What is the best activity for fat loss?

Wow, talk about a million dollar question! What is the best activity for fat loss? Well, there are so many activities that I will have break this down into types and weigh the pros and cons as well effectiveness of each. The groups I have selected are:

1. high energy sports (soccer, rugby, tennis, martial arts, etc)
2. endurance activities (jogging, biking, cardio machines at the gym at a manageable pace)
3. high intensity interval training (bike or running sprints)
4. circuit training (light weights used for a series of exercises

1. High energy sports such as soccer, rugby, tennis and so on are great for burning calories and losing weight. Remember when you were young and played sports? Were you fat? Probably not, but once you quit sports and sat on your butt all day you probably got fat. Well that is natural and it goes to show you how effective sports are for keeping the weight down. Often when competing in sports, we do not realize just how hard we are working. Runnig around like a maniac fighting to get a ball is darn hard work but who notices? I think sports are probably the best activity of choice for weight loss because they are fun and you will tend to work really hard. The problem with sports is that you need people to play with and with today's busy schedule that can be tough. Also, there is always a chance for injury. Soccer, basketball, touch football all involve a lot of running, turning and jumping which can cause ankle, knee or groin injuries pretty easily. Sports are great, but you have to accept the dangers! Overall I give sports a thumbs up for fat loss.

2. Endurance activities such as jogging or hitting the stationary bike are by far the least effective and most boring activity for fat loss yet almost everyone does it. Why is that? I don't know. Almost everyone is fat too so it can't be that effective! Jogging or any endurance activity requires a ton of repetitive motion that eventually causes chronic injuries to the feet, legs or back. Serious runners always have some kind of inury they are nursing. As for fat loss, endurance work just is not time efficient or effective. You have to spend a ton of time doing the same boring activity just to burn any calories. Don't get all excited about the 300 calories you burned on the treadmill because dinner will have two to three times that many calories! Also, the more endurance work you do, the more energy effiicient you will become. This means you will burn less and less calories every time you go for a jog. How is that for unfair, the harder you work the less calories you burn!!!! I give endurance activities a thumbs down for fat loss. Only do them if you are an endurance athlete.

3. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is something that has gained a lot of favour in the strength and conditioning community in the last few years. It involves selecting an activity such as running or biking or whatever, and doing sprints instead of long slow distance work. So instead of jogging, go out to a track or field and run some sprints. The time spent sprinting versus resting will vary based on your goals and fitness level but usually you should rest three times as long as you sprint. So, if you do a 1 minute bike sprint, then pedal slow for three minutes before repeating. Most people do anywhere from 8 to 20 sets of sprints. HIIT will not burn a lot of calories during the workout, but will burn a ton of calories for the next 12-24 hours afterwards! That is right, it will elevate your metabolism over the long term when at rest. It is also important to note that HIIT workouts usually only last about 20 minutes so they are very time efficient. I think HIIT is great for fat loss so I give it a thumbs up!

4. Last but not least is circuit training. Circuit training consists of selecting a number of exercises (5-20) and doing them in a series. So, do one set of the first exercise then move on to the next. When you are done the series you can repeat if time permits. To make circuit training effective pick a weight that is challenging but you can complete a number of reps with for each exercise. Once you start going do not stop until the workout is completed. A good circuit training workout will be very challenging and burn a ton of calories. The nice thing about ciruit training is the weighted resistance will force your muscles to tone up as well. So you will lose weight and tone up. Circuit training can be done at the gym or at home and you will not require more than a 7" x 7" area to train in. They are quite fast, usually 20-45 minutes and can be different every time by varying the exericses and order. Using weights for high reps will really burn muscle glycogen up so you will prevent weight gain as well as burn fat. In my opinion, circuit training is probably the best activity selection for weight loss but sports and HIIT are very close.

Whichever activity you choose is up to you. And ultimately it is the activities you enjoy most that should be your focus. After all, life is too short to be fat and bored! So go out there and have fun at your favourite activity!