More than 7 out of every 10 adults in London, England, are uncomfortable with their weight. In fact, there are now over 1.9 billion adults on the planet who are considered to be overweight. Dieticians and personal trainers will tell you the reasons vary widely, but they all agree that trying to lose weight exclusively with exercise can be a very frustrating process.
This is especially true for people who want to lose a certain amount of weight by a specific date. In our modern age of instant gratification, when results don’t come quickly enough, we’re prone to abandon our fitness routines just as quickly as we started them. In other cases, people might be able to burn off a quick 5- or 10 lbs. via some extreme fat-burning workout, but without any sustainable changes to their lives, they’re likely to experience the dreaded ‘yo-yo effect” of losing weight only to put it back on again once they return to their previous way of living.
If you find yourself getting frustrated because of you can’t find the time, can’t get the results, or just can’t find a regimen you can stick with, it may not be that you don’t like exercising, but rather the exercises that you’re choosing just aren’t sustainable with your lifestyle.
It’s no secret that exercise is a crucial element in sustainable fat loss. Fortunately, we were able to talk with a few fitness professionals in the London area who showed us why the following exercise activities were so easily adaptable in the lifestyles of their clients and why they are so remarkably effective in burning off that extra fat.
Stair Climbing
According to research, climbing stairs burns more calories than jogging does...and you don’t need to invest in new equipment. Stair climbing is something that most of us can do in our own homes with a single flight of stairs or a relatively inexpensive aerobic step. Stair climbing workouts for beginners can be as short as 10 minutes, and you will definitely see the benefits before long.
Remember, muscle mass burns fat. Climbing your stairs in repetitions over a few weeks gradually builds up your leg muscles. With stair climbing, you’re strengthening the biggest muscles in your body, and that new muscle can serve to incinerate unwanted fat over time.
If you really want to make stair climbing effective, hold a few light dumbbells in each hand to tone your upper body as well.
Walking - Get More Steps
Getting in more steps may not sound like a game changer but achieving those coveted 10,000 steps per day can help you burn an extra 500 calories. Do that over a week and that’s 3500 calories - the same number of calories in a pound of fat.
If you’re new to walking for weight loss, remember to try and keep a brisk pace that elevates your heart rate. In fact, walking is one of the easiest exercises to integrate into our daily routines. We can get up and walk during breaks at the office, we can take the stairs instead of the elevator, or walk laps in our house while we’re on the phone. You can even maximize the results of walking by investing in a pair of walking poles that will enhance your workout by getting your upper-body into the mix.
Doing Yoga
Many people are reluctant to believe that yoga can be a very effective fitness strategy for losing weight. At first glance, we look at yoga and think of it primarily as an exercise for deepening our breathing and stretching – few think it’s possible to lose any significant weight with yoga. That’s unfortunate because yoga offers a wide array of health advantages, and muscle building is one of the big ones. In fact, over 75% of people that practice yoga report being physically stronger.
If you can integrate yoga practices into your lifestyle on a consistent basis, it will almost certainly lead to a boost in your body’s muscle mass and that leads to a higher calorie burn rate.
If you can access the internet, there are swaths of free online yoga routines that you can try. All you need to do is choose one routine that you like and commit to doing it 3 or 4 days a week – that’s a simple but sound strategy for building more muscle mass, and that helps to burn more unwanted fat.
Planking
Planking, or Plank Pose, is a static exercise that consists of maintaining a difficult position for an extended period of time. All you need to do is intensify your torso in a horizontal position for a prolonged period – like the top of a “push up.”
Planking is one of the most popular exercises you can do at home to burn fat through muscle building. This one can be great for staying active during those commercial breaks. The effectiveness of planking is that the longer you can hold your plank, and the more often you do them, the happier you’ll be with your results. Over time, try to focus on holding your plank position for a longer period of time for better results. For starters, try holding a plank position for 60 seconds 3 times a day, and do those 3 or 4 days a week.
Talk to a Personal Trainer or Coach
Consulting with a fitness professional or personal trainer could be one of the most resourceful decisions you ever make if weight loss is your goal. These credentialed professionals can help you maximize the results of your fitness efforts by assessing your lifestyle and then coming up with a selection of fitness activity recommendations that are not only enjoyable, but also sustainable in your lifestyle. Since the onset of the pandemic, personal training has become remarkably innovative in terms of how it can be applied in our lives, and personal trainers are surprisingly affordable. Whether you live in Fisherman’s Wharf or Canary Wharf, a simple online search of “PT near me” can be the first step in finally getting the weight loss results you’ve been waiting for.