17 Workouts Guaranteed to Help You Lose Weight

Not all workouts are created equal!

Not all workouts are created equal. A bodybuilder who wants to cultivate strength benefits more from heavy lifting and low rep training. On the other hand, if you want to drop pounds, you’re better off with cardio and interval training. Below, we’ve rounded up some of our best workouts to help you lose weight.

These seventeen routines are great for lowering body fat. They use a combination of plyometric cardio moves and strength training. This pairing is the most effective when it comes to leaning down and we’ll explain exactly why.

Strength training creates new muscle tissue. Your body uses more calories to maintain muscle than it does maintaining fatty tissue, which means that when you grow muscle, you start burning more calories throughout the day. Strength training is the diet-free way to lose weight!

Nevertheless, to get the most out of your workouts you should be combining strength training with cardio. Using interval training and plyometric moves, you’ll engage your newfound muscles, making them work and maximize calorie burn. This combo is a great way to get your body to drop body fat, losing excess weight in those hard-to-target areas.

If your end goal is weight loss, we highly recommend you make these 17 weight loss workouts part of your exercise routine! Completing one to three workouts per day, five days per week will help you finally shed stubborn weight.

1. 12-Minute Home HIIT Challenge

A short workout is better than no workout! And this quick 12-minute routine will get your heart pumping even on days when you can’t make it to the gym. It’s a home HIIT challenge that burns a high number of calories despite being only 12 minutes long.

You can do this workout on its own when you’re on a time crunch, or pair it with any of the other workouts on this list.

2. 30-Minute Upper Body Cardio Workout

Women are often guilty of not spending enough time on the upper body. We often avoid arm workouts in fear of getting bulky arms. However, a little arm muscle won’t make us look big. It’ll actually just make us look toned, slim, and strong. Not to mention, the extra muscle aids weight loss. Every little bit counts!

This upper body cardio workout combines moves that target the biceps and shoulders with heart-pumping cardio moves that torch calories.

3. High Intensity HIIT for Abs

When it comes to defined abs, low body fat is just as important as strong muscles. This is why if you want a tummy that looks tight and toned it’s important to do plenty of fat-burning moves.

Our High Intensity HIIT for Abs workout is a tough abdominal workout that also incorporates some cardio moves to up calorie-burn. All you need is a gym timer and all the motivation you can muster!

4. 30-Minute Lower Body Cardio Workout

It’s easy to think that the more hours we spend at the gym, the more progress we’ll see. But the truth of the matter is that we’re more likely to see results from a short but effective workout. This 30-Minute Lower Body Cardio Workout is likely the only workout you’ll need for the day. We’ve made it intense enough to really challenge your muscles.

Thirty minutes guaranteed to leave you sore! This is one of our top recommended weight loss workouts.

5. High Intensity Total Body HIIT

Mountain climbers, squats, lunges, and crunches! This workout is built from basic exercise moves guaranteed to make you sweat. This routine burns fat, builds lean muscle, and helps improve your cardiac endurance.

6. High Intensity Lower Body HIIT

Once in a while, you’re in the mood for an intense, all-out workout. A Workout with a capital W! This HIIT routine incorporates some challenging plyometric moves that really tire you out, such as jump squats and tuck jumps. Not only do these moves make sure you use all that extra energy, they’re also powerhouses when it comes to calorie burn!

Plyometric moves are explosive moves, making you jump off the floor and causing muscles to act quick. It’s a training style used across many sport. It’s great for enhancing athletic performance and torching fat rapidly.

7. 20-Minute Upper Body Blast Circuit

This weight loss workout makes the most out of the more muscle = weight loss phenomena. The quick 20-minute circuit uses mostly moves that strengthen the arms. You’ll need dumbbells for shoulder presses and tricep extensions. Additionally, you’ll use a combination of bodyweight moves to raise your heart rate and target different muscles in your arms and abs.

8. 20-Minute Booty Blast Circuit

One area women often want to target is the booty. So of course we had to include a good booty circuit in our weight loss workouts round up!

This 20-minute routine is a great anywhere, anytime workout that will leave your glutes burning in under half an hour.

9. No-Running Cardio Workout

Treadmill boredom can really halt your weight loss progress. But this no-running cardio workout is a wonderful solution. If you’re starting to feel like the monotony of running is leaving you soulless, check it out!

10. Summer Slim Down Workout for Beginners

Our beginner workouts are designed for people who are just starting on their weight loss journey or anyone who is getting back into a routine after a long absence. You don’t need to be in great shape to complete this routine.

The moves you’ll be doing are squats, lunges, hip twists, toe touches, and planks. If you can complete these five moves, you can finish this workout! The exercises may be basic, but they’re incredibly effective at torching calories, so they’ll have you down the weight loss path in no time!

11. Lose Weight with the Walk Fast/Slow Plan

Walk your way to a whole new size! This is the one long-term plan we included in our weight loss workouts and for good reason. When it comes to permanent weight loss, it’s imperative to build healthy habits. Staying active is key. And this Walk Fast/Slow Plan is a great way to learn how to make cardio a daily part of our lives.

Walking might seem like effortless cardio, but it carries a boatload of health benefits.

12. The Ultimate Abs Workout

To build this ultimate routine we’ve chosen seven exercises that will not just challenge your muscles, but also raise your heart rate to burn stubborn belly fat. The best part is that the workout requires no fancy equipment so that you can do it from the comfort of your home.

13. At-Home CrossFit Workout

This at-home CrossFit workout can fit into the busiest of schedules. You’ll only need a few minutes to complete it and you don’t need any equipment other than a timer.

CrossFit has become an incredibly popular fitness trend. These lively workouts are challenging, yet fun!

14. 15-Minute Indoor Bodyweight HIIT

For this indoor bodyweight HIIT workout, we put together some of our favorite no-equipment moves. They include mountain climbers, squat jacks, leg lifts, skaters, and walking lunges. This workout will target most major muscle groups, particularly the abs.

15. Beginner’s 10-Minute Makeover

This is another great beginner-friendly weight loss workout. Our 10-Minute Makeover is a total-body routine. It includes moves to target major muscle groups, helping you strengthen, tone, and burn fat.

Because this workout includes some great basic-but-effective moves, we highly recommend beginners try it out. Knowing a handful of classic exercises can help you conquer gym shyness and get in the right groove.

16. How to Slim Down Your Thighs in 6 Moves

With the right mix of exercises, slimming down your thighs can be as simple as six moves. This workout makes the most out of the strength training and cardio combo. The main focus of these exercises is to tone your inner and outer thighs. Yet, the moves are challenging enough to get your heart racing, meaning you’ll torch calories.

Try it out and you’ll quickly see what we mean!

17. Abs, Butt, Legs Home Workout

Target the areas that mean the most to you, from the comfort of your home! The workout includes moves to target the abdominals, the glutes, and the thighs. You can finish the routine in under 30 minutes, which means it’s ideal when you need a quick workout.

And that’s it! These are the top weight loss workouts we recommend to burn fat quickly and efficiently. The workouts are pretty challenging, but if you work through them one move at a time, we guarantee you’ll see changes in your body in no time!

Try them out and let us know which workout was your favorite in the comments.

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Sofia Lopez

Sofia received her BA from Cornell University and her MFA from San Francisco State University. She creates workouts and fitness challenges. Her hobbies include running, hiking, and listening to audiobooks from the exercise bike.

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