Aerobic exercise is a great way to burn fat and lose weight. You don’t have to spend a lot the time and money on a gym membership in order to shed those extra pounds. In this post, I want to share some of the best home exercises to lose weight. Please stay tuned to find out how you can exercise and lose weight right at home.
Of course, losing weight is more than just exercising; you have to adopt a diet that is complimentary. Losing weight is all about the calories you take in versus the calories you burn. So these exercises that you can do at home will help you with the second part of the equation.
What is aerobic exercise?
This is kind of a broad description, but easy to understand. Aerobic exercise is really any exercise that is cardiovascular conditioning, like running, swimming, walking fast. All of this falls under the moniker “cardio” as we all like to call it.
Your heart rate will increase when you are doing cardio, versus anaerobic exercise like weightlifting. To burn fat, you want to be in the fat-burning zone, which is 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. Sorry, but there is some math involved here LOL.
To figure out your max heart rate, a general guideline is 220 minus your age. If you are 50 years old, your max heart rate is about 170 beats per minute. To be in the fat-burning zone, you want to be at 60-70% of this, so in the case of a 50-year old that is 102-118 beats per minute.
The longer you can sustain this level of activity, the better for losing weight. The Department of Health recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise.
Do I need equipment?
For some of these, you will need a few basic items, but for others, no equipment is required.
Best home exercises to lose weight
There are a lot of activities you can do at home to get your heart rate up and start breathing heavy, and these just a few that I want to discuss.
Walking
One of my absolute favorite low impact activities is walking. I have a bad back, and so walking for back pain is one of my go-to exercises. You would be amazed at some of the benefits of walking, not only for physical being but for your mental health as well. Sorry, didn’t mean to get off track there.
Walking is something that most people can do and pretty much only requires a good pair of walking shoes. I take several walks throughout the day at work because it helps me clear my head and get the juices flowing. When you have a desk job, I recommend taking as many walk breaks as you can during the day.
I walk at lunchtime and take a few strolls around the building during the day. Walking wakes me up and makes me more productive at work. Rather than take a nap at my desk, I take advantage of my two legs and get some exercise in.
A brisk walk can get your heart rate up there into that fat burning zone. I also go for a walk with my wife every night. I don’t necessarily take one long walk, but break it up into several smaller ones during the day.
Jump rope
Jumping rope is a great way to get your heart rate up and you don’t need much in the way of equipment, just a jump rope. Some good athletic shoes are a great idea too!
You will want to make sure you have enough clearance when you jump rope, so the rope doesn’t get caught up on the ceiling, or anything hanging from the ceiling like a fan. Nothing worse than having your jump rope session rudely interrupted, or ripping your ceiling fan onto the floor.
This is a very versatile exercise, as you can go at your own pace and you can push yourself as well. You can start out slow to get the hang of it and work your way up to a faster pace. Intervals are a common practice for people when they jump rope. You can also go forward, backward, try to jump over the rope two times before you land. The possibilities are enormous with this simple exercise.
Jumping rope is great for agility, hand and foot coordination and I would also throw balance in there. You can’t very well jump rope if you are off-balance.
Running
If you are a runner, then more power to you. Before I injured my back in 2015, I didn’t classify myself as a “runner,” but I would go for 3 mile runs a few days per week just to mix it up a bit. Honestly, I hate running, but there are those who love it.
Anyway, this is another excellent way to exercise and help you on your weight loss journey. Pretty much all you need is a good pair of running shoes to get started. The great thing about running is you can do this at your own pace, you don’t have to set a new record for the world’s fastest mile. You can work on that later :).
Some people start running by walking. There are different methods for getting started, walk for two minutes, run for one minute and alternate back and forth. Then you can move up to walk for one minute, run for two minutes, you get the idea. You can do this for as long as you want.
If you have never been a runner and then you start running, you may lose some weight. Running is a great exercise to lose weight since it requires a lot of muscle groups to work together, thus more energy is used.
Conclusion: Best home exercises to lose weight
Your body will adapt to your fitness routine, so it is important to switch things up now and then. All of these exercises are great because you can shock your system in different ways when you get used to it.
For instance, with running and walking, you can go farther, or faster, or find different terrain, so you are not doing the same exact thing over and over again. The same thing for jump rope you are in control of your speed and you can add variety.
Maybe you already have a cardio routine that could use a reboot, or you are just getting started. Either way, these are some great ways to exercise that don’t require you to spend time and money on a gym membership.