What Is The Most Effective Workout?

What do you think the most effective workout is for losing weight?

Weight lifting?
Cardio?
Yoga?
Pilates?
P90X?
Running?
Swimming?
Treadmill?
Elliptical?

The possibilities are endless when it comes to working out.  There are hundreds of things you could do and even more combinations.  But if you are trying to lose weight, which is the most effective?

The answer is quite simple.

I'm sure you've read plenty of books/articles/newsletters of people saying which exercises are the most effective.  Well, I've got news for you.  All those people just give their "thoughts" on it because they want you to buy something from them.  They guy selling you weight lifting tips is going to tell you that cardio workouts are ineffective.  The gal promoting her yoga studio is going to say that running on a treadmill is a waste of time.  The man promoting P90X is going to tell you that doing the same thing over and over again isn't getting you results.

Are these people right?  Or are they wrong?

Well, the answer is BOTH!

Confused?  Yeah, I thought so.

Here's why.  Most of the time, when people are measuring the effect of a workout, they measure things like the number of calories burned during that workout.  So, in that sense, something like P90X would be much more effective than, say, running on a treadmill.

But what if you LOVE running on a treadmill?  What if doing P90X is TORTURE on you simply because you don't like it?  Which one would be more effective then?  Do you see what I am getting at?

I don't care what anyone says, THE most effective workout is the one you like the best!  Plain and simple.  Yes, I believe that you should change up your physical activities every now and then, but the most effective exercise is the one that you like and will do long term.

Remember, weight loss should be slow and steady IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT OFF!  Isn't that really what the goal is?  Dropping 10 pounds in one week sounds extremely enticing because, as humans, we don't have patience anymore.  But what's the point if you're going to gain back almost DOUBLE the weight in a month?  Doesn't make much sense, huh?

So, aside from what you may have been told previously, I recommend taking the kind of physical activity you like best, and then expanding on that to get some variety in there.  You want to lose weight once, right?  Not again and again and again for the rest of your life.

Do whatever you need to do to stay active at least 4 times a week.  If that means simply jogging a few times around a track because you LIKE it, so be it.  If it means 30 minutes on an elliptical machine because you LIKE it, so be it.  If it means working out alongside your favorite pilates DVD becaue you LIKE it, all the power to you.  And if it means an hour in the gym lifting weights because it makes you FEEL GOOD, go for it!

Have fun working out!