When we get asked what is the best workout to lose weight our minds go to a few things. As fitness professionals we know there isn’t one particular workout or exercise that is specific to weight loss.

However, there are certain exercises you can target in tandem with a caloric deficit to create conditions within your body and metabolism to see weight loss.

So, first things first. Set a basic plan of attack for your food & drink consumption. You should aim to create a calorie deficit of 250-400 calories per day. We like this BMR and TDEE calculator (No they are not the same).  Once you know these numbers you can cut back 15% – 30% of your daily caloric intake. Start tracking food simply and get more detailed over time. Trust the process.

Now, on to exercise and workouts that help with weight loss

What is the best workout to lose weight?

Determine your intensity. Are you just starting to think about working out? Have you been working out previously but stopped? Are you coming out of rehab of an injury or pregnancy? All these factors play a part in what you should do for your workouts. Remember, workouts BUILD the body. Exercise makes us stronger and there are levels to this.

Exercise #1 – Walking

This may seem simple but walking post meal, after dinner or lunch, is a proven way of fighting the glucose spike in your blood levels and increasing metabolism. Are you getting 10,000 steps per day? That’s a good starting point. Once that is an easy standard it’s time to look at something more intense.

Exercise #2 – Strength Training, Body Weight and High Rep Resistance  

You can start this at home. Push ups, sit ups, plank holds, band resisted pulls or presses, etc. This is to be done with your standard of movement (10,000 steps/day at least) in an effort to build lean muscle. Lean muscle helps you burn more calories and the process of soreness and recovery teaches your body. A trainer can help you find modifications and program a progressive plan in this area or you can just start by working toward 10-20 full body push ups, 15-30 sit ups, 1 minute plank and 40 body weight squats

Exercise #3 – High Intensity or Endurance Training

This is the phase that requires the most help to stay accountable to. This can be HIIT, Kickboxing, Circuit Training, Crossfit or another means of organized functional training. The benefit of this level is that you are building the most muscle and burning the most calories. That means that your calorie intake will change the most here. You’ll be able to have more flexibility on your journey and the most fun! Workouts in this phase last about 30-60 minutes and increase the pace you work at or the weight you work with.

Conclusion

When answering the question “what is the best workout to lose weight” you have to start with what you are consuming. These are the amount of calories and then quality of those calories by understanding macros. This takes some learning to understand the basics but once you do it’s not rocket science.  Start with the food intake then move to what your body is doing each day. Your activity on a daily, consistent basis matters. Walk every day then move on to what your body can accomplish through HIIT, Kickboxing or circuit training. There are so many place and ways to accomplish this in an environment that provides feedback and motivation to not stop