If you want to lose weight, you have to do sports and eat a healthy diet. Right? Not quite! In fact, there are some exercises that you should better erase from your exercise plan.
There is no doubt that sport is always a good choice to get rid of a few kilos. However, some exercises are not quite as appropriate when losing weight. The reason: they are either bad for your joints, a waste of time, or simply ineffective. You should better avoid these six exercises in case of doubt!
1. Crunches
Crunches are a great alternative to sit-ups because they are much gentler and safer to carry out. Nevertheless, the six-pack exercise should not be the best choice to lose kilos. Why it is like that? Fitness coach Stephan Box explains in an interview with “Prevention.com”: “Six-pack exercises are useless until the body fat percentage is so low that the abdominal muscles also flash out.” Core training is important, but better are full body exercises that stabilize your midsection. Click here for the video “Core-Workout” .
2. Sit-ups
Sit-ups train your abdominal muscles like crunches. However, this remains hidden until you reduce your overall weight and body fat in general. And you can not do that, with your main focus on the abdominal muscles. In general, caution is advised during sit-ups, because in the long run this exercise can stress the spine and damage the intervertebral discs. Especially if you carry a few extra kilos with you.
3. Lift weights
“If someone really wants to lose weight, they should first do the exercises that are aimed at the largest muscle groups,” explains the fitness trainer. This means that exercising only biceps or triceps with weights is a waste of time in the gym. How about a general upper arm training for tight arms instead ?
4. Planks
Planks are considered a great exercise to strengthen the middle of the body. However, if you do not have the strength to hold your arms, the pelvis automatically sinks. Especially with the people who have a lot of weight around the middle of the body, there is a risk to tilt too much into the hollow back. And that in turn is harmful to the body and posture.
5. HIIT
High- intensity interval training – HIIT for short – is becoming increasingly popular in Germany. It relies on short, exhausting exercise sequences that burn fat quickly. Before you take this exhausting change of torment and active breaks, you should first put on a cardio workout. This provides you with the necessary power for interval training.
6. Jump rope
Yes, jumping rope should be the most effective sport to lose body fat. If you have a little more on your ribs, you should take it a little easier – and generally avoid jumps: for the sake of the joints. Better are fitness exercises such as step-ups or marching.