Listen up, ladies. Losing weight can be struggle central when you don’t have a sense of direction. From online fitness trends to the abundance of wellness fads to hot new diets, you may feel defeated without even starting your weight-loss journey. But taking that first initial step is usually the most challenging part. We spoke with two fitness pros who share their top-recommended weight-loss exercises for women to do every day.
“In order for women to lose weight, they would need a healthy combination of strength workouts and cardio workouts,” Sydney Yeomans, certified personal trainer and director of fitness for BODY20, tells Eat This, Not That! “Cardio exercises will help to lead to a faster fat consumption whereas strength will help to build muscle, therefore, burning more calories.”
If you’re wondering why it seems like the biggest hurdle of all time to shed unwanted body weight, know that, when compared to men, women typically have a reduced metabolic rate, UPMC HealthBeat explains. In layman’s terms, a woman’s body doesn’t use as many calories to perform regular bodily functions such as blood circulation, breathing, and thinking. The calories that remain are saved as fat.
So, what’s a gal to do? It’s time to up your cardio and strength game and pair your fitness with a well-balanced diet. Experts have you totally covered with the fitness part and are here to walk you through the best daily weight-loss exercises for women. Start doing these moves in your day-to-day routine, and watch the number on the scale move down.
Let’s explore the best daily weight-loss exercises for women.
In This Article:
Walking
Don’t sleep on good old-fashioned walking if you want to lose weight and snap back into shape.
“While not often considered an ‘exercise,’ daily walking is among the most impactful habits you can do for weight loss since it is a low-impact way to increase your calorie burn across the whole week,” says Tyler Read, a personal trainer and the founder of PTPioneer.com. Make it your goal to do at least 30 minutes of brisk walking daily.
Squats
“Squats work on your glutes, quads, and hamstrings, helping to build lean muscle, which boosts your metabolism,” Read explains.
How To Do It:
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart on the floor.
- Place your hands on your hips, keep them clasped by your chest, or extend them ahead of you for extra stability. To intensify this exercise, you can also hold a set of dumbbells at your sides.
- Initiate the squat by bending your knees and pressing your hips back.
- Lower until your thighs become parallel to the floor or lower.
- Push through both feet to return to standing.
- Complete 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Pushups
Love them or hate them, pushups are an excellent calorie burner. Read says, “Pushups are great for toning the upper body and core.” If you find classic pushups too difficult, begin with knee pushups or wall pushups.
How To Do It:
- Plant your hands on the floor below your shoulders and rise up to the balls of your feet.
- Your body should form a straight line from your head down to your feet.
- Bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the ground.
- Make sure your lower back doesn’t dip.
- Press yourself back up to a high plank to complete a full rep.
- Perform 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
Lunges
Lunges are another productive exercise that works your lower body, including your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.
How To Do It:
- Take a big step forward with one leg.
- Bend your knees to initiate the lunge and descend.
- Keep your upper body straight, and make sure your front knee doesn’t exceed your toes.
- Push through your front heel to return to standing.
- Bring your back leg forward to complete a lunge on the other side.
- Perform 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps per leg.
Burpees
“Burpees are an excellent total-body exercise that boosts your heart rate and develops explosiveness,” Read tells us. “They engage multiple muscle groups at once, making them a highly efficient way to burn calories.”
How To Do It:
- Plant your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Engage your abs, and lower into a high plank with your hands on the floor and legs extended behind you.
- Do a pushup.
- Press yourself back up, and jump your feet forward to meet your hands.
- Jump up explosively while simultaneously raising your arms overhead.
- Perform 3 sets of 10 reps.
Mountain Climbers
Get ready to put your entire body to work and raise your heart rate with mountain climbers.
How To Do It:
- Assume a high plank with your hands below your shoulders and both legs extended behind you.
- Quickly bring your right knee up toward your chest before extending it behind you.
- Repeat the same motion with your left knee.
- Continue to alternate as you perform 3 sets of 30 reps.
Jump Rope
“Jumping rope can burn many calories in a short time and works both your lower and upper body,” Read explains.
How To Do It:
- Jump for 1 minute.
- Take a breather for 30 seconds.
- Repeat.
- Once you build up your stamina, make it your goal to complete longer periods of jumping, like 2 to 3 minutes consecutively.
Glute Bridges
Yeomans recommends the glute bridge as one of the best daily weight-loss exercises for women. This move will fire up your glutes, so get ready to feel the burn.
How To Do It:
- Lie down flat on your back.
- Bend both knees and plant your feet on the floor.
- Keep your arms at your sides with your palms face-down.
- Push through your feet to press your hips up toward the sky until your hips, knees, and shoulders form a straight line.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top for a moment, then gradually lower back down.
- Complete 3 sets of 15 reps.
Superman
Yeomans also recommends the Superman exercise.
How To Do It:
- To set up, lie down flat on your stomach.
- Extend your arms overhead, and make sure your legs are extended.
- Focus your gaze on the floor ahead of you as you slowly raise your arms and legs.
- Hold this position for a moment before releasing.
- Complete 3 sets of 20 reps.
Plank Holds
How To Do It:
- Place your hands shoulder-width apart on a workout mat.
- Rise up to the balls of your feet so your body’s in a straight line.
- Lower to your forearms so your elbows are right under your shoulders.
- Keep your core activated as you hold this position, and make sure your back doesn’t cave inward.
- Perform 3 sets of 1-minute holds.
Alternating Bird-Dogs
How To Do It:
- Assume all fours, lining your hands up with your shoulders and your knees below your hips.
- Straighten your right arm ahead of you and your opposite leg behind you.
- Remain in this position for a few seconds.
- Bring your knee and elbow toward each other to meet below your body.
- Repeat on the opposite side.
- Perform 3 sets of 20 reps.
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Alexa Mellardo