Sunday, December 22, 2024

I’m a personal trainer – these are the SIX exercises that burn calories the fastest

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A personal trainer has revealed the exercises that help you to burn calories in the fastest way possible. 

Sam Quinn, a personal training lead at Nuffield Health, has shared that a deficit of around 500 calories per day – equating to 1,500 calories a day for women and 2,000 calories for men – is the ideal number for consistent, healthy weight loss

Mr Quinn says that an easy way to achieve this is to cut the number in half with –  250 calories from your diet while burning a further 250 calories by exercising.

Read on below as the personal trainer shares his top exercises that will help you rapidly burn calories. 

A personal trainer has revealed the exercises that help you to burn calories in the fastest way possible (File image)

Walk 3,500 steps 

First up, the personal trainer reminds anyone looking to shed the pounds that they should not be overlooking the effectiveness of a simple walk. 

In a time when people are looking to cut back on their spending and losing hours while glued to their smartphone – going for walks can help you reconnect with nature while shedding the pounds. 

‘Walking is free, simple and effective and should not be underestimated when attempting to burn calories,’ Quinn said, per The Daily Telegraph.

‘It is a low impact form of exercising, so can be good for people who are starting their weight loss journey, or if high intensity and high impact exercise isn’t suitable for them,’ he added. 

Run four kilometres

If you are looking for something slightly more vigorous than a walk, a four kilometre-run could be ideal. 

Running also has the added advantage of being able to be timed accurately over a fixed distance – giving you more of an incentive to improve your personal best each and every time.  

‘Running or jogging is one of the most popular forms of exercise,’ the personal trainer says. 

‘It can transform strength, fitness levels, mental health and body composition. It’s a great form of exercise for burning calories.’ 

Swim 35 lengths 

While running is a proven way to burn calories, it is known to be damaging for your knees - meaning it is not the ideal exercise to take up for everyone and swimming could be more beneficial (File image)

While running is a proven way to burn calories, it is known to be damaging for your knees – meaning it is not the ideal exercise to take up for everyone and swimming could be more beneficial (File image)

While running is a proven way to burn calories, it is known to be damaging for your knees – meaning it is not the ideal exercise to take up for everyone. 

If you suffer from knee issues, taking to the swimming pool could be a better and indeed more option for your body to feel the benefits of exercise. 

‘Swimming is a low impact full-body workout which is great for burning lots of calories,’ Quinn says. 

He says that swimming 35 lengths in a 50-metre pool will typically burn around 250 calories. 

Do 25 minutes of HIIT

Next up, Sam suggests that doing just under half an hour of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). 

‘High intensity interval training (HIIT) has become a very popular form of exercise and fat loss training strategy,’ Quinn says. 

‘HIIT training works by raising the heart rate and putting additional demand on working muscles to burn more calories than slower paced walking, swimming or cycling.’

‘It can help strengthen the body’s bones and muscles whilst boosting cardiovascular fitness and heart health,’ Quinn notes.

‘However, HIIT training should be considered with caution as it is not suitable for novices, people with poor fitness levels or underlying medical conditions, due to its intensity.’

Cycle 12 kilometres

If you do not fancy the stop-start nature of HIIT training, the more continuous path of a cycle route could be more appealing (File image)

If you do not fancy the stop-start nature of HIIT training, the more continuous path of a cycle route could be more appealing (File image)

If you do not fancy the stop-start nature of HIIT training, the more continuous path of a cycle route could be more appealing.   

‘Cycling is a low impact form of exercise which can be a very effective way of burning calories,’ Quinn says. 

It also has the added benefit of being an extremely beneficial workout for your leg muscles – should you want to focus on that part of your body instead of upper body training.  

Lift weights for one hour

If you do want to pay attention to how your upper half looks though – there is no better way to do so than lifting weights.  

‘While they don’t burn a massive amount of calories during the activity (meaning they need to be performed for longer to hit 250 calories), it will help improve body composition and increase lean mass,’ Quinn notes. 

‘This will ultimately help to burn more calories at rest and keep you burning more calories after you have finished your workout.’ 

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