If you are reading this right now, you are probably looking for some hardcore workout to get your body in shape. Luckily, I’ve got you covered. I’m all about helping people achieve their goals through heart-thumping workouts, whether they wish to get stronger, become faster or lose weight.

When it comes to weight loss workouts, there are several myths that make people wary of adapting them. It is true that there are some weight loss workout plans out there that aren’t really effective for losing weight and will just get you sweating with no reward. But sometimes, it’s not the workout plan that’s wrong; rather the person adapting them is at fault. Remember, if you are following a workout guide, you must do exactly what it states; you cannot improvise!

That said, it should be noted that you cannot lose weight only by working out. There are other things as well that you must focus on to lose body fat. For example, you must create a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. This means that you must use more calories than you consume and the part of consumption plays a bigger role than any exercise you do at the gym. Other habits like stress management and sleep, and your health condition also have an effect on your weight. The point is that the journey of weight loss is complicated and it doesn’t work exactly the same way for every person.

Before I begin with the workout guide for weight loss, I must point out one important thing: weight loss is not suitable for everyone. Some people are better off ignoring their weight altogether and it’s healthier for them to not think about losing weight. That is especially true for people who’ve a history of disordered eating. You should talk to your doctor if you’ve a history of disordered eating.

Now that you understand the basics of weight loss and the things you must focus on other than exercises to lose your body weight, let’s get to the workout guide.

Weight Training for Weight Loss

I believe that weight training lies at the top of the workout chain. Resistance training with or without added weights is very helpful for building muscles and burning fat. It has been shown that lifting weights increases our metabolic rate. When our metabolic rate increases, the body burns more calories even when we are not working out. Although the effect is not enormous, but as you’ll lift weight to build more muscles, you’ll use your calories resulting in a calorie deficit. Plus, the more muscles you have, the more you can get out of your workouts.

I recommend you do weight training three times a week. You should know that your body will adjust to the workout when you do the same exercise every week with the same level of intensity. Therefore, you must switch exercises after every three weeks. With the changes, your body will keep guessing and you’ll get more out of your workouts.

What you should do:

Upper-Body Pushing Exercise and Upper-Body Pulling Exercise

Superset upper-body pushing exercise and upper-body pulling exercise. Do one set of upper-body pushing exercise like push-up followed by a set of upper-body pulling exercise like dumbbell curl. I recommend that you do three sets of ten reps of each exercise.

Compound Lower-body Exercise

Pick any compound lower-body exercise for this one. There isn’t any specific amount of sets of reps for this workout and I recommend that you start with a weight that is not challenging and then work your way up. I recommend that you do five reps with a light weight, do five more with weight that is five pounds heavier and then rest. Repeat this pattern and keep increasing the weight by five pounds. When you hit your limit, don’t try to go past that as there’s a risk of injury when you lift beyond your capacity.

Core/Lower-Body Superset: Core Move and Unilateral lower-body Exercise

In a unilateral lower-body exercise like Bulgarian split squat or reverse lunge, only one leg is worked at a time. When you work on just one side, you can be sure that you are not relying on the other leg. After both sides are done, you should superset it with a core move like a plank or Russian twists.

Interval Training To Lose the Fat

Interval training is one of the most effective training methods for weight loss. What exactly is interval training? Any kind of exercise where our heart spikes and then repeatedly comes down is referred to as interval training. This includes going as hard as you can for a specific interval, resting and then again going hard. The recovery part of the interval training is the key.

You can do the popular high intensity interval training (HIIT), or indoor cycling. Indoor cycling generally falls under cardio rather than strength training. In cycling, various muscles of our body like quads, glutes, hamstrings and core, are used which translates to loss of weight. The more muscle are incorporated in an exercise, the more calories are burned as energy is required by all those muscles to work.

Boxing to Beat the Calories

Boxing is a kind of interval training, but there’s an important thing which you must remember when you adapt boxing for weight loss. You must not only use your arm strength to punch; rather the majority of your power in the punch should come from the core. Boxing will allow you to workout muscles that are normally ignored in routine workouts.

I recommend you learn proper boxing from an instructor as you won’t be able to keep your level of intensity high, if you do it on your own.

Keep Going with Boot Camp

Boot camp is another important part of the weight-loss workout as it combines two of the most effective training styles: resistance and interval. You will perform both cardio-focused and strength-focused exercises and get guidance to do them right! An instructor will tell you when you need to turn up the heat and increase the intensity or weight, keep you safe from injuring yourself and provide the motivation to help you keep moving forward in your weight loss journey.

Get out there and Start Running

Find a slightly steep hill and start your sprint up or get on the treadmill. By running uphill, you’ll work your legs and glutes — two of the biggest muscle groups of your body, which require more expenditure of energy. As stated earlier, the more energy you use, the more calories you will burn and thus the more fat you’ll lose.

Relax Yourself with Yoga

Yes! I’m not kidding, yoga is actually a part of the workout guide for weight loss. It is true that for losing weight, yoga alone is not great, but it is a secret weapon that can play an important role in your weight loss journey. The reason is that when you do yoga regularly, you’ll stay healthy and fit for your other intense workouts. And that’s not all! Stability and balance is required for yoga, which promotes our functional strength and improves our mental health. I recommend that you perform yoga at least once a week. Work with a yoga instructor and watch videos online to get it right.

Hit the Pool and Go Swimming

In addition to running and lifting heavy, I also recommend that you go to a swimming pool once a week and do a few laps. The exercise is low impact and will work all the major muscle groups of your body. As with all the other exercises, the results will be best when you follow a plan. So, during your swimming session, tread water for as long as you can, then rest for just two minutes. Then swim 8 sets of 100 meters with a rest of one minute between the sets.

Jumping Rope

Relive those days of P.E. class and start jumping ropes. The ropes are portable, cheap and the best thing is that you can take them anywhere and start jumping! For proper rope jumping that will help you lose weight, follow a plan. Warm up with a skip of two minutes. Do 50 jumps with both feet getting in the air at the same time. Once you’re done, do 50 jump rope sprints (regular jumps but at a much quicker pace).

Go Hard with Tabata

Tabata involves four minutes of HIIT in which you work out hard for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. The sequence is repeated eight times. This protocol can be used with different exercises like push-ups, bodyweight squats, mountain climbers, etc. Your heart rate and metabolism will spike in four minutes of exercise when you’re working out at your maximum effort.

When doing Tabata for weight loss, many people make a big mistake: keep doing the exercises for four minutes. The problem with the four minute interval is that when you’ll keep doing the exercise for four minutes, you body will adapt to it and you won’t benefit from it as there is no change. In order to truly benefit from Tabata, you must increase the intensity or volume of the exercises. How can you change then volume and intensity? I recommend you increase the time of your session to 16 minutes with the same format. Just choose three exercises- like mountain climbers, bodyweight squats and push-ups- then do each one for 20 seconds as hard as you can, then rest for ten seconds. Repeat this eight times on one exercise and then move to the next one after resting for one minute.

CrossFit

CrossFit has become an important part of the workout industry, but it will only work if you don’t overdo it. In a CrossFit gym, you’ll be doing different workouts like kettlebell swings, box jumps, front squats, rope climbs and the workout routine will be intense and short. The important thing that I must point out here is that when looking for a CrossFit gym, you should find an experienced coach who can modify and explain the moves, motivate you to work out for losing weight and ensure that you don’t overdo.

Don’t Forget to Recover

Remember rest is essential for your body and you can’t just keep going without taking a break from the workout. So, make sure that you dedicate at least two days of the week to recovery. Rest will provide your body a chance to rebuild muscle fibers that you have been tearing during all your workouts. However, recovery day doesn’t mean that you just lie on the couch, watch movies and eat your favorite snacks. You must do some gentle movement like go for a walk or do something else that you love. Movement will help increase flow of blood and drive more blood to your muscle resulting in a speedy recovery.

So, these are all the workouts that you should to do lose weight. One thing that you must remember is that you must push yourself hard in every workout you do whether it is weight training or lifting heavy; you can’t afford to go easy. Also, you must be regular and consistent. Results won’t show if you skip your workouts thinking that it doesn’t matter if you leave an exercise for one day. This kind of thinking will act as a major roadblock in your weight loss journey. So, stay focused on your workouts, and maintain consistency and regularity. I promise if you do the workouts I have mentioned in this guide, you’ll be able to lose weight like many of my others clients have. If you need assistance with a particular exercise or are unsure of its proper form, you can contact me for further guidance and together we’ll get that extra fat off your belly!