10 Best Weight Loss Exercises Ranked by Calorie Burn

It is estimated that 40% of adults in the United States are obese and try to lose weight each year. Among the ones trying to lose weight, one of the most commonly used methods is through weight loss exercises.

Exercises are one of the best ways you can use to lose weight fast.

They not only increase the number of calories your body burns off but also improves your metabolism, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure which may prevent heart attack.

One thing to know, exercising alone may not give you the desired weight loss results as it increases hunger making you eat more calories.

Combining exercise with a healthy diet and increasing daily physical activity is a more effective way to shade those extra pounds.

Many fitness exercises aim to burn calories in different parts of the body. Knowing which one is most effective, suitable, and sustainable can be very challenging especially if you are a beginner.

Here are the 10 best weight loss exercises that can help you burn the most calories and boost your overall health.

1. Jumping rope

Burns 667-990 calories per hour in intervals of 120 skips/min.

Jumping rope is one of the fast weight loss exercises you can try at home. You can burn tons of calories by jumping rope for 30 minutes daily. Rope jumps increase the heart rate, thus accelerating the burning of calories.

Rope jumping is a full-body workout that improves coordination, heart health and builds on strength. To achieve the best weight loss results, try jumping for 20-30 seconds. Later, increase the intensity to burn even more calories.

Experts recommend adding circuit training to jumping rope for extra calorie burn. In the middle of the circuit workouts, grab your rope for a minute or two.

According to ACE Fitness, these jumps incorporated with training circuits are effective for extra calorie burn ( 1 ).

2. Running

Burns 566-839 calories/hour in 10-minute per mile speed.

Running is a physical activity that yields excellent results since it is about lifting the whole body and burning more calories.

For faster results, run in steady intervals and mix up with walking. If you run for 60 seconds, consider walking for 30 seconds to maintain a steady pace.

Running is known to burn more calories when done in high intensity, though this also depends on factors such as age, weight, and height.

To achieve impressive results, experts recommend that you vary your running by sprints, jogging, faster runs, and walking. This is the best way to be sure that your running efforts will give you the calorie burn that you desire.

Running qualifies as the best weight loss exercise as it involves whole-body movement.

3. Cycling

Burns 568-841 calories/hour.

On average, cycling burns 50% more calories than normal walking. The number of calories you burn while cycling depends on the time spent cycling and your weight. As a high-calorie burner, cycling can be done indoors on a stationary bike or outdoors on a bike.

Research by the Harvard School of Public Health shows that cycling burned extremely more calories compared to normal walking ( 2 ).

If using your stationary bike, start with a warm-up of one-minute intervals then gear up to 7 to 9 intervals.

Cycling is an effective calorie burn exercise, especially in overweight people. All those who want to burn calories but have worn-out legs due to intense activity can instead cycle as it doesn’t exert pressure on the joints.

4. Yoga

Burns 226-335 calories/hour.

Burning calories through yoga classes work best when good sleep and mindfulness are combined.

Since yoga is linked to good sleep, then it’s a good calorie burner. The number of calories you burn through yoga depends on the time taken in the class, your weight, and your gender.

More intense yoga postures such as Bikram yield better results than the basic ones like Hatha. According to a 2014 study by Colorado State University, men burnt 460 calories and women 330 on every Bikram yoga session ( 3 ).

Though research may bring out the idea that other exercises burn more calories than yoga, it’s still believed to give a ton of benefits.

5. Hiking

Burns 546 calories per hour.

Hiking is a caloric burn exercise that burns an average of 546 calories per hour for a person weighing 200 pounds. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn while hiking.

Other factors such as backpack intensity, miles taken, the type of terrain, and your pace will determine how many calories you burn. A heavy backpack weight can give a calorie burn rate of up to 200 cals.

Hiking at faster intervals burns more calories and gives an afterburn of 14 hours. Choosing an uphill and rocky path to hike on will also give a higher calorie burn count.

Note: Exercise a lot of care on the weight of your backpack to reduce back strain.

6. Staircase run

Burns 452-670 calories per hour 77 for steps per minute.

Going up a flight of stairs is quite intensive. Since you’re working against gravity, you engage your full body and burn calories in the process. Staircase steps are smaller and involve all your muscles including quads, glutes, and calves.

Therefore, a staircase run is an effective exercise to burn more calories after sitting all day. Research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that stairs running lowers your cholesterol levels and improves your anaerobic fitness.

Climbing the stairs in steady intervals burns approximately 452-670 calories when done in 77 steps per minute ( 4 ).

7. Swimming

Burns 360- 532 calories per hour.

Overweight people need less intense exercises such as swimming to burn those extra calories. Swimming is good for your heart, muscles, and for weight loss since it increases your metabolic rate.

To better understand this, a calorie burn count after a 10-minute mile jog is equivalent to a 30-minute swim.

Try swimming in faster strokes and using water aerobics for the best results.

According to Harvard Medical School, an average 185-pound woman burnt 266 calories in recreational swimming for only 30 minutes. And 372 calories, 106 calories more while swimming vigorously ( 5 ).

8. Weight lifting

Burns 455 calories per hour.

Weight lifting helps in burning tons of calories when done right. In addition to weight loss, weight lifting works well with muscle strength and overall body structure.

A 150-pound person burns 200 to 400 calories on average. The calorie burn count in this physical activity depends on your muscles’ strength, the type of workout, the weight you lift, and the intervals in between.

Compared to cardio, weight lifting has better results in the long run as it gives an afterburn of 48 hours.

A 2018 study shows that this happens because weight lifting increases your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) hours after the activity ( 6 ).

9. Walking

Burns 255 calories per hour.

Walking is the best and simplest form of weight loss exercise. By walking at a 2 miles per hour pace, you burn 225 calories every hour.

Walking as you do chores around the house helps increase the metabolic rate which elevates your caloric burn rate.

Remember, your weight determines the number of calories you burn too. Someone weighing 200 pounds burns 333 calories when they walk for one hour compared to a 150-pound person who burns 250 calories walking the same distance.

To achieve better results, try walking at faster speeds. Increasing your pace and the distance you walk burns more calories.

10. Kickboxing

Burns 582-864 calories/hour.

Kickboxing is an extensive physical activity you should incorporate when trying to burn calories.

In addition to burning calories, kickboxing increases coordination and concentration as you have to hit those punch bags in the required intervals.

According to the American Council on Exercise, punching on the air helps burn 350 to 450 calories in an hour ( 7 ).

This high-intensity exercise is a full-body workout. Most people who are bored with walking for weight loss are turning into cardio kickboxing.

Kickboxing helps with cardio conditioning due to the elevated heart rate which eventually lowers the calories level.

Conclusion

Taking the right weight loss diet together with the right physical exercise is perfect for weight loss. There’s no point breaking a sweat in extensive workouts that have no results.

In this article, we have discussed the best weight loss exercises ranked by calorie burn. Some of these exercises are the best at-home exercises you can ever have. Apply them consistently for rapid calorie burning. They are the kind of physical activities that will give you results quickly.

Read Next: 6 Exercises That Burn More Fat Than Running.