What is the best exercise to lose weight?

Weight training, cardio, Pilates, yoga ... that helps you lose weight faster? The short answer, which burns more calories, more efficient, says Michele Olson, Ph.D., professor of exercise science at Auburn University Montgomery in Montgomery, Alabama

Cardio is king when it comes to burning calories, Olson said, and look even better if the training has an "after burn effect.

Interval training (alternating between short bursts of high intensity effort followed by short periods of active recovery) style is one of the best ways to transform this "after burn" that can increase your metabolic rate up to four hours after session, which means you burn more calories even after the workout is over, says.

"Every time you raise your heart rate at the upper end of the target area, the extra fuel (aka calories) you burn continues to bring the heart rate and muscle activity to normal and created metabolize lactic acid".

But before embarking on an all-range, all the time marathon cardio, there are some important points to consider in order to maximize your exercise time for weight loss: First, excess cardio high intensity can burn your body, leaving you tired, irritable and too tired to go on with their routine.

To avoid this, alternating two or three days a week on the intensity of interval training sessions over more sessions focused on resistance (exercise at an intensity where you can still talk without too wordy).

Second, it is important to build metabolically active lean muscle to help give your body shape and definition while still losing weight. For best weight loss results, Olson recommends doing cardio (45-60 minutes), five days a week, with two or three non-consecutive days of resistance training.

Without doubt, the best training for anything (including weight loss) will be one that will do! So while burning calories is important, find a way to make fun of fitness too. Changing the treadmill during a high energy Zumba class or weight change machines TRX Suspension Trainer to avoid boredom while sticking to your training program.

And if you really want to maximize your time and the gym, consider workouts that has both a strength and cardio element to them, such as kettlebell training (a recent study by the American Council on Exercise found that whole body exercises performed with a dumbbell burned a huge 20.2 calories per minute, or the equivalent of running a mile 6 minutes).

And that means that you should jump into the sometimes less intense workouts like Pilates or yoga if you are trying to lose weight? Of course not, says Olson. "The body thrives on new and different movements such as Pilates and yoga, so include them in your efforts to lose weight."

An active style yoga class, for example, that keeps your heart rate elevated can count as a cardio workout, and a Pilates class that incorporates increased resistance bands or weights can count as strength training.

Finally, remember that it is very easy to eat back all the calories you have burned in the gym in a few minutes, so that the real success for weight loss, pair your workouts with a healthy diet to create a deficit of calories. To stay on track to lose a healthy and realistic 1.5 pounds per week, Olson suggests eating about 500 fewer calories per day and burn an extra 300 calories through exercise.