Best Way to Exercise to Lose Weight – Discover My Simple Secret

Find out my simple secret and the Best Way to Exercise to Lose Weight

Best Way to Exercise to Lose Weight

I’m a pretty fit individual, I’m not bragging…it’s just the truth. Because of this, I get asked all of the time what is the BEST way to exercise to lose weight?. My answer usually astounds them, because most people assume that I spend HOURS in the gym every day, and that I don’t eat.

Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I will say that I know that one contributing factor to how thin I am is diet related, but that’s only a small part of it. Before I changed my diet to… (this really is for another article), before I changed it to lean meats of fish and chicken and just healthy fresh foods (nothing weird trust me), I was already a healthy and fit person.

But…I did have two kids and I did gain weight with the first pregnancy, quite a bit of it – mostly I believe because of hormones, but still, I had weight to lose and now people look at me and can’t believe I had kids. So moms out there, yes you can have kids and get back to a flat belly – and not just that, but I have a 6 pack 😉 again…not bragging, just a fact.

I will go into what I believe to be the best stomach exercise you can do in a moment, because it is part of the best way to exercise so that you not only lose weight, but you are extremely strong and fit (yet no one really even knows how strong you are, you can keep that your little secret if you like, until the arm wrestling contest 😉 ).

So without further ado…

What Is The Best Way to Exercise to Lose Weight?


So many people think you need a gym membership if you even have a chance to lose weight. This is just not true. I don’t care how much you weigh, you DON’T NEED TO GO TO THE GYM!! You can if you want to, if you need the structure…you like the equipment, you need the motivation or you like people staring at you. Whatever floats your boat. But I’m telling you from first hand experience, you don’t NEED it in order to burn belly fat and lose weight.

In fact, the best way to burn fat and build muscle is actually to use your own body weight. Yes, just use yourself. That’s truly the best way to build lean muscle and tone your body.

The other really important factor if you want to lose weight is you really have to be focused on what you are doing. You can’t mindlessly sit on a bike and exercise, I don’t care how long you do it. If you aren’t focused on the task (i.e. you are watching T.V.), guess what, you may as well do nothing. That may sound extreme, but if your goal is to work up your heart rate and sweat…sure you can probably accomplish that goal…somewhat. But if you want to LOSE WEIGHT, then you have to work hard…even if it is just for a few seconds and you have to KNOW you are working hard.

Best Ways to Exercise


There are so many different types of exercises out there, I’m certainly not going to put any of them down or promote any to you – you can do what you like, it really should be something you like. But I will tell you what I’ve found, for me, to be the best way to exercise.

1. Have a Routine – First things first, you must have a routine. Why? Because otherwise you’ll never exercise.

2. Find Something You Like – As I said above, you need to find something that works well for your body, age and body type and you must pick something you actually like to do.

3. Push Yourself – Even though you have a routine…until you get to the “maintain” level, you need to push yourself and vary your workouts.

For my own routine I incorporate THREE things:


1. Cardio – You need a minimum of 20 minutes, 3 times per week. Anything you choose that gets your heart rate up.

I personally run, twice a week (60+ minutes one day, 60 minutes or less the second) and Nordic Track once a week for 30 minutes. Yes, that’s more than I NEED to do, but I also exercise for my soul, and that’s how long my soul wants to exercise for. And I only started running a few years ago, so it wasn’t really how I lost all of the weight. Prior to becoming a runner I did Taebo at home regularly, I still do it – cuz it’s fun 🙂 .

2. Strength Training – As I stated above, for strength training – to get the best results to lose weight, use your own body weight. For this, I do Pushups and Planks.

I personally took the 100 pushups in a row challenge and did planks on my own (2 minute planks, 2 sets, every other day until I hit my maintain level – now just 2 minute planks, two sets, once a week.) Recently, for kicks I did the 30 day Plank Challenge. That can be a good way for you to get started. But honestly, to get going, aim for 30 minutes every other day for now, and then start upping your times and pushing yourself to go longer.

I found the magic point for my own body was the 2 minute planks, that really maxed me out and got me fast results – and I had NEVER had a 6-pack before and believe me I had tried EVERYTHING under the sun to get them. But they never appeared. Until PLANKS.

3. Stretching/Meditation – Stretching is VERY important. I recommend incorporating some yoga (I bought a DVD I can do at home), this is also great for the soul! I also do something called Fluidity, once per week, 15-20 minutes. It’s sort of a combination between ballet (poses) and yoga. I do Pilates sometimes to mix it up, but I like doing it…problem is, I don’t want to exercise ALL the time, so somethings just don’t make it into the routine.Gaiam Yoga for Beginners

That’s it, that’s all I do. And I could beat most guys at arm wrestling (although to look at my arms you wouldn’t know it, they just look nice…not overly muscly or like a body builder or anything), and as I mentioned I have a 6-pack (after two kids).

When I started using my own body weight and incorporating the push-ups and planks into my routine I saw a drastic change. I was already doing cardio for years before that, and I had tried crunches galore and anything else people recommended to get nice abs. I had a flat tummy, but NO real definition.

So there you have it. The best way to exercise to lose weight is to start doing some cardio (and be sure you walk everyday! at least 30 minutes, that is so important – we are all so sedentary these days, get out for a walk!), use your own body weight and *push yourself to your limit, and remember to stretch!

*When I say push yourself to your limit, that is really the key for losing the weight and toning your muscles. You can’t just skimp here, you can’t do a bare minimum, not if you want to see real results. The best way to lose belly fat is to do the pushups and do the planks and when you THINK you can’t possibly do another pushup or another few seconds of a plank…do 5 more! You’ll be amazed by the results of pushing yourself PAST what you think you can do.

Your body can do it, it’s your mind that doesn’t want to. Quiet your mind, pay attention to the numbers and do 5 more!

RECAP:

Best Way to Exercise

1. 20 minutes of Cardio, 3 times per week (your choice of exercise)
2. Start the 100 pushup in a row challenge (don’t worry if you never make it to the 100, it’s the journey that counts!)
3. Start the 30 day plank challenge (tip – the goal of 5 minutes, I thought that was crazy and I was really really strong and prepared ahead of time. It was tough. Really tough. I did it, but please, please, don’t get discouraged if you never quite make it to 5 minutes. Doing the 5 minutes isn’t important. “Trying” to make it to the 5 minutes is.)
4. Stretch – Incorporate Yoga or Pilates at least 3 times a week

I would love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments, or if you need any motivation or tips, you can leave them below or contact me by clicking here 🙂

Thanks for reading, now get GOING!

Kat
NurturingYourBody.com

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