Free Exercise Plans and Tips for Losing Weight

The free exercise plans below will help you get into better shape without spending a ton of money. Exercise is an essential component to living a healthy lifestyle. Healthy eating is only half of the equation. Whether you want to lose weight, maintain weight, or gain lean muscle, exercise is absolutely crucial to accomplishing your fitness goals.

There are a ton of benefits to physical activity...it will help you:

1. Lose, gain, or maintain weight (depending on your fitness goals)

2. Sleep better

3. Lower your risk of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer

4. Improve your resistance to infection and illnesses

5. Improve your mood and energy levels

6. Feel better about yourself

The American College of Sports Medicine and Department of Health and Human Services both recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes/week of moderately intense physical activity or 75 minutes/week of vigorous aerobic activity. Moderate aerobic exercise includes things like brisk walking, swimming, and mowing the lawn. Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities like running, dancing, or playing sports like basketball and soccer.

In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services now recommends two strength training sessions per week for most adults.

Keep in mind these are the minimum requirements to prevent further weight gain and maintain your current weight. If your goal is to lose weight, then obviously you need to exercise more than this, or make changes to what you eat.

In general, the more you follow an exercise plan, the more you'll benefit. Harvard researchers published results of a meta analysis of 33 studies on exercise's benefits in the August 2011 issue of the journal Circulation. They found that getting 150 minutes of exercise per week cut heart disease risk by 14%; 300 minutes a week decreased heart disease risk by 20%; and 750 minutes cut the risk by 25%.

Most of us are busy people though and sometimes it’s hard to squeeze in a workout. Even if you’re strapped for time and can only get in 15 minutes of jogging, riding your bike, lifting weights, or yoga, a little exercise each day is better than nothing and those 15-minute workouts really start to add up when you do them consistently. As a general rule, try and squeeze in 15-30 minutes of exercise every day.

Exercise doesn't have to be expensive either. You don't need to spend $50/month on a gym membership to get in shape. The free exercise plans and advice below will show you how to start burning more calories immediately. Always remember that a healthy diet and exercise go hand in hand. Combining healthy eating and exercise is the absolute best way to lose weight and start looking and feeling better about yourself.

Check out the links below for some useful free exercise plans and tips:

How to Lose Weight for Free Fast:
A step-by-step plan for losing weight using basic healthy eating principles and an innovative, fun, and free exercise training program designed to maximize fat loss.

Calorie Burning Chart:
You need to burn 3,500 calories in order to lose one pound of body fat. Click on the link to see some great charts that show the estimated number of calories burned while performing a variety of exercises for one hour. Calorie expenditure varies widely depending on the exercise, intensity level and individual, but this should give you a general idea of how many calories you are burning. The calorie burning chart goes hand-in-hand with the nutritional value calculator section.

Best Ab Exercises:
The very best ab exercises for weight loss. Different exercises are categorized by level of difficulty (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced).

Free Exercises To Do At Home:
Here are some great exercises that you can do at home for FREE, with no equipment necessary. If you don’t want to pay for an expensive gym membership and want to get more exercise, check out this list for some excellent tips.

Weight Lifting Exercises:
Lifting weights can help you build lean muscle and burn more body fat. Here are some of the best weight lifting exercises that everyone should incorporate into their exercise routine.

Office Exercises:
Some great exercises and stretches that you can do while at the office.

Core Exercises:
An in depth list with instructions for the most effective core building exercises. Working your core is absolutely key to building a strong foundation and stripping away fat from your midsection.

Medicine Ball Exercises:
Medicine balls are fantastic tools for building a strong core, which is the foundation of the body. This page talks about the “best of the best” medicine ball exercises and how to do them.

Free BMI Calculator:
A Body Mass Index calculator and what you need to know about the BMI measurement. This number is often a good indicator that you need to get more exercise or start a healthy diet plan.

Exercise Plans For Teens:
This section shows teens who are trying to lose weight, tone up, or gain muscle some great free exercise plans and routines.

Next: Calorie Burning Chart

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