5 Best Exercises for Shedding Extra Pounds and Slimming Down

It's inevitable that with age, the body changes. We don't bounce back from injuries as easily, get tired more quickly, and it becomes harder to maintain a healthy weight. However, that doesn't mean you have to accept this fact.

There are plenty of ways to improve your well-being and get back in shape. One of them can be as simple as adding a few new exercises to your routine. Below is a list of the best workouts for shedding extra pounds and slimming down:

Best Exercises to Slim Down

Here's a look at five such exercises:

#1 Squat

Squats are an excellent exercise for weight loss. They work several muscle groups at once and can be done anywhere.

How to do it:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides and knees slightly bent.
Flex your knees, and lower yourself as if you are about to sit down in a chair or stool, but stop just short of touching the seat.
Return to the starting position by pushing up with your legs while keeping your back straight and shoulders thrust back. You should feel the tension in the muscles between your shoulder blades.
Repeat 8-10 times or till you're fatigued.

#2 Plank

Planks are a great way to strengthen the core and flatten the belly. A plank is a good exercise to do as part of a weight-loss plan, as it helps improve posture, reduce back pain, and improve overall health.

To do a plank:

Assume an all-fours position on the floor. with your hands directly under your shoulders and feet hip-width apart.
Engage the core muscles by drawing your tummy toward the spine; keeping the hips level and knees straightened out.
Raise your body off the floor so that your arms are straight, and head is as neutral as possible (not jutting forward).

To maintain proper alignment, focus on extending from your heels through your toes. Avoid rocking or dropping hips too low or high (i.e., keep them level).

#3 Push-up

Push-ups are a versatile exercise that can be modified for different fitness levels.

To do it:

Start in the plank position with your hands directly below your shoulders and feet together on the floor.
Keep your back straight, and place your palms directly beneath you at shoulder-width.
Lower down till your chest is almost touching the ground, and press back up till your elbows are straight.
Perform three sets of 10-15 repetitions (or as many as you can) each workout day to help improve your upper body strength and stability.

Set small goals like doing three sets of 8-10 repetitions per workout day over several weeks till they become second nature to you. Then set some bigger ones, like trying out new modifications or working towards doing an unassisted one-arm push-up.

#4 Lunge

Lunges are a great exercise for the lower body, especially if you’re trying to slim down. They help tone and strengthen the thighs, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.

You can do this exercise standing or sitting. Lunges can be done with weights in each hand or without weights at all. Proceed as follows:

Start by placing one foot forward and another behind.
Lunge forward, and use your hips to aid yourself.
Lower both legs simultaneously in their respective directions.
Push back up to the starting position, and repeat for reps.

#5 Running

Running is one of the best exercises for shedding extra pounds and slimming down. That's because running burns a lot of calories in a short period, which helps lose weight and tone the body.

If you’re new to running, start by walking at an incline before adding jogging intervals (walk for 20 seconds and jog for 40 seconds). Once that becomes easy, increase the number of jogging intervals till you can do five minutes of continuous jogging without stopping.

Running is also great, as it strengthens the muscles while also improving cardiovascular health. By increasing blood flow through the heart and lungs, running helps boost lung capacity over time so that oxygen can reach every cell in the body more efficiently.

That means better stamina during workouts. Running has also been shown to improve sleep pattern by reducing stress hormones like cortisol after waking up from sleep cycles throughout each night.

Takeaway

If you want to lose weight, the first thing you should do is start exercising. Make sure your workouts are intense enough to burn fat and build muscle, but do not overdo them.

Remember that a healthy lifestyle involves eating right and drinking plenty of water as well as getting enough sleep at night so that the body has time to recover before starting another day.