When it comes to fat burning, running has long been regarded as the most effective workout. Aside from burning calories, it’s also a great cardio as it gets your heart pump more blood. However, running has a major drawback – it’s a high-impact exercise that puts a lot of strain on your knees, thighs, and feet. Also, it only burns about 10 calories a minute, which means it can easily be replaced by other type of exercise which burns as many or even more calories.
Here we recommend 10 exercises that are equally effective as running. They’ll not only help you lose weight, but also get your body into great shape.
1# Cross-Fit Exercises
The typical cross-fit workout routine includes a number of different exercises, some of which are quite intense. However, following a strict routine is not necessary for you to benefit from these exercises. Your best option is to search for cross-fit exercises and choose three that target a different muscle group.
2# Kettlebell Swing
You can easily include this workout into other workout routines. The best thing about kettlebell swing is that it doesn’t take more than several minutes during which time you can burn 20 calories per minute. Another good thing is that this exercise is suitable for everyone regardless of shape or stamina.
3# Burpees
Doing a minimum of 10 burpees a minute can help you burn up to 14 calories per minute. On the plus side, this workout is more effective than an all-out bike sprint; it boosts your metabolism and burns extra fat.
4# Bike Sprints
Even though bike sprints are less efficient than burpees, they are ideal for people who aren’t into the routine of working out. The key to effective bike sprints is to pedal as fast as you can for a minute then to slow down for the next 1-2 minutes. Ideally, you should alternate between a cruising speed and a sprinting speed.
5# Fat Tire Biking
This type of workout includes bicycles with large tires, which are heavier and harder to control than traditional bike tires. That’s why you can burn up to 1,500 calories per hour or 25 calories per minute with this difficult exercise, which is twice the calories you burn with running, minus the strain on your knees.
6# Jumping Rope
Aside from being a medium-intensity exercise which involves more muscles than running, jumping rope is also fun. Providing you do up to 100 skips per minute, you can burn about 13 calories each minute. Plus, jumping rope gives you a more complete workout.
7# Jump Squats
A simple workout to do, jump squats can help you burn 14 calories in 20 seconds hard work, which is an amazing weight loss result in less than a minute.
8# Battling Ropes
This is yet another workout that offers greater calorie burn than running. According to a recent study which compared battle rope exercise to other workouts, battle ropes proved to be the best exercise for total oxygen consumption.
9# Cross-Country Skiing
Aside from being popular, cross-country skiing is another workout that’s more effective than running. When skiing at a normal pace, you actually move at about the same speed as the average runner, but you burn more calories per minute.
10# Indoor Rowing
This is an amazing workout for effective calorie burning. Intense rowing can result in burning 375 calories every 30 minutes. Rowing will particularly tighten and tone the muscles in your arms and shoulders.
When choosing a group of exercises to do, make sure they include different muscles in your body. Also, allowing time for your muscles to recover during workout is also important.
