10 Essential Body Movement Exercises for Weight Loss

If you want to lose weight this year, you need to get your body moving. Burn calories, introduce a balanced diet, and achieve those goals. Here are some brilliant examples!

Squats

Sorry, but you can’t avoid squats if you want to lose weight. Although a simple (and painful!) movement, it burns calories and gets the blood pumping. Depending on your experience, alter the difficulty by adding weights, holding the squat for longer, and making other alterations.

Push-Ups

Again, a classic body movement exercise, but one guaranteed to yield results. The reason that these exercises have been around so long is that they work. The push-up works the shoulders, triceps, and pecs.

Side Steps

If you want to start simple, there’s nothing wrong with some side steps. As you progress, hold a dumbbell with both hands and lift the dumbbell as you move from one side to the other (even just lifting your arms each time makes it more difficult!).

Walking

Often, when people want to lose weight, they think they need to start training like athletes. In reality, walking is one of the most effective exercises to adopt. You get the heart pumping, the joints moving, and who doesn’t love listening to a funny podcast or an audiobook to destress?

Lunges

Back to the legs, lunging is another one that gets the heart beating and the muscles aching. With lunges, you’ll strengthen the legs, and this helps in every area of life from walking to the bus stop in the morning to climbing stairs. Just because you’re building leg muscles, this doesn’t mean you can’t lose weight at the same time.

Burpees

As you get more advanced in your workout journey, you’ll come to hate this word. While you’re still naive to it, burpees are fun. As a cardio workout, you start by standing (easy enough!). From here, jump down into a push-up, spring up, and jump to touch the ceiling. Repeat, repeat, and then repeat some more.

Crocodile Walking

Just as the name suggests, this one will see you walk like a crocodile along the floor. Start in a push-up position and then walk forward with your left leg and right hand, then bring the other knee towards the elbow. As you alternate, you’ll do your best crocodile impression while also burning lots of calories.

Twists

Sometimes called a ‘Russian twist’ when you add a dumbbell, this exercise works the abs. Sit on the floor, lean back slightly, and twist your upper body from side to side. If possible, lift your legs off the ground slightly and feel as it gets slightly harder.

Arm Circles

If the last few suggestions have left you feeling confused, let’s go back to basics with some arm circles. Stand with your feet close together and your back straight. Then, lift both arms to the side until you form a straight line from one hand to the next. Gently rotate your whole arm and draw a circle both clockwise and anti-clockwise.

Planks

Ok, this one won’t have you moving, but it’s a great one for weight loss. Get into a push-up position but put your weight through your forearms rather than your hands (this will put you lower to the ground). Then, hold it for as long as possible. Because of the long duration of time that you will be holding this position, make sure you find a suitable space on the floor that is comfortable. Planking on a gym mat, or yoga mats from Divine Goddess, will make the workout far more comfortable than planking on hardwood floors.

 

With these ten essential body movements, you can lose weight without an expensive gym membership and all sorts of complicated equipment. Why not get started with them today.