Some forms of exercise are more efficient than others at burning calories, reducing body fat, and supporting long-term weight management. But the best workout for weight loss is one you’ll actually do.
“One of the biggest things is consistency. You want to participate in exercise that you can stick with,” says Amy Peters, CSCS, who provides weight loss coaching in Clarksburg, Maryland.
The good news? You can choose from several effective workouts to help support weight loss.
1. Walking
Walking is considered an aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is a continuous activity that increases your heart rate, causes your body to use oxygen, and engages large muscle groups.All of that work results in your body burning energy (calories). Burning more energy than you consume creates a calorie deficit that can promote weight loss.
Walking is also a great entry point into exercise, says Renee J. Rogers, PhD, a senior scientist in the division of physical activity and weight management at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. “Asking someone to start with a 10-minute walk feels feasible,” Dr. Rogers says. “Not everyone has access to a gym, but people might be able to go out and walk — this can create confidence with exercise.”
Research indicates that people need to get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week to see a meaningful reduction in body fat and waist circumference.If you’re new to exercise, start with a 10-minute walk and gradually add a few minutes each week as it starts to feel easier.
2. Running
Running is one of the most efficient cardiovascular workouts for burning calories, says Natalie Ribble, CSCS, chief brand officer at Seattle Strength and Performance in Washington. Because running is higher intensity than walking, it drives your heart rate higher, increases your body’s need for oxygen, and burns more calories per minute.
The exact number of calories you burn depends on your weight and pace. For example, a 30-minute walk at 4 miles per hour burns roughly 175 calories for a 155-pound person. By comparison, a 30-minute run at 5 miles per hour burns roughly 288 calories for the same person.
Over time, that calorie burn can translate into meaningful fat loss. Research shows that compared with their inactive counterparts, people who consistently run at least 6.2 miles per week have lower levels of overall body fat, including visceral (abdominal) fat, which is associated with increased health risks.
3. Cycling
Cycling is unique among moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic activities like running because it’s low impact, meaning it’s gentle on the joints. This makes it particularly manageable for adults with obesity, musculoskeletal pain, or limitations that prevent weight-bearing exercise. Research has also found that cycling is safe for knee health in people with obesity who may experience joint pain with higher-impact activities like running.
At the same time, cycling is easy to scale to your fitness level, says Peters. If you’re an avid exerciser, you can crank up the resistance or pace to drive your heart rate higher and burn more calories.
4. Strength Training
Strength training doesn’t burn as many calories as cardio when done for the same duration. But it supports weight loss in a different way: by improving body composition, or reducing fat while increasing muscle, says Ribble. You might notice that your body looks different or your clothes fit differently, but the number on the scale hasn’t changed, she adds.
More muscle also means a higher resting metabolic rate, since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat even when you’re not exercising.
To reap these benefits, physical activity guidelines recommend getting at least two full-body muscle-strengthening workouts per week.
5. Swimming
Swimming is a low-impact aerobic activity that requires you to use the muscles of your arms and legs to push through the resistance of the water, Rogers says. That effort burns roughly 360 calories per 30 minutes at a vigorous intensity. Sustained over time, that calorie burn can lead to significant reductions in body weight and fat.
Research backs this up: One study of adults with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension) found that a 16-week swimming program led to reductions in body mass index and body fat percentage. It also resulted in improvements in metabolic health parameters like cholesterol, blood glucose, and blood pressure — none of which were seen in the control group.
6. High-Intensity Interval Training
In a study of people with obesity, HIIT and moderate-intensity cardio led to comparable weight loss after 12 weeks, even though the HIIT group spent significantly less time exercising.Another study found that HIIT led to a greater decrease in body fat percentage after eight weeks, compared with moderate-intensity cardio.
Because HIIT is more taxing on the body, limit yourself to two or three HIIT workouts per week, with at least one rest day in between. That said, research shows that even one HIIT session per week can be enough to reduce body fat in adults who are overweight or who have obesity.
7. Yoga
As a mind-body practice, yoga doesn’t have a reputation as a weight loss workout, but it may help in indirect ways. Poor sleep, chronic stress, and musculoskeletal pain are all factors that can work against weight loss, and yoga addresses all three.
Research suggests that yoga can improve sleep, reduce stress, and ease pain. This matters because poor sleep affects appetite and can lead to increased calorie consumption. Stress and depression have been linked to obesity because they can influence food intake and promote fat storage.And musculoskeletal pain can discourage movement, while increased body fat can drive inflammation, making pain worse.
Yoga’s direct calorie burn is modest, at about 144 calories per 30 minutes for a 155-pound person. However, evidence suggests that various yoga styles can support modest weight loss.
Many common yoga poses, such as those in the sun salutation sequence, also strengthen major muscle groups through body-weight resistance. Adding resistance training to a weight loss plan helps increase fat loss and preserve muscle in people who have obesity or who are overweight.