Experts say there is no magic to exercise: You get out of it what you put in. That doesn’t mean you have to work out for hours each day. It just means you need to work smart.
That said, experts agree that not all exercises are created equal. Some are simply more efficient than others, whether they target multiple muscle groups, are suitable for a wide variety of fitness levels, or help you burn calories more effectively.
So what are the best exercises? We posed this question to four fitness experts and compiled a list of their favorites.
1) Interval training:
Whether you’re a beginner or an exercise veteran, a walker or an aerobic dancer, adding interval training to your cardiovascular workout will boost your fitness level and help you lose weight..
Interval training can be integrated into most cardiovascular exercises but is commonly used in running, swimming and cycling. The exercises are meant to increase strength in the lungs and heart. The chance to increase stamina and endurance is appealing to athletes, but it can be a means to lose weight and get in shape for the average person as well.
According to one study, people who participated in a cycling interval training regiment lost three times as much weight as those who cycled at a steady pace
Whether you’re a beginner or an exercise veteran, a walker or an aerobic dancer, adding interval training to your cardiovascular workout will boost your fitness level and help you lose weight.
2) Walking:
Any exercise program should include cardiovascular exercise, which strengthens the heart and burns calories. And walking is something you can do anywhere, anytime, with no equipment other than a good pair of shoes. If you add 30 minutes of brisk walking to your daily routine, you could burn about 150 more calories a day. Of course, the more you walk and the quicker your pace, the more calories you’ll burn.
The health benefits of walking include healthier blood sugar, a stronger cardiovascular system, improved fertility and more. While walking is fantastic for your brain and body, and can certainly increase longevity and improve mood, walking is not the most efficient type of workout if you’re aiming to lose weight
3) Jump Rope:
“If you can’t get in your normal run, jumping rope is an awesome and really fun alternative,” says celebrity trainer Erin Oprea, who incorporates jump ropes into the routines of her clients, along with her own sweat sessions.
Jumping rope is a full-body workout. It fires up your quads and glutes to help you explode from the ground, and engages your core to keep you upright and stable as you land back down. Jumping rope also involves a little arm and shoulder action, as they remain tight while the rope movement comes from the wrists.
It makes working out fun.
Jumping rope is naturally associated with childhood and that innately can make it feel fun and different from logging time on a treadmill or bike, Sklar says. “Jumping rope creates a challenge for kids and adults alike,” he says. “Once you’ve mastered the basics, there are always new challenges and ways to get creative.”
4) Strength Training:
When it comes to strength training for beginners, it’s important to know that you don’t need to do anything fancy to get strong. All it takes are some fundamental moves, consistency, and patience.
Building strength doesn’t just help you in your workouts—it can make day-to-day life easier too. “Resistance training, whether it’s moving your body weight or external weights, is a great way to help your body stay functional and healthy in the long run,” Sivan Fagan, an ACE-certified personal trainer and owner of Strong With Sivan in Baltimore, tells SELF.
Another essential factor for a quality weight-lifting workout is including a mix of pushing and pulling exercises. “Balancing your routine with pushing and pulling ensures that you maintain good muscular balance and hit all the important muscle groups,” Yellin adds.
Reps and sets for beginner strength training
Give yourself 2 to 5 minutes of rest between sets to allow sufficient recovery for your nervous system and muscles—otherwise you won’t be able to maximize your effort during the next set, says Yellin. This may sound like a lot of rest, but it’s actually fairly standard for a workout that’s focused specifically on gaining strength.
If you’re a beginner, perform 1 to 3 sets per exercise. As you become stronger, you can progress to 3 to 5 sets for each movement. Allow 48 hours of recovery (that is, no more heavy lifting for those muscle groups you worked) between workouts.
5) Spinning:
Spinning, whether it’s on an actual bike or a stationary one, is one of the best ways to burn calories and build endurance. “Spinning is a great weight-loss activity that is relatively low impact and targets the biggest, strongest muscles in the body,” Ryan says of the glutes and hamstrings. “When you engage your biggest muscles, you set off hormones to produce more muscles, similar to strength training, which helps to burn fat across your whole body,” he adds.
If you don’t like running, spinning is a low-impact alternative that’ll crank up your heart rate.
TRY a spinning interval routine: Warm up on the bike for 10 minutes. Go as hard as you can for 30 seconds; pedal easy for 60 seconds. Repeat four times except after the fourth work interval, pedal easy for four minutes. Repeat the whole cycle three more times for a total of 37 minutes of exercise.
