6 Swim Workouts That Target Your Belly

As these exercises are performed in a pool, please keep safety a priority. If you feel you cannot safely perform the exercise due to fatigue, stop immediately, get out of the pool, and rest.

1. Kickboard kicks

This exercise follows a form used in beginner swim lessons.

Arms outstretched, hold a kickboard in front of you and start kicking your feet.

As you swim, imagine pulling your navel in toward your spine and away from the bottom of the pool.

Travel the length of the pool, or until you feel fatigued and cannot continue safely.

Equipment needed: Shop for a kickboard.

2. Pikes

This exercise works both your abs and your arms.

From a standing position in water up to your neck, pull your knees up to your chest.

Lean back, extending and straightening both legs forward into a jackknife, or pike, position. Your body should be in a “V,” with your bottom pointing toward the floor of the pool.

Hold this position, which will help tone your abs.

Keep yourself afloat using your arms, pushing them backwards in circles. This can help tone your triceps.

Hold for a few seconds, rest, and repeat 10 times.

Beginners may only be able to hold the pike position for a second or two. However, being consistent with an exercise program will allow you to hold the pike position for a longer period of time.

3. Tic-toc

This exercise works your obliques, or side muscles, as well as your abs.

Stand in the shallow end of the pool with your feet shoulder-width apart.

Lean over to one side until your arm is submerged up to the elbow.

Move slowly back to an upright position, squeezing your abs tightly as you return to standing.

Lean over slowly to do the exercise on the other side.

Repeat 8 times.

4. Flutter kick

This exercise works the muscles in your hips (hip flexors) and buttocks (gluteus muscles) as well as your core muscles. When you feel comfortable enough in the water, you can do the exercise without the floating device.

While in a pool where your feet cannot touch the bottom, hold onto the pool edge or use a floating device (such as a pool noodle) to keep your upper body afloat.

Hang your legs toward the bottom of the pool.

Scissor kick your feet front-to-back rapidly to help keep you afloat. Point your toes and keep your legs straight as you kick.

Repeat this movement for as long as you can do so comfortably and safely.

Equipment needed: Shop for a pool noodle.

5. Dolphin kick

To increase the use of your core muscles and make breathing easier, you can also flip over onto your back to do this exercise.

Start with your arms outstretched in front of you, clasping your hands together or holding a kickboard.

Tightening your core muscles, move your body in a wave-like motion to propel yourself forward. First, push your chest downward while keeping your hips up, and then push your hips down while your upper body moves up. This may take some practice.

Repeat this movement as you travel the length of the pool or until you feel fatigued and cannot safely continue the exercise.

Equipment needed: Shop for a kickboard.

6. Swimming with a buoy or band around your ankles

A pull buoy is a small piece of swimming equipment that helps your body stay afloat. You can find them in sporting goods stores.

Place a pull buoy between your thighs or ankles. This will float your hips and legs to the surface of the water. Or, for a more challenging exercise, place a strap around your ankles.

Begin swimming freestyle. This means doing the crawl stroke, in which you alternate your arms in a forward circular motion behind you and over your head. Keep your feet together and do not kick, allowing the buoy to keep your legs floating. This allows you to isolate your upper body during the exercise. Using an ankle band serves the same purpose, but allows for a more challenging workout.

Keep your core engaged to prevent your hips and feet from sinking.

Travel the length of the pool, or until you feel too tired to continue.

Equipment needed: Shop for a pull buoy or an ankle band.

Takeaway

Swimming is a great way to exercise, especially in the hot summer months. With these workouts, you can not only enjoy a dip in the pool, but can also tone your stomach and strengthen your core!

As with any exercise, safety is key. If you start to feel tired or experience any pain, take a break outside of the pool. And keep in mind that it’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise program.

What Are the Top 12 Benefits of Swimming?

Overview

You may have heard that experts recommend adults get 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week. Swimming is an excellent way to work your entire body and cardiovascular system. An hour of swimming burns almost as many calories as running, without all the impact on your bones and joints.

Swimming is the fourth most popular activity in the United States. But why, exactly? There are a host of benefits you may gain from swimming laps regularly. Read on to learn about the benefits of swimming and how to incorporate swimming into your routine.

Benefits

1. Works your whole body

One of the biggest benefits of swimming is that it truly works your entire body, head to toe. Swimming:

• increases your heart rate without stressing your body
• tones muscles
• builds strength
• builds endurance

There are various strokes you can use to add variety to your swimming workout, including:

• breaststroke
• backstroke
• sidestroke
• butterfly
• freestyle

Each focuses on different muscle groups, and the water provides a gentle resistance. No matter what stroke you swim, you’re using most of your muscle groups to move your body through the water.

2. Works your insides, too

While your muscles are getting a good workout, your cardiovascular system is, too. Swimming makes your heart and lungs strong. Swimming is so good for you that researchers share it may even reduce your risk of death. Compared with inactive people, swimmers have about half the risk of death. Some other studies have shown that swimming may help lower blood pressure and control blood sugar.

3. Is appropriate for people with injuries, arthritis, and other conditions

Swimming can be a safe exercise option for people with:

• arthritis
• injury
• disability
• other issues that make high-impact exercises difficult

Swimming may even help reduce some of your pain or improve your recovery from an injury. One study showed that people with osteoarthritis reported significant reductions in joint pain and stiffness, and experienced less physical limitation after engaging in activities like swimming and cycling.

Even more interesting, there was little to no difference in the benefits between the two groups. So, swimming seems to have many of the same benefits as frequently prescribed land exercises. If you want non-swimming water activities, try these water excises for people with arthritis.

4. Good option for people with asthma

The humid environment of indoor pools makes swimming a great activity for people with asthma. Not only that, but breathing exercises associated with the sport, like holding your breath, may help you expand your lung capacity and gain control over your breathing.

Some studies suggest that swimming may increase your risk for asthma because of the chemicals used to treat pools. Talk to your doctor about the potential risks of swimming if you have asthma, and, if possible, look for a pool that uses salt water instead of chlorine.

5. Beneficial for people with MS, too

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) may also find swimming beneficial. Water makes the limbs buoyant, helping to support them during exercise. Water also provides a gentle resistance.

In one study, a 20-week swimming program resulted in significant reduction of pain for people with MS. These people also showed improvements with symptoms like fatigue, depression, and disability. Learn more about water therapy for MS.

6. Torches calories

Swimming is an efficient way to burn calories. A 160-pound person burns approximately 423 calories an hour while swimming laps at a low or moderate pace. That same person may burn up to 715 calories an hour swimming at a more vigorous pace. A 200-pound person doing the same activities would burn between 528 and 892 calories an hour. A 240-pound person might burn between 632 and 1,068.

To compare these numbers to other popular low-impact activities, that same 160-pound person would only burn around 314 calories walking at 3.5 miles per hour for 60 minutes. Yoga might burn just 183 calories per hour. And the elliptical trainer might burn just 365 calories in that hour.

7. Improves your sleep

Swimming may have the power to help you sleep better at night. In a study on older adults with insomnia, participants reported both a boost in quality of life and sleep after engaging in regular aerobic exercise.

Nearly 50 percent of older persons experience some level of insomnia, so this is excellent news. The study focused on all types of aerobic exercise, including the elliptical, Stairmaster, bicycle, pool, and exercise videos.

Swimming is accessible to a wide range of people who deal with physical issues that make other exercises, like running, less appealing. That can make swimming a good choice for older adults looking to improve their sleep.

8. Boosts your mood

Researchers evaluated a small group of people with dementia, and saw an improvement in mood after participating in a 12-week aquatic program. Swimming and aquatic workouts aren’t just psychologically beneficial for people with dementia. Exercise has been shown to boost mood in other people, as well.

9. Helps manage stress

Researchers surveyed a group of swimmers immediately before and after swimming at a YMCA in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Of the 101 people surveyed, 44 reported being mildly depressed and feeling stress related to fast-paced life. After swimming, the number of people who still reported feeling stressed decreased to just eight.

While more research needs to be done in this area, the researchers conclude that swimming is a potentially powerful way to relieve stress quickly.

10. Safe during pregnancy

Pregnant women and their babies can also reap some wonderful rewards from swimming. In one study in animals, a mother rat’s swimming was shown to alter the brain development in her offspring. It may even protect babies against a type of neurological issue called hypoxia-ischemia, but more research is needed. Aside from potential benefits to the child, swimming is an activity that can be performed in all three trimesters.

Another study shows no adverse effects of swimming in chlorinated pools while pregnant. In fact, pregnant women who swam during their early to mid-pregnancy had a lower risk of preterm labor and congenital defects.

Keep in mind that while swimming is generally considered safe during pregnancy, some women may have activity restrictions due to complications in pregnancy. Talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise programs during pregnancy, and if you have complications, ask about activities that are safe.

11. Great for kids, too

Kids need a minimum of 60 minutes of aerobic exercise each day. It doesn’t need to feel like a chore either. Swimming is a fun activity and doesn’t necessarily feel like formal working out.

Your child can do either structured swimming lessons or be part of a swim team. Unstructured swim time is another solid option to get kids moving.

12. Affordable

Swimming may also be an affordable exercise option compared to some others, like cycling. Many pools offer reasonable rates to join. Some public schools and other centers offer swim hours for free, or for a sliding scale according to your income.

If you’re still concerned about the costs of joining a pool, check with your employer or your health insurance. Some offer reimbursements for joining a fitness program.

Getting started

To get started with swimming, you’ll first need to find a pool near you. Many gyms and community centers offer lap swimming times as well as water aerobics and aqua-jogging classes. You may want to make a list of the facilities in your area that have a pool, and visit to see which one works for your lifestyle and budget.

Prepare your muscles

From there, start slow. You may even want to start your journey in the gym with strength training that works your muscles before you hit the water. Try moves like assisted or unassisted pull-ups, up to double-digit reps. Squats and deadlifts of your bodyweight or overhead presses of half your bodyweight are also good practice. If you’re having trouble, consider asking a personal trainer for help with form.

Swim lessons

People totally new to swimming may benefit from taking swimming lessons, which are offered in private or group settings. In lessons, you’ll learn different strokes, breathing techniques, and other handy tips for getting the most from your workout.

To find adult swimming lessons near you, try checking the U.S. Masters Swimming database by your ZIP code.

Follow the pool rules

Once you’re in the water, be sure to observe pool etiquette. There are often slow, medium, and fast lanes. Ask the lifeguard which lane is which to find your right pace.

If you need to pass someone in front of you, do so on the left-hand side. When entering and exiting the pool, try to avoid actions that would creates waves or otherwise interfere with other swimmers, like jumping. You may also want to keep your nails and fingernails trimmed to avoid accidentally scratching other swimmers.

Risks

Swimming is safe for most people. As with any workout, there are certain risks associated with swimming. If you’re injured or have certain medical conditions, be sure to check with your doctor before swimming laps. In general, it’s a good idea to check in with your doctor whenever you start a new exercise program.

People with skin conditions like psoriasis, for example, may get more irritated in the chlorinated pool water. Your doctor is your best resource for guidelines unique to your health.

Swimming safety

The following swim safety tips can help reduce your risk from swimming:

• Swim in areas that are designated for swimming, like pools and roped off sections of lakes and other bodies of water. If possible, swim in areas that are supervised by lifeguards.
• If you aren’t swimming with lifeguard supervision, bring a buddy.
• Consider taking swimming lessons if you’re new to the sport. You can enroll in age-appropriate classes through the Red Cross and through other programs in your area.
• Swimming outdoors? Wear sunscreen of at least SPF 15 or higher to protect your skin. You may also want to avoid swimming between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun is highest in the sky. Learn more about choosing sunscreen.
• Don’t forget to drink water, even if you aren’t thirsty. You may feel cool from the water, but you can get dehydrated while swimming. Drink plenty of water and avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine in them.
• Children should always be supervised when near water. Never let children swim alone to avoid the risk of drowning.

Takeaway

If you’re just getting started with an exercise program or if you’re looking to try something new, jump in the pool. Swimming has a host of benefits for your mind, body, and soul.

Once you get the basics down, try swimming laps for 20 to 40 minutes at a pace that keeps your heart rate elevated. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water and take breaks as necessary. Most of all, have fun!

How to Get Toned Arms: 7 Exercises

Overview

As much as we all want it to be true, we can’t pick a place on our body to “spot reduce.” Research has shown that exercises and machines claiming to get rid of love handles or to slim down your thighs are a hoax.
You can’t burn off fat from a specific area of the body with an exercise that targets only one area.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t slim down your arms, and the rest of your body, with these exercises.
According to the American Council on Exercise, combining cardio, strength training, and a healthy diet is a great way to reduce body fat. These exercises will help you elevate your heart rate, strengthen your arms, and reduce body fat.

1. Arm slide

Arm slides are great for activating your arms (especially your triceps), and they also work your entire core. According to the Mayo Clinic, core exercises like arm slides can improve your overall balance, stability, and body alignment.
Equipment needed: Sliders, paper plates, or two small towels

1. Kneel with your hands on both sliders. Place a mat under your knees to make this more comfortable, especially if you have sensitive knees or you’re on a hard floor.
2. Engage your core by pulling your belly button toward your spine and tightening your abs.
3. Keeping your spine straight and your core engaged, slowly slide your arms in front of you to get your chest close to the ground.
4. Pull your arms back in, toward your knees, and return to your starting position without bending your elbows. Be careful to not arch your back as you pull your arms in. Throughout the movement, make sure you’re focused on keeping your core engaged and your back straight.
   

Tips

• You can make this easier by sliding each arm individually.
• You can also get all of the benefits without touching your chest to the ground. Simply go as low as you can, stopping before:
• you can no longer pull your hands back in with a straight spine
• before your chest touches the ground
• To make it more challenging, slide your arms from a plank and keep your knees off the ground throughout the exercise.

2. Ball slams

This plyometric movement gives you all of the benefits without the pounding. Ball slams are a full-body movement that will fatigue your arms and add a little cardio to your workout.
Equipment needed: Medicine ball or slam ball

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold the ball at your chest.
2. Lift the ball up and slightly behind your head.
3. Bend your knees and actively throw the ball down on the ground as hard as you can.
4. Catch the ball as it bounces back up (or scoop it up if it doesn’t bounce) and bring it back up over your head. All the while, keep your spine straight and use your knees to lift you back up.
5. Begin your next repetition.

Tips

• Before you begin, test your ball to make sure it doesn’t bounce too aggressively. The ball should be relatively heavy, but not so heavy that you can’t perform the whole movement with your back straight.
• This movement should be done fluidly. Once you finish a rep, use the slight bounce of the ball to launch you into the next set. Do your best to keep moving through these repetitions to keep your heart rate up and the movements fluid.
• Start with as many reps as possible in 20 to 30 seconds for three to five sets. Be sure to take adequate rest between sets.
• Stop when you’re fatigued and can no longer safely hold the ball over your head or keep your spine straight throughout the movement.
  

The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends taking 48 hours to recover after a plyometric workout, so be mindful to give your arms a break from intense or high-impact plyometrics until you have recovered.

3. Dumbbell bench press

You don’t have to lift huge weights to get the benefits of a bench press.
Doing a dumbbell bench press challenges your muscles and helps reduce muscle imbalances or weakness between your dominant and nondominant arms. While it’s best known for working your chest, the dumbbell bench press will also strengthen your deltoids, triceps, and lats.
Equipment needed: Two dumbbells and a bench

1. Lie with your back flat on the bench and feet firmly on the ground. If your feet don’t firmly touch the ground, place plates or a step bench under them to give you a stable position, or put your feet up on the bench.
2. Keep your spine in a neutral position (your lower back should be slightly curved) by engaging your core.
3. Pull your shoulder blades away from your ears and slightly together. Your shoulders, hips, and head should be firmly in contact with the bench.
4. Keep your arms tight against your sides as you raise the dumbbells up. The palm of your hands should face forward throughout the movement or at a 45-degree angle.
5. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to your chest with your elbows at your sides. Keep your elbows in tight throughout the entire movement to work your triceps.

Tips

If you don’t have a bench available, you can do these on the floor or on a step bench.

4. Bicep curls with band

Equipment needed: Resistance band

1. Step on the band so it rests underneath the arch of your foot.
2. Grab the ends of the band so your palms face forward and your arms are by your side.
3. With your elbows tight against your ribs, slowly bend your arms to bring your hands to your shoulders.
4. Slowly lower your hands back down to your sides.

Tips

Don’t swing or lean back to bring your hands up. Your body should remain completely upright and still except for your arms.

5. TRX or supine barbell rows

Not only will you work your arms with this exercise, but you’ll also strengthen those muscles of your upper back that help to improve posture.
Equipment needed: TRX straps, low gymnastics rings, or an empty barbell and a rack.

1. Grab the handles and slowly walk backward to get tension on the straps.
2. With your chest facing the anchor point of the straps, walk your feet toward the straps until you’re at a 45-degree angle. Hold the straps so your palms face forward.
3. Engage your core like you would in a plank position and keep your body in a straight line while you begin to pull your chest up to the handles. Keep your shoulder blades down, away from your ears, and pulled slightly together.
4. Once your hands and chest meet, slowly lower back down to your starting position with your entire body in a straight line.
   

Tips

• Play around with your grip. Palms facing your feet will work your triceps. Palms facing your head will target your biceps.
• To make the rows easier, stand more upright by walking your feet closer to the anchor point. You should be upright enough that you can keep your hips and back straight throughout the entire movement without arching or bending your spine.
• If you want more of a challenge, walk your feet farther away from your hands.
• If you don’t have TRX straps or rings, you can use an empty barbell on a rack. Be careful to position your head under the rack so that you’re pulling the bar back into it instead of toward the front of the hooks. You can adjust the height of the bar to make it easier (up) or harder (down).

6. Narrow push-up

Equipment needed: None.

1. Start in a plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your fingers pointing forward.
2. Lower down with your elbows at your sides and pointing toward your feet. Keep your shoulders, hips, and knees all in a straight line as you lower your chest to the floor.
3. Push yourself back up to the start without arching into your lower back. Your shoulders and hips should lift at the same time.

Tips

To make this easier, you can do these on your knees, or with weight plates or a step bench under your hands.

7. Battle ropes

Burn fat, increase your cardiovascular endurance, and tone your arms all at once with these ropes. Not only will they raise your heart rate and get you sweating, but they’ll also improve your core and shoulder strength.
Equipment needed: Battle ropes

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, and back straight.
2. Grab the ropes and raise your hands together to create a wave.
3. Try speeding up your hand movements to create smaller waves, or slow things down and move your hands a greater distance to create big waves.
4. Try to keep the ropes moving for 30 seconds, three times, with rest in between each set.

Tips

• Play with short waves, long waves, moving your arms at the same time, alternating one up and one down, and moving your arms in and out as well as up and down.
• You can also slam the ropes into the ground like the ball slam above.
  

The takeaway

These exercises will help you strengthen and tone your arms. They won’t help you melt the fat off your arms, but they can help you lose weight across your whole body and reveal the muscles you worked so hard to build.

Run Before or After Workout: Should I Lift or Do Cardio First?

In today’s modern training age, many runners understand that to train effectively, they must do more than just run.

Cross-training is now accepted as the best universal strategy for improving athletic performance, mobility, and overall feelings of wellness. Taking on a cross-training routine means that your workouts will vary, you’ll target your heart rate, challenge different muscle groups, and engage both slow and fast twitch muscles.

Perhaps the reason the question, “Should I lift or do cardio first?” is not easily answered is because the answer depends on many variables:

1. What are your overall fitness goals?
2. What are you looking to gain?
3. How do you want to improve?
   

If you scour all of your resources looking for an answer, you’ll likely be left with conflicting information. A recent article by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research even suggests that it doesn’t matter which type of exercise you perform first or last. They say you’ll experience a hormone surge either way.

For many, that may come as encouraging news. You can stop obsessing over the order in which you lift and run. However, it’s always helpful to gain a greater understanding of what your body is undergoing during exercise and what that means for health and weight loss.

What are your goals?

Many runners don’t have specific goals. Running is likely a part of your life because you enjoy what it does for you, the health benefits it provides, and how it makes you feel. That said, you’re likely seeking the “best” training plan because you want to get better in some way.

“Getting better” in regard to running means improving your:

• aerobic capacity
• stamina
• muscular endurance
• leg strength and ability to generate power over a sustained period of time
• mobility and flexibility
• your overall sense of balance

It would be unreasonable to assume that everyone’s goal is to be a better runner. Perhaps your goals are to lose weight or trim your waistline of a few pesky pounds you accumulated over the winter months. For you, the best training approach is to keep your body guessing. Plan your workouts so that no two back-to-back days are the same. This is the best approach because it:

• ramps up your metabolism
• gives your sore muscles time to recover, avoiding burnout and fatigue
• keeps you mentally stimulated and motivated to conquer your weight loss goals
• gives your body the fat-burning and body-sculpting benefits of weight training coupled with the calorie-burning perks of cardiovascular exercise
  

How to train for your goals

The short answer that everyone is looking for can be condensed. If you want to build muscle, run first. If you want to build your endurance and aerobic capacity, run last.

Essentially, your body’s adaptive response is greater for the type of exercise that you finish your workout doing. Thus, a workout concluded with weights will trigger muscle growth more effectively, while a workout ending in a run will enhance your body’s aerobic endurance.

If losing weight or toning up is more important to you than performance, then also consider that resistance training first depletes your body’s stored carbohydrates, encouraging your body to tap into fat stores as you jump into cardiovascular training afterward. In other words, doing cardio last will ramp up the fat-burning capacity of your workout.

Another approach is to simply combine both ideals. Losing weight will be accomplished at a high rate if you look to challenge your muscles and heart rate throughout all of your weekly workouts. Plan your workouts by running at the beginning of your workout three times a week and then running last for the remaining two to three weekly workouts.

Incorporating weight training into your routine can help retain muscle mass during a weight loss program. Keep in mind that a calorie-heavy diet is far more responsible for women becoming bulky as a result of lifting, not the actual training itself. Replacing a few pounds of fat with muscle on your frame will actually keep your resting metabolism higher and your physique looking more toned and athletic.

Another effective way to lose weight by combining cardio and lifting is to do interval workouts. This involves alternating back and forth between running and lifting. It will cause your heart rate to skyrocket and keep you stimulated, especially if you struggle with treadmill boredom.

Out with the old approaches

Do your best to ditch the “just run” mentality in regard to running. In other words, accept that to be your best, you need to engage in dynamic exercise that challenges your body in a multitude of ways.

Strength training will make you an exponentially more prepared runner, as it will vastly improve the strength of your running foundation: your legs.

A word on nutrition

Since your anaerobic pathways (those triggered during resistance training) remain open and active longer when you do weight training last, it’s also crucial to follow up with a post-workout source of protein. It’s during this brief window after a workout that your body is craving protein for growth, thus protein synthesis is happening rapidly at this time.

Your energy stores become depleted during a period of cardiovascular exercise. It’s best to reach for a meal with some kind of healthy carbohydrates to replenish these blood sugar levels.

Next steps

Though workout planning is vital to achieving your goals, it’s important to pay close attention to your diet. This will help you maximize your results and how quickly your body recovers. A speedy recovery means more functional workouts, which means more growth and progress.

How Many Calories Do You Burn Lifting Weights?

When it comes to weight loss, or rather, fat loss, many people’s first concern is burning calories. It’s a long-held belief that creating a caloric deficit — where you burn more calories than you take in — can help you drop a few pounds or sizes.

While cardio exercises, like running or walking, are often seen as the best way to do this, it turns out weightlifting can help, too.

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic

To understand the relationship between weights and calories, you need to know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

Sustained aerobic exercise, like steady jogging or cycling, is low intensity and can thus be done for a longer period of time. Your body gets enough oxygen to ensure that you can keep doing what you’re doing.

Anaerobic exercise, like weightlifting, on the other hand, is high intensity. With quick bursts of high intensity exercise, your body doesn’t get enough oxygen to supply your muscles quickly enough, so your cells start to break down sugars instead. Since this level of intensity cannot be maintained for very long, anaerobic exercise tends to be short-lived.

“Strength training is not a highly aerobic exercise, so many people believe that it is not a good way to burn fat,” explains Rocky Snyder, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, of Rocky’s Fitness Center in Santa Cruz, CA. Snyder says that they are correct in some ways, but that strength training can burn fat in ways that other exercise cannot.

Anaerobic exercise may be short-lived, but its calorie-burning effects are not.

“Immediately following a strength training session, the body needs to replenish the energy drained and repair the muscle damage that has been caused,” Snyder says. “The repair process uses aerobic energy for several hours.”

In other words, more intense exercises such as weight and strength training burn calories and fat for a longer time post-exercise than lower intensity aerobic exercises.

Added Benefits of Strength Training

Snyder says the best workout regimen is one that incorporates both aerobic and anaerobic exercise, but adds that lifting weights can provide some additional benefits.

“The added benefit to lifting weights is the adaptation the muscles experience,” he explains. “The muscles will grow in size and increase in force production, or strength.” And it’s this muscle growth that leads to another beneficial side effect — a boost in metabolism.

“One pound of muscle requires six to 10 calories per day to maintain itself. Therefore, a regular routine of weightlifting will increase a person’s metabolism and how many calories they burn.”

Which Moves Burn the Most?

The weightlifting moves that use multiple muscles are the ones that build the most muscle. Snyder says you can try these five moves with no added weight (using only body weight for resistance). Then start adding weights for a bigger gain.

1. Squats
2. Lunges
3. Deadlifts
4. Pull-ups
5. Push-ups

Learn how to do perfect squats, lunges, and deadlifts!

Know What You’re Doing

As with any exercise program, Snyder says there are risks. When you begin a strength training routine with no guidance, not only do you risk poor form, you’re also at risk for injury.

Enlist the assistance of a personal trainer who is familiar with biomechanics. They can show you the proper form, plus help you improve your posture and movements.

Lifting weights burns some calories. Its real benefit is that it can also help build muscle, add strength, and even improve bone density and arthritis. When added to an exercise regimen that includes aerobic exercise and stretching, it delivers maximum benefit.

Does Exercise Help You Lose Weight? The Surprising Truth

To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.
Exercise can help you achieve this by burning off some extra calories.
However, some people claim that exercise isn't effective for weight loss on its own.
This may be because exercise increases hunger in some people, making them eat more calories than they burned during the workout.
Is exercise really helpful for weight loss? This article takes a look at the evidence.

Exercise Has Powerful Health Benefits

Exercise is really great for your health.
It can lower your risk of many diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and some cancers.
In fact, people who work out on a regular basis are thought to have up to a 50% lower risk of dying from many of these illnesses.
Exercise is also incredibly good for your mental health, and it can help you manage stress and unwind.
Keep this in mind when you consider the effects of exercise. Even if it isn't effective for weight loss, it still has other benefits that are just as important (if not more).

Think Fat Loss, Not Weight Loss

Exercise is often advised for weight loss, but people should really aim for fat loss.
If you simply reduce your calorie intake to lose weight, without exercising, you will probably lose muscle as well as fat.
In fact, it's been estimated that when people lose weight, about a quarter of the weight they lose is muscle.
When you cut back on calories, your body is forced to find other sources of fuel. Unfortunately, this means burning muscle protein along with your fat stores.
Including an exercise plan alongside your diet can reduce the amount of muscle you lose.
This is also important because muscle is more metabolically active than fat.
Preventing muscle loss can help counter the drop in metabolic rate that occurs when you lose weight, which makes it harder to lose weight and keep it off.
Additionally, most of the benefits of exercise seem to come from improvements in body composition, overall fitness and metabolic health, not just weight loss.
Even if you don't lose "weight," you may still be losing fat and building muscle instead.
For this reason, it can be helpful to measure your waist size and body fat percentage from time to time. The scale doesn't tell the whole story.

Cardio Helps You Burn Calories and Body Fat

One of the most popular types of exercise for weight loss is aerobic exercise, also known as cardio. Examples include walking, running, cycling and swimming.
Aerobic exercise doesn't have a major effect on your muscle mass, at least not compared to weight lifting. However, it is very effective at burning calories.
A recent 10-month study examined how cardio affected 141 obese or overweight people. They were split into three groups and not told to reduce calorie intake.
Group 1: Burn 400 calories doing cardio, 5 days a week
Group 2: Burn 600 calories doing cardio, 5 days a week
Group 3: No exercise
Group 1 participants lost 4.3% of their body weight, while those in group 2 lost a little more at 5.7%. The control group, which didn't exercise, actually gained 0.5%.
Other studies also show cardio can help you burn fat, especially the dangerous belly fat that increases your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Therefore, adding cardio to your lifestyle is likely to help you manage your weight and improve your metabolic health. Just don't compensate for the exercise by eating more calories instead.

Lifting Weights Helps You Burn More Calories Around the Clock

All physical activity can help you burn calories.
However, resistance training — such as weight lifting — has benefits that go beyond that.
Resistance training helps increase the strength, tone and amount of muscle you have.
This is important for long-term health, since inactive adults lose between 3–8% of their muscle mass per decade.
Higher amounts of muscle also increase your metabolism, helping you burn more calories around the clock — even at rest.
This also helps prevent the drop in metabolism that can occur alongside weight loss.
One study of 48 overweight women on a very-low-calorie diet found that those who followed a weight lifting program maintained their muscle mass, metabolic rate and strength, even though they lost weight.
Women who didn't lift weights lost weight too, but they also lost more muscle mass and experienced a drop in metabolism.
Because of this, doing some form of resistance training is really a crucial addition to an effective long-term weight loss plan. It makes it easier to keep the weight off, which is actually much harder than losing it in the first place.

People Who Exercise Sometimes Eat More

One of the main problems with exercise and weight loss is that exercise doesn't just affect the "calories out" side of the energy balance equation.
It can also affect appetite and hunger levels, which may cause you to eat more calories.
Exercise May Increase Hunger Levels
One of the main complaints about exercise is that it can make you hungry and cause you to eat more.
It's also been suggested that exercise may make you overestimate the number of calories you've burned and "reward" yourself with food. This can prevent weight loss and even lead to weight gain.
Although it doesn't apply to everyone, studies show that some people do eat more after working out, which can prevent them from losing weight.

Exercise May Affect Appetite-Regulating Hormones

Physical activity may influence the hormone ghrelin. Ghrelin is also known as "the hunger hormone" because of the way it drives your appetite.
Interestingly, studies show that appetite is suppressed after intense exercise. This is known as "exercise anorexia" and seems tied to a decrease in ghrelin.
However, ghrelin levels go back to normal after around half an hour.
So although there is a link between appetite and ghrelin, it doesn't seem to influence how much you actually eat.

Effects on Appetite May Vary by Individual

Studies on calorie intake after exercise are mixed. It's now recognized that both appetite and food intake after exercise can vary between people.
For example, women have been shown to be hungrier after working out than men, and leaner people may become less hungry than obese people.

Does Exercise Help You Lose Weight?

The effects of exercise on weight loss or gain varies from person to person.
Although most people who exercise will lose weight over the long term, some people find that their weight remains stable and a few people will even gain weight.
However, some of those who gain weight are actually gaining muscle, not fat.
All that being said, when comparing diet and exercise, changing your diet tends to be more effective for weight loss than exercise.
However, the most effective strategy involves both diet and exercise.

People Who Lose Weight and Keep It Off Tend to Exercise a Lot

Keeping weight off once you have lost it is hard.
In fact, some studies show that 85% of people who go on a weight loss diet are unable to keep the weight off.
Interestingly, studies have been done on people who have lost a lot of weight and kept it off for years. These people tend to exercise a lot, up to an hour per day.
It's best to find a type of physical activity you enjoy and that fits easily into your lifestyle. This way, you have a better chance of keeping it up.

A Healthy Diet Is Also Important

Exercise can improve your health and help you lose weight, but eating a healthy diet is absolutely crucial as well.
You can't outrun a bad diet.

The Top 10 Benefits of Regular Exercise

Exercise is defined as any movement that makes your muscles work and requires your body to burn calories.

There are many types of physical activity, including swimming, running, jogging, walking and dancing, to name a few.

Being active has been shown to have many health benefits, both physically and mentally. It may even help you live longer.

Here are the top 10 ways regular exercise benefits your body and brain.

1. It Can Make You Feel Happier

Exercise has been shown to improve your mood and decrease feelings of depression, anxiety and stress.

It produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety. It can also increase brain sensitivity for the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression.

Additionally, exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are known to help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain.

Furthermore, exercise has been shown to reduce symptoms in people suffering from anxiety. It can also help them be more aware of their mental state and practice distraction from their fears.

Interestingly, it doesn't matter how intense your workout is. It seems that your mood can benefit from exercise no matter the intensity of the physical activity.

In fact, a study in 24 women who had been diagnosed with depression showed that exercise of any intensity significantly decreased feelings of depression.

The effects of exercise on mood are so powerful that choosing to exercise (or not) even makes a difference over short periods.

One study asked 26 healthy men and women who normally exercised regularly to either continue exercising or stop exercising for two weeks. Those who stopped exercising experienced increases in negative mood.

2. It Can Help With Weight Loss

Some studies have shown that inactivity is a major factor in weight gain and obesity.

To understand the effect of exercise on weight reduction, it is important to understand the relationship between exercise and energy expenditure.

Your body spends energy in three ways: digesting food, exercising and maintaining body functions like your heartbeat and breathing.

While dieting, a reduced calorie intake will lower your metabolic rate, which will delay weight loss. On the contrary, regular exercise has been shown to increase your metabolic rate, which will burn more calories and help you lose weight.

Additionally, studies have shown that combining aerobic exercise with resistance training can maximize fat loss and muscle mass maintenance, which is essential for keeping the weight off.

3. It Is Good for Your Muscles and Bones

Exercise plays a vital role in building and maintaining strong muscles and bones.

Physical activity like weight lifting can stimulate muscle building when paired with adequate protein intake.

This is because exercise helps release hormones that promote the ability of your muscles to absorb amino acids. This helps them grow and reduces their breakdown.

As people age, they tend to lose muscle mass and function, which can lead to injuries and disabilities. Practicing regular physical activity is essential to reducing muscle loss and maintaining strength as you age.

Also, exercise helps build bone density when you're younger, in addition to helping prevent osteoporosis later in life.

Interestingly, high-impact exercise, such as gymnastics or running, or odd-impact sports, such as soccer and basketball, have been shown to promote a higher bone density than non-impact sports like swimming and cycling.

4. It Can Increase Your Energy Levels

Exercise can be a real energy booster for healthy people, as well as those suffering from various medical conditions.

One study found that six weeks of regular exercise reduced feelings of fatigue for 36 healthy people who had reported persistent fatigue.

Furthermore, exercise can significantly increase energy levels for people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and other serious illnesses.

In fact, exercise seems to be more effective at combating CFS than other treatments, including passive therapies like relaxation and stretching, or no treatment at all.

Additionally, exercise has been shown to increase energy levels in people suffering from progressive illnesses, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

5. It Can Reduce Your Risk of Chronic Disease

Lack of regular physical activity is a primary cause of chronic disease.

Regular exercise has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular fitness and body composition, yet decrease blood pressure and blood fat levels.

In contrast, a lack of regular exercise — even in the short term — can lead to significant increases in belly fat, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and early death.

Therefore, daily physical activity is recommended to reduce belly fat and decrease the risk of developing these diseases.

6. It Can Help Skin Health

Your skin can be affected by the amount of oxidative stress in your body.

Oxidative stress occurs when the body's antioxidant defenses cannot completely repair the damage that free radicals cause to cells. This can damage their internal structures and deteriorate your skin.

Even though intense and exhaustive physical activity can contribute to oxidative damage, regular moderate exercise can increase your body's production of natural antioxidants, which help protect cells.

In the same way, exercise can stimulate blood flow and induce skin cell adaptations that can help delay the appearance of skin aging.

7. It Can Help Your Brain Health and Memory

Exercise can improve brain function and protect memory and thinking skills.

To begin with, it increases your heart rate, which promotes the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain.

It can also stimulate the production of hormones that can enhance the growth of brain cells.

Moreover, the ability of exercise to prevent chronic disease can translate into benefits for your brain, since its function can be affected by these diseases.

Regular physical activity is especially important in older adults since aging — combined with oxidative stress and inflammation — promotes changes in brain structure and function.

Exercise has been shown to cause the hippocampus, a part of the brain that's vital for memory and learning, to grow in size. This serves to increase mental function in older adults.

Lastly, exercise has been shown to reduce changes in the brain that can cause Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

8. It Can Help With Relaxation and Sleep Quality

Regular exercise can help you relax and sleep better.

In regards to sleep quality, the energy depletion that occurs during exercise stimulates recuperative processes during sleep.

Moreover, the increase in body temperature that occurs during exercise is thought to improve sleep quality by helping it drop during sleep.

Many studies on the effects of exercise on sleep have reached similar conclusions.

One study found that 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week can provide up to a 65% improvement in sleep quality.

Another showed that 16 weeks of physical activity increased sleep quality and helped 17 people with insomnia sleep longer and more deeply than the control group. It also helped them feel more energized during the day.

What's more, engaging in regular exercise seems to be beneficial for the elderly, who tend to be affected by sleep disorders.

You can be flexible with the kind of exercise you choose. It appears that either aerobic exercise alone or aerobic exercise combined with resistance training can equally help sleep quality.

9. It Can Reduce Pain

Chronic pain can be debilitating, but exercise can actually help reduce it.

In fact, for many years, the recommendation for treating chronic pain was rest and inactivity. However, recent studies show that exercise helps relieve chronic pain.

A review of several studies indicates that exercise helps participants with chronic pain reduce their pain and improve their quality of life.

Several studies show that exercise can help control pain that's associated with various health conditions, including chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia and chronic soft tissue shoulder disorder, to name a few.

Additionally, physical activity can also raise pain tolerance and decrease pain perception.

10. It Can Promote a Better Sex Life

Exercise has been proven to boost sex drive.

Engaging in regular exercise can strengthen the cardiovascular system, improve blood circulation, tone muscles and enhance flexibility, all of which can improve your sex life.

Physical activity can improve sexual performance and sexual pleasure, as well as increase the frequency of sexual activity.

A group of women in their 40s observed that they experienced orgasms more frequently when they incorporated more strenuous exercise, such as sprints, boot camps and weight training, into their lifestyles.

Also, among a group of 178 healthy men, the men that reported more exercise hours per week had higher sexual function scores.

One study found that a simple routine of a six-minute walk around the house helped 41 men reduce their erectile dysfunction symptoms by 71%.

Another study performed in 78 sedentary men revealed how 60 minutes of walking per day (three and a half days per week, on average) improved their sexual behavior, including frequency, adequate functioning and satisfaction.

What's more, a study demonstrated that women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome, which can reduce sex drive, increased their sex drive with regular resistance training for 16 weeks.

The Bottom Line

Exercise offers incredible benefits that can improve nearly every aspect of your health from the inside out.

Regular physical activity can increase the production of hormones that make you feel happier and help you sleep better.

It can also improve your skin's appearance, help you lose weight and keep it off, lessen the risk of chronic disease and improve your sex life.

Whether you practice a specific sport or follow the guideline of 150 minutes of activity per week, you will inevitably improve your health in many ways.