Approximately 41.9% of Americans are obese, and many more are overweight. Unfortunately, losing weight isn’t always easy. It takes work, effort, and planning.
Do you want to lose weight? If so, you might need to make a few changes in your life, including your diet and physical activities. Changing these two areas can help you lose weight.
But, you’ll need to find the best workouts for beginners. Of course, exercising is essential, but you shouldn’t overdo it. Instead, it would be best if you started slowly.
Keep reading this guide if you’re ready to learn the best exercises to do as you begin working out to lose weight.
Goals of Working Out
As you begin looking for a new workout routine, you’ll want to take it slowly. Additionally, you might want to consider your goals.
Many people choose to exercise to lose weight, while others do it to improve their health. You can determine your goals when starting.
The second thing to consider is the recommended guidelines. For example, how much exercise should you do weekly? Experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate workouts or 75 minutes of vigorous activities.
You might want to start by setting a small goal. For example, you could begin by setting a goal of 60 minutes per week. After reaching that goal, you could slowly increase the time, working up to the recommended timeframes.
Walking
One of the first exercises you could include in your plan is walking. Walking is a simple act you can do anywhere. For example, you could walk inside your house, around your neighborhood, or at a local park.
Walking is excellent for building muscles and losing weight. Additionally, it’s great for your heart health.
When you initially begin, you might not be able to walk fast. But, you can increase your speed over time. Walking is best when you aim to walk briskly instead of slowly.
If you build up the ability to walk briskly for 30 minutes at a time, you might be able to add some jogging into the mix. For example, you could jog for 30 seconds, walk for a few minutes, and then repeat.
Stretching Exercises
An easy fitness program for beginners might also include stretching exercises. Stretching is vital for exercising, as it loosens the muscles, but it’s also good for other purposes.
Stretching helps you improve your range of motion if you have tightness anywhere in your body. It also requires physical movement, which means you can use it as a form of exercising.
You can stretch in many ways, but here are some simple ideas:
- Stand up and touch your toes
- Sit with legs spread and reach your toes
- Lean your neck forward and then back
- Lift your arms into the air and then down to the ground
- Lift your arm high to the right and then left
These are just a few ideas to try. As you do them, you can move quickly, causing your heart rate to increase as you repeat them 10 to 20 times.
Basic Exercises
Next, you can begin using some beginner types of exercises or starter workouts. Here are some basic exercises to include:
Lunges
While there are many variations of lunges, you might try a forward lunge first. To do this, you stand up and move one leg forward. Then, you place the other knee near the floor and then stand back up.
You can also do backward lunges, which involve moving one leg backwards instead of forwards. Lunges work out the legs and glutes primarily.
Squats
Another basic exercise is squats. To do these, you stand up with your foot slightly apart. Next, you bend your knees to lower your body. You can hold for a few seconds or straighten your legs out right away.
Jumping Jacks
Most people are familiar with jumping jacks, and these are great exercises for beginners. A jumping jack requires spreading your legs and raising your arms up simultaneously.
If you can’t physically jump off the ground, you can still move your arms up while spreading your legs out one at a time.
Push-Ups
Next, you could try push-ups. You can do normal push-ups, which require standing on your hands and toes. You can use your knees instead if you can’t do these on your toes.
Dumbbells and Weights
Additionally, you can perform easy exercise routines while using dumbbells or other weights. For example, you could do squats while holding dumbbells.
Adding weights increases the vigor of your routine, which means you might see results faster.
Focus on Other Aspects of Weight Loss
As you look for beginner exercise plans, you might also want to consider a few other vital aspects of working out and losing weight. The first is eating.
The food you eat affects many things, including your health and weight. Therefore, you’ll need to modify your diet if losing weight is your goal. You can look for a healthy eating plan for ideas.
Next, you’ll need to ensure you’re getting enough sleep. Most people underestimate the importance of sleep for weight loss. However, you should realize that sleep is vital.
Sleep affects your body’s hormone levels, and these hormones control your appetite and moods, and other things.
Finally, you might want to look for ways to reduce stress. Stress tends to decrease a person’s motivation levels. You probably won’t want to work out if you’re not motivated.
But, you might feel like working out if you feel motivated and happy. Therefore, you may need to work on reducing stress if you want to lose weight.
Try Workouts for Beginners
If you’re not exercising at all, you might want to find workouts for beginners. You can begin by trying some of the ideas listed here, but you can also look online for ideas or seek professional help.
Are you ready to get started on the path to a healthier you? Click here to find a ChiroThin doctor in your area.