Top 5 Best Exercises For Weight Loss

The chances are between work, family, chores and the hundreds of other demands on your time, you only have so many hours a week left over to work out. If you want to shed a few pounds then you need to choose the most efficient exercises for weight loss, to make sure you're making the best use of your time and energy.

Circuit Training

Circuit training is actually a whole bunch of different exercises moves, done at a high intensity and with lots of variation to work all the different muscle groups and keep you from getting bored. In any session you might do a combination of lunges, squats, push-ups, pull-ups, bar dips or bicycle crunches, with quick sprints, jumping rope or butt kicks for cardio.

It's a great exercise for weight loss because it builds muscle all over your body to raise your base metabolic rate, it includes enough cardio to work your heart and lungs and make your circulation system more efficient, and the fast pace keeps you working hard the entire time. Circuit training also keeps burning calories even after you're finished as your body repairs itself and replenishes glycogen stores.

You can create your own exercise circuit and do it at home, at the park or on the beach, or you can join a class at the gym. Having classmates to compete with can force you to work harder and push your limits, and not knowing what move the instructor will yell next makes it more interesting than following the same old program.

Martial Arts

A range of exercises that were originally designed to train people for combat, martial arts combine different punches, kicks, strikes and wrestling moves like grappling or throwing to teach self defense or just to lose weight and keep fit.

The reason martial arts make such a great weight loss exercise is they use all the major muscle groups in the body, building muscle and improving strength and flexibility. They also provide an intense cardiovascular workout by elevating the heart rate for extended periods. A tough martial arts session can burn as much as 1000 calories an hour.

One of the best martial arts for weight loss is Krav Maga, a fast and aggressive style developed by Imi Lichtenfeld during street fights in 1930s Czechoslovakia and later used by the Israeli Defense Force. You're constantly moving during training as you protect yourself and learn some savage offensive moves.

If you're not ready for something quite so brutal, Kung Fu might be more your style. An ancient Chinese fighting technique, the focus is on core strength, proper body mechanics and perfecting the very precise movements.

Swimming

Like running or cycling, swimming is a cardiovascular exercise that gets you breathing hard and pushes up your heart rate. Unlike other cardio exercises, swimming provides resistance from the water that builds muscle tone and strength, and is an all-body workout that uses muscles in your arms, legs and core.

You can interval train to push up the calorie burn; just do two laps as fast as you can go followed by two at a more sedate pace. And if the water is kept at a low temperature your body expends even more energy keeping you warm.

One of the great advantages of swimming as a weight loss exercise is that it's very low impact. If you need to lose a lot of weight then traditional exercises can be hard on your joints, but when you swim the water supports your weight. It's also why swimming is often recommended as the best exercise following an injury.

It's not a bad idea to take a few lessons if it's been a while since you last went swimming. Proper technique will prevent injury and allow you to swim faster and further.

Rock Climbing

Climbing is the ultimate bodyweight exercise for weight loss – hauling yourself up a near-vertical wall relies on being able to support your weight in several different positions. You develop strength in both arms and legs as you climb, especially your shoulders, biceps and triceps, and the need for balance and stability keeps your core muscles constantly engaged.

Studies of rock climbers have found that they tend to have low BMIs, a low percentage of body fat and more muscle than the average population - especially grip strength - and better aerobic capacity. Depending on how tough your climb is and how much you weight you can burn between 500 and 900 calories per hour.

There are a lot of technical aspects to rock climbing and you need to stay safe, so get started by taking a class or joining a club with more experienced climbers. Indoor walls are better for beginners because they are graded according to difficulty, so you can start with one that has lots of obvious footholds and a slight gradient to make it easier.

Rowing

Rowing uses muscles in your lower body - hamstrings, quads and glutes – your upper body – shoulder, triceps and biceps – and a bunch of muscles in your core and back. It's a full body workout, and it's constant. It's also a good cardio workout because you push up your heart rate and breathing, and rowing for long stretches builds stamina just like long distance running.

Rowing on a machine in the gym is a good weight loss exercise, but it doesn't burn as many calories as actually rowing outside, with potentially choppy water and wind resistance to overcome. It's good to start on the machine first so you can perfect your technique in consistent conditions – take a class that includes some gym time or ask a trainer to show you the right way to use the machine.

Most people join a club for outdoor rowing, since equipment can be expensive and hard to maintain. You can even get competitive with local or national events; the camaraderie of a team and the desire to win are always good motivation to work harder.

At the end of the day, the best exercise for weight loss is the one you will actually do, even when it's cold and wet and you don't feel like going to the gym. Choose something you love and it won't even feel like working out.