How Much Exercise Is Needed to Lose Weight?

In order to lose weight, a person must burn more calories than he consumes. This means either eating less or exercising more. If you choose to keep your eating habits the same but still want to lose weight, you'll need to engage in more exercise. Cardio and strength training burn different amounts of calories in different ways.

Cardiovascular Activity

Any physical activity that raises the heart rate for an extended period of time is considered cardio. This includes activities such as walking, running and biking as well as walking up stairs and playing sports like soccer. To determine the number of calories burnt while engaging in one of these activities, use a calorie calculator (such as the one provided on HealthStatus.com) or a heart-rate monitor. These tools will determine how many calories are being burned in any given time frame. A cardio machine can also provide an estimate as to how many calories a person is burning, although it is not always accurate.

Though calories burned depends on weight, a typical person will burn around 100 calories a mile, less if walking and more if jogging. Since the body requires a deficiency of 3,500 calories to burn a pound of fat, you would have to run or jog up to 35 miles to lose a pound. However, since muscle burns more calories than fat, the more muscle you build, the more calories you will burn when doing nothing.

Strength Training

An aspect of exercise many people overlook when seeking to lose weight, strength training is one of the most effective ways to help build muscle. Although the amount of calories burned while performing the exercises is relatively low, the buildup of muscle allows for more caloric burn over time that matches or exceeds the amount burned initially. This gives it a pivotal role in weight loss. Combining cardio with strength training will achieve maximum results.

Become Healthy Now suggests you "group exercises or movements by body part and work one body part at a time. Each body part [should be] worked with one to three or four exercises depending on your level of experience. Every body part should be strengthened to promote muscular balance and prevent injury".

Exercise Plan

A person can easily lose 1 pound a week by combining strength training with cardio activities. Aiming to burn around 700 calories per day will help ensure a pound of weight loss each week. Remember that the amount of calories burned per hour for aerobic activities varies with the intensity put into it. A sprinter will burn more calories than a jogger over the same distance.