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The Most Effective Exercises for Sustained Weight Maintenance
Sometimes losing weight is the easy part. Once you have reached your goal weight, one of the biggest challenges is keeping that weight off for good. Although you may not have to be as diligent to eat right and exercise religiously during the maintenance stage, it is still important that you practice healthy habits so that the weight does not return. Here are three of the most effective exercises for sustained weight maintenance:
Running
There is no doubt that running is a calorie blaster. Not only can you cover long distances in a faster amount of time by running, but it will also burn more calories than other types of exercise. Depending on your weight and speed, you can burn up to 700 calories by just running for one hour. Running is also beneficial because you can mix it up to maximize calorie burn. For example, if you feel the pounds creeping back, you can ratchet up the intensity of your run or add in hill work. Because it is such a versatile activity, it is easy to adjust your running routine to keep your body working hard.
Cycling
Cycling is a great cardiovascular activity if you are looking for something that is low impact in nature. You do not need to always go hard when cycling. The longer and slower distances will also suffice when looking to keep weight gain at bay. However, safety needs to be a priority. In 2017, nearly 800 cyclists were involved in fatal bicycle accidents, most of them after 6 pm. For this reason, it is important to follow the rules of the road and to always wear reflective clothing.
Weight Training
While it is not considered to be a cardiovascular exercise, weight training provides exceptional benefits when looking to maintain weight loss. Muscle mass burns more calories at rest than fat. Because of this, it makes sense to be intentional about building lean muscle mass. The more muscles that you have, the higher your resting metabolism will be. This will help you to maintain your weight loss without having to do anything extra. As an added bonus, your physique will improve as you build lean muscles and blast away fat.
Maintaining your desired weight and keeping your fitness goals may seem like a big undertaking, but it’s very doable if you continue to do exercises like the ones above. Making an effort to get in your daily exercise will help to deter that unwanted weight from making a reappearance. This commitment will also set you up for a lifetime of good health.
