It’s not bodyweight HIIT workouts.
It’s not weight lifting.
It’s not some BS thigh gap creating workout you found on Pinterest.
It’s not a kettlebell workout.
It’s not sprinting, long-distance running, or anything else for that matter.
So what is the best exercise for weight loss? The one you enjoy. Because it’s the one you’re going to consistently do over a prolonged period of time.
Yes, some of those exercises/workouts I listed could be effective for your weight loss journey IF you enjoy doing them.
I personally love to walk and lift weights. I walk for reasons that have nothing to do with burning calories or weight loss. And I lift weights because I love to be strong.
It just so happens these activities have a secondary benefit – they burn calories. And they burn a lot. Not necessarily a lot on a per workout basis. But that doesn’t matter much anyways.
The big calories are burned when they are accumulated over time. When you walk for an hour a day for a year you burn over 100,000 calories.
And the best way to accumulate a large calorie burn over time? You make sure you’re engaging in physical activity you enjoy doing.
You have to start considering time as a factor in your weight loss decisions. Analyzing individual workouts solely for their fat loss potential is ineffective. What is effective is forming the basis of your decision on what you’re going to enjoy and adhere to.
So instead of looking at your favorite fitness influencer and trying to mimic their workouts, try to understand that the reason they’re doing those workouts and have that particular body is because they actually like what they’re doing.
Long term physique change is primarily a function of consistency and adherence. If you are missing either of those two things it doesn’t matter what workout you do – nothing will change.
Take weight loss out of the decision for a moment and ask yourself – in what ways do I enjoy moving my body?
Now go do more of that.