Lockdown love handles, Thanksgiving tummies and Christmas pie thighs these are just a few of the things you may hope to leave behind in 2021.
But tacking on a few workouts a week isnt going to get you your weight-loss wishes.
A recent study found that people who followed a rigorous hour-long workout on a daily basis lost substantially more weight than those who only got their heart rates up a few times a week.
Thats partly because people who exercise tend to eat more to make up for their exertions, but only up to a point meaning those who only worked out a couple times a week canceled out any caloric losses, while those who exercised daily didnt.
Even more interesting, the intense workout regimens appeared to boost levels of the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin in the body, something occasional exercise did not do.
Logging an average of 300 minutes of exercise weekly or working out 40 to 60 minutes, six days a week and burning about 3,000 calories total, was the fat-burning sweet spot in the study, authored by Kyle Flack, Ph.D., an assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Kentucky.
And while any exercise is better than no exercise, those looking to move the dial on the scale will need to put in the time roughly 60 minutes every day.
Unfortunately, that level of commitment is enough to make most would-be workout warriors want to quit mid-battle of the bulge.
So, how to stay motivated when the task appears so daunting?
The key is to not make fitness a game of how miserable you can make yourself, celebrity fitness trainer John Basedow told The Post. You have to make exercise something thats enjoyable, something that fits into your lifestyle and something that you look forward to doing.
Experts such as him say that the new routine, and all the endurance that comes with it, has to happen gradually. In other words, you cant expect to instantaneously go from zero to beast mode.
Here, gym gurus offer the best at-home hour-long workouts that will help you build your strength and commitment in the new year.
Basedow, the muscle-bound mastermind behind exercise empire Fitness Made Simple, says a healthy blend of cardio and weightlifting is the chefs kiss for melting off those extra chunks without igniting the flames of workout burn-out.
Theres nothing better than doing a combination of weight training and cardio for weight loss, the Long Island native told The Post. You can do 30 minutes of any cardio that gets you moving, gets your heart rate up and gets you into that fat-burning mode.
After spending a few minutes warming up with simple stretches and yoga moves, you might get your heart pumping by running on the elliptical machine, taking a high-powered walk on the treadmill or in the park or engaging in a a safe game of racquetball with friends.
Then its onto the weights: Combine your cardio with another 30 minutes of strength training your bodys different muscle groups with a pair of adjustable dumbbells, and youre going to get amazing results, he said.
He suggests three sets of 10 to 12 reps each of chest incline presses and dumbbell back rows, bicep curls and tricep extensions and walking dumbbell lunges (see breakout below) and squats. Finish with crunches (eventually working up to three sets of 50 reps), then upper and lower body stretches to cool down.
Walking lunges with dumbbells
This strength-training exercise works the butt, thighs, quads, hamstrings, core and biceps.
How many: Three sets of 10 to 12 reps with weights
How to:
Pole and aerial fitness trainer Abigail Williams-Joseph stresses the importance of building muscle and core strengthening. Simply focusing on calorie loss misses the big picture, she said.
Burning 3,000 calories and getting to the gym every single day in order to lose a certain amount of weight per week is not our main focus, Williams-Joseph told The Post. Were building people up to be physically strong, and to increase their mobility and flexibility.
Williams-Joseph says at-home cellulite soldiers can combat the fat with a solid body-weight training routine.
Stefano Giovannini
Stefano Giovannini
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She suggests a 10- to 15-minute workout that incorporates full body stretches; head, wrist, arm and ankle circles; jumping jacks; and chest-cross arm swings.
Then its on to a series of body-weight exercises pushups, shoulder shrugs, pullups, lateral leg raises, squats, lunges and knee tuck crunches (see breakout below). For each exercise, do three sets of 20 reps, with a 30-second rest between sets.
Finish with a brief cool down, 30 seconds on each side, that includes arm-cross shoulder stretches, overhead tricep stretches and glute stretches.
Knee tuck crunches
This ab-buster strengthens the core, makes your hips and back more flexible and increases mobilityand flexibility.
How to:
Armed with more than three decades of exercise expertise, certified group fitness trainer Cheryl Kellys high-octane classes are kryptonite to calories.
Like Basedow, she recommends a mix of cardio and weight training each day, coupled with a warmup and cool-down period.
The key to success, she stressed, is variety.
Change up your cardio and weight-training routine every day, Kelly told The Post. Mix it up as often as possible.
When working out on your own at home, the New Jersey instructor suggests 25 to 30 minutes of fun, fast-paced cardio such as kickboxing (try the breakout move below), step aerobics or a high-speed walk or run on the treadmill.
Complete the routine with some weight-training moves. For those who dont have weights or kettlebells, Kelly says doing lunges and bicep curls with household items such as heavy cans of food, full water jugs or detergent containers will get the job done.
For this 20-minute muscle-building segment, try four sets of 15 reps, with a 10-second rest between sets, of the following moves: alternating bicep curls, seated dumbbell extensions, lateral arm raises, hop squats, back rows, pushups and tricep dips.
Jab, cross, hook, upper cut combo
This heart-rate lifter is great for cardiovascular health, while burning calories and building muscle strength and balance.
How many:Repeat combo 50 times
How to:
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You have to exercise an hour to lose weight here's how to make the most of it - New York Post
