Good Things Come In Twos: Partner Exercises To Help You Lose Weight


When you have a goal of losing weight, you can often get results by signing up for a weight-loss program in your city, such as In Shape MD. Beyond these dietary changes, exercise is also important; however, you might find that rising early in the morning to take a walk or jog in the dark isn't exactly enticing. While many people enjoy working out alone, others find that doing so doesn't carry the same degree of motivation as having a workout partner. While you can always hit the local gym to find a like-minded individual, it's worthwhile to also think about any friends or family members you have who are also interested in losing weight. Together, you can use any number of two-person activities to keep each other motivated, burn calories and work toward your goals. Here are some suggestions.

Tennis

If you live near a local tennis court, investing in a couple rackets and some balls provides you with all the equipment you need to get active and burn calories with your workout partner. As with any form of exercise, your caloric burn depends on your weight and workout intensity. However, a 200-pound person who plays tennis against a partner for one hour can expect to burn more than 700 calories, which is a significant total. Try to keep your intensity as high as possible to yield the best caloric burn to help you meet your weight-loss goals.

Hiking

People who are tentative about heading into the woods for a hike on their own can feel much more confident alongside a workout partner. Hiking is ideal because it gets you away from distractions such as traffic that you might commonly find on your walking route. You can increase your caloric burn by hiking at a quicker pace or concentrating on hiking uphill. If you weigh 200 pounds, you'll burn about 550 calories for each hour that you hike. Given the enjoyment of exploring terrain that is constantly changing, it's often easy to take a hike for a couple hours, which can really help you work toward weight loss.

Canoeing

Whether you live near a body of water or you don't mind loading up a canoe onto your vehicle's roof racks and making a short drive to the local river or lake, canoeing provides a healthy caloric burn and an effective muscle-building workout. A person who weighs 200 pounds and canoes for 60 minutes will burn nearly 550 calories. The longer you stay out on the water and the harder you paddle, the more calories you'll burn to help you lose weight.