Exercise That Burn Calories, Yes It Works!
A lot of people make research on the internet for solutions to effectively burn fat. You easily get bulks of information which you try implementing but they turn out not effective. I understand how discouraging and time-wasting it could be.
Well, today is your lucky day. I am going to provide you with an effective process to achieve your fitness goals. Before diving into this, I’d like to get you mentally prepared briefly.
Procedures in burning calories might feel impossible to attain at the very beginning, but with time, hard and right work which I would produce for you, you can achieve whatever you want. Just focus on your gains.
Get a Valid Method for Calculating your Calories Burn
Calculating burnt Calories! You’re probably thinking first about wearable devices. Well, just like I said earlier, we want proven methods, not norms. Do you know that this device, which is mostly considered by many as credible, isn’t even scientifically valid? Quite odd considering its systematic smart presence and results.
The devices estimate your energy expenditure and maximum oxygen uptake to provide a clear result. A research paper from Technical University of Munich in 2019, proves that the devices “did not show valid results concerning the estimation of VO2max and EE. the current wrist-worn activity trackers are most likely not accurate enough to be used for neither purposes in sports, nor in health care applications.”
Another scientific research is from Department of Medicine, Stanford University. Experts studied the accuracy of common wrist-worn devices (Apple Watch，Basis Peak，Fitbit Surge，Microsoft Band，Mio Alpha 2，PulseOn and Samsung Gear S2) in estimating heart rate (HR) and energy expenditure. the conclusion is that most wrist-worn devices adequately measure HR in laboratory-based activities, but not accurate estimate energy expenditure. If you are interested in this research, please open the research paper link at the bottom of the article
Another presented method is the Calculation Method. Also known as METs, it calculates your body expenditure with metabolic equivalents. There are many exercise equipment that feature this METs. They show how much calories are burnt during a specific activity based on your weight. Although a better option, it still isn’t accurate.
There are just so many factors that influence calories burning, these methods do not consider all of them when measuring. These factors include your age, sex, body type, height, oxygen intake, sleep, diet, fitness level, temperature, and so on.
Your best option is to take the results of these devices as your baseline. Although they aren’t accurate, at least you can work with an idea of the exercises that burn your calories more.
Exercises that effectively Burn Calories
There are two basic methods of burning fat, these are Dieting and Exercising, the results of both can’t be overrated. See it like this, Standard diet multiple by consistent exercise= Your desired body shape.
Speaking about exercising, the Gym might provide greater results because of its equipment, but the truth is maintaining a gym routine might be very demanding and difficult. This doesn’t mean there aren’t other effective ways or places to workout.
There are just so many kinds of workouts that can be done at the gym or someplace else. Mixing these programs also goes a long way.
Let’s take running, cycling, and swimming as examples.
Have you thought, “moving my legs, how does it reduce my belly fat?” well, the truth is your genetics gets to decide where fats settle in your body, so the best thing is to move your body. If you notice, this is the basis of most workouts.
As you exercise, calories are burnt and your body fat reduces not only in your belly but it also shreds other parts of your body.
Running, cycling and swimming are three great ways to move your body and lose fat.
Running! Let’s say you weigh around 170 pounds, when you run for 60 minutes at 6mph, you can burn around 787 calories. Remember, this depends on your weight. This calcualtor can help you in figuring out how many calories you can lose within a 60 minutes run.
Now, 3,500 calories equals a pound in your body. This means when you consistently run for 60 mins every day in a week, you can lose almost 2 pounds.
Cycling! According to Harvard Research, biking at a moderate speed of 12 to 13.9 miles per hour will produce a 180-pound person to burn 680 calories in 60 minutes. A consistent performance of this exercise every day in a week would mean you’ve lost over a pound in a week.
Lastly, Swimming! Still using 180-pounds, a freestyle fast swim for an hour can burn about 833 calories. meaning in a week, you’d get out close to 2 pounds of fat.
Simple it seems but here are some complexities.
The numbers, in general, indicate that the lesser the body weight, the lesser the amount of calories lost. What this implies is that the lesser you reduce the more it gets difficult.
Also, earlier, we discussed the importance of dieting. You need to consider the amount of calories you take in calculating your gains. As much as you lose fats with these methods, you can replace all of them with a high-calorie meal. Hence, part of the sacrifice you need to make is designing a diet routine filled with low-calorie meals.
The Relation Between Aerobic Heart Rate and Fat Burning
When you work out, are you doing enough or too small? The best way to find out if you’re maximizing your exercise is your target heart rate.
While exercising, your heart rate increases as your workout gets harder. Basically, you can gauge your heart rate with the intensity of your sessions. For example, a target rate during a moderate intense session could be about 50-70%, but if you step up the intensity, work vigorously, you’d get to about 70-80%.
80%! That’s great but not a must for you. Here’s why.
A fat-burning heart rate is about 70% of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is the amount of time your heart beats during your sessions. To determine your maximum heart rate, simply subtract your age from 220. Age is a huge factor.
For example, let’s say a 45-year-old man, his maximum heart rate would be 175 beats per minute (Bpm). To enter a fat-burning heart rate, he’d want his heart rate to be 70 percent of 175.
Different tools in the market can help you measure your heart rate during your sessions. A traditional method works but won’t serve you best. I’d recommend a wrist monitor or a chest strap monitor. These options allow you to focus, so you don’t reduce your target heart rate or go unsteady.
Here’s the target heart rate and maximum heart rate chart:
| Age | Target Heart Rate 50% - 80% | Maximum Heart Rate100% |
|---|---|---|
| 20 years | 100-170 bpm | 200 bpm |
| 30 years | 95 - 162 bpm | 190 pbm |
| 35 years | 93-157 pbm | 185 bpm |
| 40 years | 90-153 bpm | 180 bpm |
| 45 years | 88-149 bpm | 175 bpm |
| 50 years | 85-145 bpm | 170 bpm |
| 55 years | 83-140 bpm | 165 bpm |
| 60 years | 80-136 bpm | 160 bpm |
| 65 years | 78-132 bpm | 155 bpm |
| 70 years | 75-128 bpm | 150 bpm |
Exercise for special groups
- pregnant woman
Do you know your active life during pregnancy improves your’s and your baby’s health? You’re less likely to suffer from common pregnancy complaints. Even if you weren’t active before you got pregnant, it is still safe to start.
It’s normal to gain weight during this period, especially in the second and third trimesters. So it’s best to address any weight issues in the early stages.
A good way to boost your fitness during pregnancy is a more gentle aerobic exercise. Exercises such as pregnancy yoga, swimming, walking, gardening, and swimming are perfect during these times. On the flip side, there are some don’ts. Avoid exercises that cause you pain, workouts that rely on balance like cycling, done on your back, or makes you dizzy.
For these recommended workouts, you barely need equipment.
As a pregnant woman, while exercising, you need to be very cautious. Any kind of pain felt should signal a round-up of that session. You shouldn’t exercise for over 30 minutes in a day.
Apart from preventing common pregnancy complaints, exercises can also lower your risk of pregnancy problems like gestational diabetes or high blood pressure. Improves your mood and prevents anxiety, and it also helps you sleep better.
- overweight people
Some of the best exercise for overweights includes running(at a moderate pace), cycling, swimming, and skipping. These exercises burn calories effectively and also keep you perfectly fit.
As an overweight, there are lesser restrictions for your workout sessions. However, your diet plan is the most important. For example, the goal of your workout is losing weight, right? Well then, why eat high-calorie foods? You need to plan a weight loss meal filled with nutritious foods.
Surely, when your exercise goals matter as much, you can opt to invest in yourself, a wrist monitor, a comfortable pair of sneakers, swimming kits, and a skipping rope are the perfect equipment for your sessions.
These exercise benefits are much more than just fitness and fat loss. It also increases the efficiency of respiration, cardiovascular efficiency, improves the condition of your muscles, also strengthens them, and many more.
- Hypertensive
Some of the best exercises to control high blood pressure are Swimming, cycling, jogging, and Brisk walking. Avoid sprinting, skydiving, squashing, and weight lifting if possible. Although it is true that during exercises, your blood pressure can easily rise for a short period. However, your blood pressure returns to normal as soon as possible, the quicker it does the fitter you are.
The basic equipment needed for these workouts includes goggles, a wet suit (depending on the water temperature), and a swim cap for swimming. A bike and helmet for cycling.
These exercises are beneficial for losing weight or keeping fit. Just like other aerobic exercises, they also come with the basic benefits.
Reference sources and External Resources
Validation of the Fitbit One, Garmin Vivofit and Jawbone UP Activity Tracker in Estimation of Energy Expenditure During Treadmill Walking and Running
Validity of Wrist-Worn Activity Trackers for Estimating VO 2max and Energy Expenditure
Accuracy in Wrist-Worn, Sensor-Based Measurements of Heart Rate and Energy Expenditure in a Diverse Cohort