Best Exercise for Weight Loss?

If you are trying to lose weight, including exercise in your plan is crucial not only for faster weight loss but also for overall health. A new study from Spain published in 2015 has revealed which type of exercise is the most effective.

The study involved 48 obese men and 48 obese women aged 18 to 50 who were recruited from the Technical University of Madrid and La Paz University Hospital to participate in a 22-week supervised diet and exercise program. Each participant was given a reduced-calorie diet that provided them with 30 percent fewer calories than they burned daily based on individual calibration.

The participants were assigned randomly to one of three different exercise-training programs or instructed to follow the weekly physical activity recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

The first group of participants was allowed to choose an endurance activity, such as running, cycling, or working out on an elliptical machine. The second group only did strength training exercises like biceps curls, bench presses, shoulder presses, squats, and barbell rows, while the third group performed both strength and endurance exercises. All the groups exercised three times a week for a total of 51 minutes at 50 percent intensity from weeks two to five of the study. In weeks six to 14, they increased their intensity to 60 percent, and the time they exercised was 50 minutes per day, three times a week. Participants exercised for 60 minutes during weeks 15 to 22 while their intensity remained at 60 percent.

The ACSM recommends that you exercise for 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week for a total of 200 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity. The participants following these ACSM recommendations were advised to increase their daily activity in other ways, such as walking instead of driving, taking stairs instead of elevators, and making other lifestyle changes to become more active.

The researchers discovered that all participants, regardless of the type of exercise they did, lost significant amounts of weight, and their body mass index and waist circumference decreased. Furthermore, they all saw significant increases in their lean body mass.

The study by the Spanish experts suggests that regular exercise helps enhance weight loss efforts. Fitness expert Dan Bornstein emphasizes the importance of variety in your workouts. The more you vary the intensity, duration, and even the type of exercises you do, such as walking, jogging, biking, swimming, or hiking, the more physically challenging each workout will be, and the more calories you will burn. Additionally, varying the kinds of exercises you perform will reduce your chances of getting repetitive stress injuries.

If you’re new to exercise, it is advisable to work with a trainer who can recommend the exercises most effective for you and teach you how to perform them safely.

Republished from DrWeil.com

Source:
Carmen Gómez-Candela et al., “Change in weight and body composition in obese subjects following a hypocaloric diet plus different training programs or physical activity recommendations.” Journal of Applied Physiology, 2015; 118 (8): 1006 DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00928.2014