What burns the most?
 

What exercises burn the most calories? I need some kind of variety in my workouts and I don't have much to work with so what should I do to lose weight? I wonder if maybe I should get a gym membership...What do you do to burn TONS of calories?

The arc trainer kicks my butt, which is similar to an elliptical machine. Stair climbers will kick your butt too. Sounds to me like you are very active already. No matter what you do, it will take time to lose weight :mad:. The faster you lose, the more likely you are to gain it all back. Find a calorie/exercise level you can live with for the rest of your life, not just until the weight comes off.

activate large muscle groups for the most burn
 

The largest muscle groups in the human body would be the glutes and quads. Exercise that work those body parts will get you a good number of calories burned per minute. You want to incorporate as many muscle groups as possible to burn the highest number of calories:

Versa-climbers, which work the whole body, burn the most calories. They aren't cheap and might not be easy to find at a gym. Nordic Ski machines (or actually skiing on snow) and rowing machines also burn massive calories. Because your arms, legs and booty are all working, these will get it done.

Swimming, step aerobics, stair climbing, running... all good choices for burning calories. But more important is - what do you enjoy doing?

Although I love the idea of what a versa-climber does for my body, I hate being on it. I'd rather be fat! ;) On the other hand, I love hiking. Burns fewer calories, but I can keep at it much longer and enjoy doing it - so hiking is a better choice for me.

Well, I love running, walking, hiking, yoga, and the feeling I get after any kind of physical activity. If it doesn't wear me down to the point of huffing and puffing I don't like it because I don't feel it did enough. I love feeling my muscles in pain because although I don't like it very much, its very relaxing to know that its working and the fat will be off soon.....

So...I guess that anything that'll provide a burn and wear me out is more than good for me! lol. I know its kind of a wide range of activities that provides but anything that'll give me a burn and wear me out I LOVE, no joke.

I currently do a run/walk every other day, but I walk every day, no exeptions, no excuses. Also, I do yoga every friday, although I'm thinking about working it in more often, and I'm thinking about working something else in on my walking day as a strength training kind of thing, but I don't belong to a gym or have access to any weights...so that causes a problem...

Have you thought about getting a heart rate monitor? I find that mine is an invaluable tool. I can make sure I am in my target heart rate for however many minutes I want to be and it also calculates my calorie burn for each session. It provides a summary at the end of the week of time exercising, total calories burned, and time in each heart rate zone (low, medium, high), and it's all customized to my height, weight, and age. That's helped me identify what activities burn certain numbers of calories, as the estimates on Fitday and other sites are not always accurate for me.

You can pick hand weights up at Walmart or Target or any sporting goods store (1, 3, 5, 8, and 10 lbs. are the most readily available) and develop a strength training program to do at home. There is an old thread (I think in the Exercise section) entitled "Weight Training for Girly Girls" that I started in order to ask for help in doing that; there is some good advice in there. You can also check out the library for books that have sample programs, and I'm sure there are some on the internet.

Sex burns like 900-1000 calories per hour, and well it's lots of fun...

Okay now seriously, when I want a really good, yet fun workout and I'm bored with the whole running thing, I put on my headphones, turn the music up loud, close the curtains and dance. You don't have to be any good, you just have to move for a whole song, and then another and another. Sometimes I clean the house at the same time and other times I'll do the same move for a whole song. Believe me if you twist side to side for the 3:45 minutes that it takes to listen to the Twist, your sides will feel it tomorrow. And guess what? Music is relaxing and just might help your blood pressure a little too.

[QUOTE=almeeker;5900]Sex burns like 900-1000 calories per hour, and well it's lots of fun...
QUOTE]


ok so that covers about 200 calories for me lol:D

Huggie: Sorry you're hitting a rough patch right now with your health but glad you're starting to take charge of your health. If your MD has cleared you for exercise, there are lots of options: DVDs (start with beginners and work your way up), some community rec centers have good rates on classes if you're the social type, walking (which you already said you don't like but it is free), save up for a treadmill, stationery bike, or elliptical or look into something affordable on Craigslist. If you can find a friend that is looking for a workout partner, that can help you both stay accountable. Cardio combined with good nutrition can help lower bp significantly, so I hope you keep trying new things 'till you find a good fit. Good luck!

If you don't own weights: soup cans weigh about a pound each. You can take old water bottles and fill them with sand. Get creative, you don't have to buy dumbbells. (with my carpal tunnel the soup cans are actually more comfortable to hold lol)

lol

XC skiing.

I like walking just not that "speed walking" in other words, just regular walking. But I am going to try some of those tips you all gave out...TY!

I am going to try that dancing bit, but w/the curtains closed b/c no one wants to see this one dancing! lol! Oh, to dance like that Beyonce and no risk of hurting myself in the process and lose weight!

[QUOTE=DJBlankenship;5929]Yes, well that's one of the problems in using sex as a fitness strategy. Also that calorie burn rate is just for intercourse, foreplay is less of a workout, unless of course it involves some pole dancing...

Tell you what, I love to workout with music, it just gets me going and keeps me moving. It doesn't matter what it is, elliptical, walking, dancing, step aerobics, housekeeping, yard work - whatever, it's a lot more fun (and seems less like work) when I have my tunes on. You just have to get past what people will think if they see you shaking your booty. At the very least I'm getting closer to having a booty that should be shaken. Booty-licious here I come.

[QUOTE=DJBlankenship;5929]
hahah

Dancing is awesome, and jump rope and jumping jacks. they're what i do to get my heartrate going.

if you go walking, unless you're walking fast enough that you're working up a sweat, you're not really going to burn any fat.

I'm no expert on this one, but I disagree. The people I've known in my life who were in the best shape, you know the ones that seem to be "naturally thin" and completely toned all over, every last one of them walked every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. And for the most part none of them walked all that far, 2-3 miles tops. So I'm thinking it must burn fat, it certainly tones everything up. I knew a women once that lost 300 pounds, she walked 7 miles every morning. In fact she still walks everyday, only now she's a tiny little thing covered in well defined muscle.

If you eat less than you burn, you will lose fat. If you aren't active or eat WAY less than you burn, you will also lose muscle. I used to be "naturally thin", then I had kids. Looking back, before the kids, I used to walk miles a day. 2 miles one way from the parking lot to classes in college, a half hour here and there between classes, after dinner, bored and nothing on TV. I used to think I really hadn't changed my activity level, I've never been able to run or been interested in sports. But the kids won't walk for miles and miles or spend an afternoon just wandering through the neighborhood. I never broke a sweat, just did it b/c I liked it. Hindsight being 20/20, I think now it's the (absence of) walking responsible for this slow creeping weight gain.

I wish I had known this when I was 13. I had stopped getting taller, but continued outgrowing my clothes, until I realized I had gotten a bit chunky. I knew that 3500 calories equals a pound of fat, and that I probably burned about 1600 calories just staying alive. So I put myself on a strict 600 calorie/day diet. Just as my calculations predicted, I lost two pounds a week. I went from 130 pounds to 102, and from a size 11/12 to a size 7/8.

The problem is that I was utterly exhausted all the time. I eventually gained a lot of it back (and then more after having kids), and just assumed that I was naturally a weak person with no butt. I see now that what happened is that I lost a lot of muscle. That explains why, as a young adult, I couldn't do a lot of physical things that my peers seemed to do easily.

Now, I'm losing weight at the same rate as back then by eating about 1400 calories a day and doing cardio and weight-bearing exercise. I'm getting stronger, my butt is starting to get an actual shape, for the first time in my life, and I have plenty of energy.

If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, I would have taken a totally different approach to getting a better body as a teen.

Elderwanda: Glad to read you're making good progress by eating enough to build and/or maintain muscle (not starving yourself) and exercising. I think a lot of us women grew up believing that super strict dieting and cardio was the only way to lose weight. Little did we know we were setting ourselves up to lower our metabolisms and making maintenance impossible. Once I started lifting weights, it was amazing how my body changed for the better. After 16 years of weight training and moderate cardio, I've never looked back! I do believe the combination (and good eating habits) is as close to the fountain of youth we will ever find. Wishing you continued success!

When I was a teenager I thought I was fat, because I was just a little curvier than most of my flat chested friends. I did all kinds of crazy diets and unhealthy things to myself as well, but looking back at the photos I now realize that I had a great body then. Now is a whole different story. But all the same I too wish I knew then what I know now. I might have been a lot more helpful to my bulimic and anorexic friends.