It is unfortunate that losing weight is not as easy (and as fun) as putting it on. You can diet until you shiver in hunger or work yourself out until you drop but the weight loss is not guaranteed. If your weight is troubling you, then you ought to know what the most effective exercises for quick weight loss are.

The top 12 workouts have been summarised for you below, all highly effective when it comes to getting healthy, staying fit and losing some weight, provided that you keep to your fitness schedule religiously.

Step aerobics

Amount of calories burnt: 800 calories per hour

Aerobics is one of the must-do exercises for anyone who wants to lose weight. Aerobic exercises usually target the areas people associate with being sexy, alluring and attractive, namely the hips, bum, tummy and legs. It is recommended that you spend an hour a day consisting of two half-an-hour sessions to do aerobics. If you stick to your schedule and do your aerobics the right way, then you’d be able to see some differences in two weeks. However, if you’re not too keen on step aerobics, you could do bench presses which are quite similar to step aerobics. Just make sure that you’re doing them for an hour a day as well or else you wouldn’t get your desired results.

Riding a bicycle

Amount of calories burnt: 500-1000 calories per hour

Cycling is beneficial in many ways. By riding a bike outdoors, you will not only get some healthy fresh air but you’ll also get to take in the scenery as you cycle away. Cycling can also be a real calorie burner if you ride fast enough and are doing it consistently. Cycling is one of the most fun ways to exercise but if you’re not able to cycle outside, get an exercise bike instead and cycle indoors while watching your favourite TV programme.

Swimming

Amount of calories burnt: 800 calories per hour

Another fun yet effective way to lose weight is to swim. Unless you can’t swim or are afraid of water, hit the pool with friends for a fun and leisurely way of losing weight fast. Doing lengths up and down the pool for an hour will burn 800 calories and also tone your body. Stay motivated by rewarding yourself with half an hour at the jacuzzi when you’ve finished.

Play badminton or tennis

Amount of calories burnt: 800 calories per hour

You’ll constantly be running from side to side and from front to back when you’re playing racquetball games, making it a great cardio workout. Not only does it help tremendously in toning your legs and thighs, playing racquetball is also a great way to socialise and break the ice that you wouldn’t find the exercise dreadful or even think that it is an exercise at all.

Rowing/kayaking

Amount of calories burnt: 500-600 calories per hour

Rowing or kayaking is a great way of toning your arms and other muscles. By rowing or kayaking, you’ll be able to build impressive arm muscles, get an incredible workout and burn calories. More recreation clubs are offering kayaking or rowing activities these days, so look for some sessions online and gather a group of friends for regular kayaking sessions. Alternatively, join a local kayak club and mingle with those with similar interests so that you’ll be able to exchange tips and work out together towards the same goal. Kayaking or rowing gives you a great way of exercising in the form of an exciting outdoor activity.

Walking

Amount of calories burnt: 360 calories per hour

Brisk walking is a great cardio workout and will also help to tone legs, stomach and hips. Sprinting, walking across hills or walking uphill will burn even more calories. The best part is that walking is very easy to fit into our daily life. Walk briskly from your carpark to your office and then up the stairs. If you take public transport, you’d get even more walking (and running for the bus or train) done. However, that’s not enough if you really want to lose weight. Wake up a little earlier for a brisk walk in the morning. The exercise will energise you both physically and mentally, giving you a head start for the day.

Kickboxing

Amount of calories burnt: 600 calories per hour

Kickboxing is one of the most intense and effective ways to lose weight fast. Apart from it being an incredible stress reliever (kickboxing will deliver pure satisfaction after a frustrating day at work or having just had your heart broken!), kickboxing also doubles as a form of self-defence. It is fun especially if you bring a friend along to do it. You’ll be exhausted when the hour is up but you would have burned so many calories.

Dancing

Amount of calories burnt: 600-800 calories per hour

Dancing like there is no tomorrow can benefit your body! It is also a great way of working out without you getting bored easily. Put a music channel on and dance away. Dancing is a great calorie burner and shapes your legs, arms, bum and tummy; how did you think the participants on TV’s So You Think You Can Dance programme have such toned physiques? Dancing is not only a great stress reliever but a fun social activity too. Get together with your partner or some buddies, pick up a dance skill and shed some pounds.

Yoga

Amount of calories burnt: 180 calories per hour

Yoga needs no further introduction. You may think that yoga is all about stretching the body and calming the mind but it is actually an effective exercise for losing weight. You will notice an improvement in your physique and flexibility plus a reduced in occurrences of backaches if you constantly suffer from one, all while burning about 180 calories an hour. If you have advanced to the more difficult moves and positions, you’d lose even more weight on the yoga mat.

Hiking

Amount of calories burnt: 350 calories per hour

The word ‘hiking’ doesn’t have to evoke images of Mount Kinabalu that scare you away. Walking up any hill constitutes as hiking and there are many of these hills even within the concrete jungle. Unlike brisk walking around the neighbourhood, hiking is more fulfilling in the sense that you will be rewarded by more calories burnt as you walk uphill, before finally being greeted by a beautiful view, maybe even one of a setting sun, upon reaching the peak.

Football/futsal

Amount of calories burnt: 400 calories per hour

If you prefer the outdoors, ask your friends to a game of football but if you prefer to be shielded from the elements or can’t find a field to play in, opt for futsal instead. Running around the field with friends chasing after a ball is a marvellous way to burn calories the fun way.

Calisthenics

Amount of calories burnt: 100-200 calories per hour

What’s that, a new-age exercise? Calistenics have been around and been practised for ages but the name wouldn’t ring a bell in most minds because calistenics actually refer to a range of simple, repetitive and rhythmic exercises. The popular squats, sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, pull-ups and crunches are all common calistenics. An hour spent doing a variety of these exercises can burn up to 200 calories an hour. More importantly, you will get a complete workout that targets different areas of your body, toning your overall physique. The variation won’t cause you boredom too as you can simply alternate the exercises after performing sets of 15 each.

It is important to know what the most effective exercises are in order to get your desired results the fastest and easiest way. With the top 12 calorie-burning exercises researched and listed for you here, all you have left to do is ‘just do it’.