5 Weight Loss Workouts That Top Trainers Swear By
Just as we're continually obsessed by what professional chefs actually choose to cook at home, we're equally as obsessed with what workouts professional trainers personally use to get fit and even lose their own weight. After all, given their advance knowledge of biomechanics and the human body, surely they know some amazing secret workout tricks for shedding weight fast that the rest of us simply aren't aware of, right? Well, not necessarily. According to lots of top trainers, they don't do anything you likely haven't already tried, whether it's the right type of cardio, strength training, or even the right stretching exercises. Read on for a few go-to weight loss workouts that trainers swear by. And for more on weight loss, make sure you're aware of The Only Workout That Can Change Your Body Shape, According to a Top Trainer.
Full-Body Strength Workouts
"If I'm trying to lose weight, I prefer doing strength training sessions that hit the whole body," says Tim Liu, C.S.C.S., an LA-based fitness and nutrition coach and a contributor to Eat This, Not That! "It burns more calories than other forms of exercise, and helps maintain your muscle mass, which is important if you want to look lean and toned." For a great example of a full-body strength routine, see The 10-Minute Total-Body Workout That Will Transform Your Body Fast.
Fasted Cardio
If you've never heard of "fasted cardio," know that it's exactly what it sounds like: It refers to exercising on an empty stomach, and usually means getting in your sweat session before you eat your breakfast. It's also the preferred form of weight loss exercise for Noam Tamir, C.S.C.S., founder and coach at TS Fitness. "Having just trained for a physique competition, [I know] one of the changes you can make to lean out is steady-state cardio in the morning," he explained to Men's Journal. Tamir says that you should aim for 30 to 60 minutes at a walk or light jog before breakfast to maximize your weight loss, and at roughly 60% effort.
Mountain Climbers
"Mountain climbers are great because they work your entire body from a cardiovascular and muscular perspective," Ashley Edwards, a personal trainer with Fit2DaBeat LLC, recently told Parade. They're an amazing fat-loss exercise, she says, and you can consider it a bonus that it will help you gain both strength and stability, while working your core. Her advice is to do 20 per day for 5 days a week as you seek to lose weight.
Intervals
Studies have shown that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) drives 29% more fat loss than more moderate-intensity exercises, so it's no secret that some trainers would use interval training as their go-to weight loss workout. In short, you'll burn more energy in a tighter window of time. "HIIT is super effective because it produces something called EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption)," Jill Anzalone, group fitness and personal trainer, explained to Parade. "This means that you keep burning calories even after the workout is over."
Yoga
Chris Pabon, a trainer with FlexIt.Fit, told Parade that his go-to weight loss workout was yoga, because the benefits of yoga extend to all of the types of workouts you can do and make them all more effective. "It teaches you how to control your body, your breathing, and really focus your mind on the task at hand," he is quoted saying. Yoga, he indicates, is the exercise tide that lifts all boats. If you're still not sold on doing yoga, be sure you know the One Incredible Side Effect of Doing Yoga, Says New Study.
