6. Play Tennis
Engaging in any
court-based sport provides a good workout, but you only need one other
person to start a game of tennis. It builds agility, hand-eye
coordination, and works all the major muscle groups—and that helps your
metabolism. Since the game is played in short bursts during which you’re
swinging your racquet or sprinting after a ball, it offers fatburning
benefits similar to those found in traditional interval training (see
entry 233). A 150-pound individual can expect to burn more than 400
calories each hour and enjoy a competitive sport in the process.
7. Try Racquetball
One of the great things
about this sport is that you’ll burn a lot of calories even when you’re
starting out. A 150-pound person can expect to burn 500 calories at the
beginning and push this into the 800s as he becomes more agile and gains
stamina. In this interval-style sport that provides aerobic and
anaerobic benefits, you’ll run nearly 2 miles an hour and you won’t even
notice it—although your heart, waistline, and metabolism will!
8. Try Spinning Classes
Spinning on a stationary
bike is a proven way to reduce body fat and expend calories, but it is
much more than that. Spinning also helps you to strengthen joints, lower
raised cholesterol, and increase energy levels. In terms of calories
burned, about 10 minutes of spinning burns about 115 calories. If you
took a spinning class every day over a year for at least 10 minutes a
day, it could lead to a 12-pound weight loss. Spinning offers
opportunities to strengthen your large leg muscles and increase your
workout intensity by adding resistance and speed.
9. Try Cross-Country Skiing
During those winter months when
running may not be an option, why not break out the cross-country skis? A
150-pound person can burn up to 900 calories per hour as she
strengthens the muscles in her shoulders, back, chest, abdomen,
buttocks, and legs using the kick and glide technique. If you’re looking
forward to starting a cross-country routine, we recommend preparing
with exercises that work the upper-and lower-body muscle groups such as
cycling, walking, swimming, and rowing.
10. Try Roller Skating
If you want to build
strong legs, gain balance, and reduce your overall body fat while you
get an aerobic workout, pick up a pair of roller skates or in-line
skates. A 150-pound person will burn between 400 and 500 calories
skating, so if he were to alternate his workouts between skating,
cycling, and swimming, he’d burn a significant number of calories during
the week and have fun doing it!
11. Join a Rowing Club
Rowing burns a lot of calories
because it exercises larger muscle groups in both the upper and lower
body. It is, in fact, one of the best forms of total body aerobic
exercise because it involves all the major muscle groups. Also, within
10 minutes of rowing, your body gets into a rhythm that lights your
metabolic fire. Rowing tones the arms and builds upper-body strength.
Rowing for 25 minutes is aerobically equal to 40 minutes on a stationary
bike. In a kayak or rowboat, you can get a workout targeting the core
areas of your body, but if you like working out with others, join a
rowing club.
Basically, rowing takes two forms.
When rowers have an oar in each hand, it’s called sculling. When rowers
have both hands on one oar, it is called sweep rowing. Rowing is a
low-impact exercise but does require a degree of agility, grace, and
teamwork. Rowing as a team teaches you to work together for maximum
effectiveness. The boat advances more rapidly when the team members row
quickly and in unison. So make some new friends, learn the art of
rowing, get in a regular workout, and feel good as your body becomes
trim and toned—and your metabolism ratchets up.
12. Embrace Jumping Jacks
Good old-fashioned
jumping jacks provide a great aerobic exercise that gets your heart
pumping, carries oxygen to your lungs, enables your blood to pump with
less effort, and tones your muscles—all of which can jump-start your
metabolism. When you do jumping jacks, the exercise triggers your brain
to release some feel-good chemicals into the bloodstream. If you get
tired, try doing sets of five or ten, and then rest. Or better yet, add
lunges or squats to vary the routine and keep those metabolic fires
burning.
13. Get a Trampoline
Bouncing on a trampoline
strengthens your legs, increasing their ability to serve as an auxiliary
pump for your cardiovascular system, while increasing your pulse for a
cardio workout. It also strengthens your voluntary and involuntary
muscular system, which helps the entire system work more efficiently and
burn more calories. It’s also low-impact and spares wear and tear on
your joints, feet, knees, and hips. Buy a mini-trampoline to use when
you’re watching TV.
