aerobic exercise that will help you burn calories, step aerobics is a great option. Aerobic exercise has many benefits, including weight loss. In addition to weight loss, aerobic exercise also helps improve heart health, increase energy levels, and reduce stress levels.  This exercise can help you burn up to 480 calories per hour.

Swimming

Swimming is a great exercise for all-over toning and calorie burning. While swimming may not be the most vigorous form of exercise, it can still help you lose weight. In fact, a 155-pound person can burn around 408 calories in an hour of swimming. Swimming also has other benefits, such as improving your cardiovascular health and strengthening your muscles. If you are looking to improve your fitness level and lose weight, swimming is a great option. 

Rowing 

Rowing is one of the best exercises for weight loss. But it’s not just the number of calories you burn that makes rowing a great choice for weight loss – it’s also the nature of the exercise itself. Rowing is a full-body workout that engages all major muscle groups. This means that you’re working your muscles harder and burning more calories than you would if you were only doing a cardio workout like running or biking. It can help you burn up to 410 calories per hour.

Martial arts

Martial arts is a great form of cardio exercise. When you engage in cardio exercise, your body burns calories as it works to supply oxygen to your muscles. This means that you can burn hundreds of calories per hour during a martial arts class. And, because martial arts is a high-intensity workout, you’ll see results more  quickly than you would if you were to engage in a low-intensity activity like jogging.In addition to helping you burn calories, martial arts can also help you tone your body. When you engage in martial arts, you use all of your muscles – from your abs to your arms. This means that you’ll see a noticeable difference in your physique after just a few months of training. Plus, because martial arts is an intense workout, it helps to incinerate fat cells, leading to even more weight loss. You can expect to burn up to 400 calories per hour.

Stair Running

Stair running is a great way to improve your cardiovascular fitness, lose weight and tone your legs. It burns more calories than walking and it's easier on your joints than running on pavement. When you run up stairs, you are working all of the major muscles in your lower body, including your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Additionally, stair running can help improve your cholesterol levels, blood pressure and overall mood. Running up stairs can help you burn up to 396 calories per hour.

Power Walking

If you’re looking for a low-impact exercise that still burns plenty of calories, power walking is a good option. Power walking is one of the best exercises you can do to help lose weight. It’s a great way to burn calories, and it has many other benefits as well. Power walking strengthens your heart and lungs, improves your circulation, and helps tone your body. You can expect to burn up to 380 calories per hour.

Lose Weight with Alfie 

So there you have it: the top 10 exercises that burn the most calories. Whether you’re looking to lose weight or just maintain a healthy weight, incorporating some of these exercises into your routine is a great way to help you reach your goals. When you join Alfie, you'll have access to health coaches that can help you determine the right exercise strategy for your weight loss. Health coaching, combined with medication, can help you lose 15% of your weight in under 1 year through our program. Check if you're eligible for Alfie today!