A proper exercise program is very important for losing weight, but a lot of people use the wrong types of exercises. Movements that require only a few small muscles in the body to perform are not very useful for weight loss since they do not require significant amounts of energy to perform. Take, for example, a biceps curl: this movement specifically targets the biceps muscle in your arm, which is a very small muscle and, therefore, the body does not need to expend a large amount of energy to perform the exercise.
When exercising for weight loss, you should focus on what are known as “compound movements.” These types of movements will engage large muscle groups and force the body to burn more calories to support the high energy demands of these exercises. Here are three great examples of exercises you can use for effective weight loss!
Goblet Squats
Stand holding a light kettlebell or dumbbell close to your chest. This will be your starting position.
Squat down until the back of your legs touch your calves. If you can’t go down this far, that’s okay, just go as far as you can to start.
Keep your elbows tucked in so that, along with the weight, they pass down in between your knees as you squat down. Keep your chest and head up, and your back straight.
At the bottom position, pause for a moment and then press your heels into the ground to squat back up into the starting position.
Push Press
Begin by holding a barbell or two dumbbells at shoulder height with shoulder-width grip.
Begin the motion by bending the knees and squatting down slightly and then explosively pushing upwards by extending the knees while keeping your torso erect and core muscles tensed.
At the same time as you extend your knees, explosively push the weight overhead until your elbows are just short of lockout.
Then lower the weight back to shoulder height in a controlled manner to get back to the starting position.
Hill Sprinting
Find a hill in your neighborhood that is not overly steep.
Once you get to the top, do not rest – immediately start walking back to the base of the hill.
Start at the bottom of the hill and sprint upwards to the top as fast as you can while driving your feet into the ground as powerfully as possible.
Once back at the bottom immediately sprint back and repeat the process for several rounds.
