The 10 fitness tricks to lose weight

Dr Nick Fuller
Leading Obesity Expert at the University of Sydney and founder of Interval Weight Loss.

ARE you one of the many people who have been going to the gym or exercising regularly in the New Year but every time you jump on the scales you fail to see a result?

The honest truth is, you are unlikely to see a drop in your weight to begin with because 70% of the population don’t even do the 30 minutes of exercise on 5 days per week to stay healthy and alive. 

However, next time you don’t see the weight budging, think again, as giving up that physical activity routine is not worth the risk. 

Did you know that a week of physical inactivity has the equivalent personal health cost of smoking 20 cigarettes per week? And that a lack of exercise causes as many as 1 in 10 deaths around the world each year — roughly as many as smoking. 

Partaking in exercise that you enjoy will ensure you stick to it whilst also reaping the health and weight loss benefits you might be after.

Try the following fun activities this summer:

1. Hike the outdoors

We are surrounded by an abundance of beautiful coastal, mountain and bush walks, and indeed, spoilt by choice. Not only are they stunning, but also challenging, allowing you to see areas you have never been.

2. Try an AquaPhysical FloatFit Class

FloatFit is a 30-minute group exercise class ON WATER. The low impact class offers a fun full body workout on the world’s first fitness float; the AquaBase, with a mixture of hight-intensity and yoga-inspired movement to suit all abilities. What better way than to spend a Sunday morning on the water exercising! https://aquaphysical.com/floatfit-classes/

3. Go stand-up paddle boarding 

Despite this activity looking easy from the naked eye, let me assure you, it is not. Standing on a big board whilst paddling is more challenging than it looks. Not only does it offer a full body workout but it’s also a great core and balance exercise. https://www.theurbanlist.com/sydney/a-list/where-to-stand-up-paddle-board-sydney 

4. Walk with the coffee

Next time you catch up with a friend for coffee, don’t sit down and make it about food. Make it about the company. Order your coffee for take-away and go for a stroll instead.

5. Try kayaking

This is another fun water activity that not only works the upper body but also gives your legs a great workout. Most importantly, it allows you to explore some gorgeous lakes and waters you may never have known existed.

6. Pick up a hobby

It doesn’t matter what the hobby is, it just matters that you have one. It can be absolutely anything (such as building a veggie garden) as long as it gets you away from the TV. Not only is the sitting time keeping you sedentary but often we associate television viewing with reaching for those ever so common comfort foods that are detrimental to our waistlines. The evening time can be one of the most constructive times of the day if you put it to good use.

7. Play Frisbee (and try it on the soft sand)

Who doesn’t love to throw a Frisbee around? Better still, throwing it around whilst running will really get the heart rate up and playing on the soft sand will make you work even harder. So next time you go to the beach take a Frisbee with you! Soft sand running burns twice the energy as regular jogging as your butt and legs are required to work over-time to stabilise your body.

8. Give a park run (or walk) a try

Parkrun is a free event organised weekly across the country. They guarantee variety, are fun, and offer a community experience where you can exercise with others and you can try a different route each week. http://www.parkrun.com.au/ 

9. Have fun with CorMax

These water-filled devices offer variety to take your exercise to a new level. The sloshing of water pulls and pushes the body in different directions providing the change in stimulus that you need to mix up your exercise routine. These water-filled devices are also a heap of fun and very safe to train with! https://www.cormaxfitnessaustralia.com.au/

10. Get back on a bike

Riding your bicycle will provide hours of physical activity outdoors and will allow you to enjoy scenery that you never knew existed. Finding places to ride that are easy and where you feel safe from traffic are a good place to start. Once you build up the confidence you can then ride your bike to the shops or to meet your friends for coffee. And then who knows, you might find yourself riding everywhere!