Attention all men! Are you trying to lose weight? If so, you want to listen. You might think you have a solid exercise routine on deck to jumpstart your fat burning journey. But we talked to experts and learned which exercises men should avoid for weight loss—and what they should focus on instead.
The more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you will burn. The fact is that a 2018 study observed more than 2,000 obese, pre-diabetic men and women who consumed an 810-calorie diet each day for two months. The data shows that men lost 16% more weight than women.
That said, optimizing your exercise routine is critical, as some exercises are less beneficial for burning calories than others. “As a personal trainer, I am well aware of what it takes to create meaningful, sustainable weight loss,” explains Jake Dickson, CPT-NASMand a Clinical Athlete Certified Weightlifting Coach for BarBend. “An important—but often overlooked—factor in creating weight change is exercise choice. All gym exercises burn calories, but if your goal is to lose body fat, you’ll want to choose movements that increase your metabolic engine.”
Now let’s explore the exercises men should avoid for weight loss.
Ab machine training
First of all, abdominal machine workouts are not as productive for building a six pack as you might think. Mike Bohl, MD, MPH, ALMexplains, “While it’s true that the machines can help strengthen the rectus abdominis—the muscle that forms the six-pack—having a six-pack has more to do with the amount of subcutaneous fat covering the muscle rather than the size of the muscle.”
It is still important to perform core training for balance, spinal stabilization and good posture, but when it comes to burning calories and eliminating belly fat, abdominal machine work alone won’t do the job.
Hip Abductor and Adductor exercises
Performing hip abductor and adductor exercises is not the best use of your gym time. “These exercises work the muscles in a relatively limited range of motion and likely don’t burn enough calories to make them worthwhile,” points out Dr. Bohl.
Posture-focused exercises such as yoga and pilates
Dr. Bohl explains that yoga and pilates are great for increasing mental well-being, balance and flexibility, but they are not as beneficial for rapid weight loss as other forms of exercise. “These exercises burn a relatively lower number of calories for the time they take up,” says Dr. Bohl.
Michael Bettsdirector at PRESSUREagree that yoga is packed with mental and physical benefits, but you might want to skip it for weight loss. “While some styles like Power Yoga can burn more calories, most types of yoga, especially Hatha or restorative yoga, don’t burn calories at the same rate as more intense exercises,” says Betts. “This lower caloric expenditure makes yoga less effective as a primary weight loss tool.”
Aerobic exercises of moderate intensity to vigorous intensity
Aerobic exercises such as tennis, running, jogging and swimming are excellent ways to improve your heart rate, boost your cardiovascular fitness and burn calories. Dr. However, Bohl notes that while a complete exercise routine—including one aimed at weight loss—must include some aerobic exercise, aerobic exercise at an intense level by itself can negatively affect body composition.
“If you only do intense cardio and don’t incorporate strength training into your routine, you can lose muscle mass. In the long run, this slows down your metabolism because just having more muscle mass is an effective way to burn more calories throughout the day,” says Doctor Bohl.
Single-motion exercises that target small muscle groups
Any exercise that costs you more time than you have to devote should be re-evaluated. When you’re trying to lose weight, think about what a particular exercise you’re doing will “cost” you. What does this mean? Dr. Bohl brings up an interesting perspective.
Your gym time is valuable – and limited. A weight loss goal means that your time must be used wisely. Fall and score? Including exercises that involve a single movement that targets small muscle groups can be productive for building those particular muscles, but may not be the best way to lose weight.
For example, biceps curls improve arm strength, and calf raises are a wise choice for increasing leg strength. But Dr. Bohl explains that none of these exercises will burn as many calories or be as effective at losing weight as full-body exercises.
Spot-reducing exercises
Spot-reduction exercises mainly target fat loss in specific areas of the body, such as the thighs or stomach, and Betts calls them “generally ineffective.”
He explains, “Doing crunches isn’t necessarily going to work [in] loss of abdominal fat; fat tends to decrease all over the body, not in a single target area. Spot reduction exercises also have a low energy expenditure compared to full-body or high-intensity workouts, which are more effective for total fat loss.”
TJ Mentuscertified personal trainer at Garage Gym Reviews, agrees that you shouldn’t waste time on crunches. He says, “As popular as crunches are, they are not an effective exercise for losing weight. It is a very small movement that requires many reps to be effective while not burning many calories.”
Calf raises
When you go to the gym, you may notice that many people do calf raises in hopes of getting toned calves. However, Mark EdwardsPrecision Nutrition Level 1 nutrition coach, CrossFit mobility trainer & L2 at Minimalist Nutrition + Fitnesswarns them.
“The whale raise works two muscles in the lower leg at best, the gastrocnemius and the soleus,” says Edwards. “The metabolic effect is so small as to be insignificant.”
Planks
Planks are all good, but not for men who want to lose weight, according to Dickson. “While the plank will do a great job of teaching you how to engage your core, the lack of movement means it won’t burn very many calories,” he explains. “And to show off your abs, you have to develop them in the first place—planks are substandard for muscle growth because they don’t take your abs through their full range of motion.”
Leg extensions
Leg extensions are great if you want to work your quads, but they don’t give you much bang for your buck when it comes to weight loss, Mentus explains.
He tells us, “Isolation exercises, especially on machines, only train a specific area and don’t burn as many calories or build muscle overall as compound movements. A good compound movement that will work on the quads and be more beneficial for weight loss would be weighted rise.”
What exercises should men do to lose weight?
For the most efficient use of time, Dr. Bohl recommends concentrating on workouts that simultaneously activate multiple muscle groups, especially large ones. A good example is your legs.
“Many closed-chain exercises are good for targeting more than one area of the body. Closed-chain exercises are usually done against a stationary object (such as the ground or a bar) and can be weighted or just rely on body weight. Good Closed Chain exercises that can burn calories and lead to noticeable weight loss include push-ups, squats, pull-ups, and lunges, says Dr. Bohl.
In addition, Betts recommends performing full-body exercises to achieve the best results. “Full-body exercises engage larger muscle groups and create a caloric deficit through a balanced diet and comprehensive exercise plan,” he says. “[This route is] generally more effective for weight loss.”
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