Losing weight and staying fit is all about participating in activities that burn more calories than you consume. With today’s busy lifestyle, it is even more prudent to get involved with the exercises and activities which give the best results in the least amount of time. Such activity is especially essential during the winter months when we tend to slow down and enjoy big holiday meals that easily increase our calorie intake and add bulge. Participating in regular bouts of exercise accelerates our metabolism. As a result, oxygen will covert calories into energy. If the metabolic process isn’t accelerated then the calories are stored as fat until they are needed. You can either join a gym, workout at home, or head to the great outdoors, but the point is that you need to give sincere effort to completing an exercise regimen on a regular basis to keep your body burning its stored fuel deposits.

Cardio Consumes More Calories

If you want to drop the most amount of weight in the shortest period of time, set up a cardiovascular exercise program. Cardio exercise, also referred to as aerobic exercise, burns the greatest amount of calories in the least amount of time. In order for cardio exercises to be the most affective, they need to be done for a minimum of 20 minutes without stopping. This period of time raises your heart rate to a sufficient level needed to convert calories to energy that is then consumed by the working body.

When choosing exercises for your aerobic exercise routine, you should consider the two types of cardio and their effects on calorie consumption. There are both low intensity exercises and high intensity exercises for cardio workouts. Low intensity workouts are easier on your joints and burn fat. High intensity workouts burn a lot of calories and excite your metabolism to a point where your body will continue to burn calories well after the exercise period is over.

If you choose a low intensity cardio program then you should exercise for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour. High intensity exercises, on the other hand, can be accomplished in 20 to 30 minutes.

Top Calorie Burning Exercises

Following are some of the best cardio exercises along with their parameters for execution.

Brisk Walk – This can be accomplished by practically everyone and will burn approximately 180 calories in a 30 minute stint. You can increase the amount of calories burned by adding hills or more difficult terrain to your route.

Running – If you want to pick up your walking pace, you can turn to jogging, which will double the calories consumed in the same period of time.

Aerobics – The constant step, stretch, and movement programs that are offered at gyms and on DVDs are generally referred to as aerobic exercises. Joining an aerobics class is a great way to drop weight and sculpt your physique as you can easily burn 400 calories or more in a 30 minute to 1 hour session.

Bicycling – This is a fun way to burn calories as you get to enjoy the rush of a good bike ride as well as see a lot of scenery. Depending on how hard you push your ride and the difficulty of the route you choose, cycling will burn anywhere from 250 to 500 calories in a 30 minute session. Of course, you can also opt to join a spinning class and pedal off pounds indoors.

Tennis – Tennis is another fun sport that will burn calories quickly. An aggressive 30 minute bout will eat up approximately 400 calories.

Rowing – The action of rowing against resistance is good arm, shoulder, and core exercise that will chow down around 300 calories over a 30 minute workout. You can usually find rowing machines in your local gym or, if you have the good fortune of being near a lake, take to the water in a rowboat and get a free dose of fresh air in the process.

Swimming – This is a good choice because the sport of swimming provides a total body workout as well as eliminating some 400 calories in a constant 30 minute swim. Swimming and rowing make excellent workout routine companions as you can jump in the lake after your rowing session!

Cross-Country Skiing/Ice Skating – Taking up xc skiing or ice skating in the winter provides an excellent source of full body exercise after the snow arrives. Thirty minutes of either one will consume up to 300 calories. Just remember to keep the motions going at a steady pace for the suggested period of time.

There you have it, the top exercises that burn up a bunch of calories. Create a cardio exercise program that includes several throughout the week to provide a workout for different muscle groups and to break up the monotony, or add some to your bodybuilding program to hasten that lean and sexy look.