Exercise machines can take your home workouts to the next level—as well as maximize weight loss. Special cardio equipment controls your path of movement and force during the exercise, which makes it a safer alternative to outdoor options. Many fitness equipment models will offer you a personalized training program and make tracking your progress easier.
When choosing the best exercise machine for weight loss, there are various factors to consider, including your personal preferences, fitness level, budget, and space. But the choice will likely come down to which fitness equipment can help you achieve your goal faster. This list will help you navigate through the home gym equipment for higher-intensity cardio workouts, which is the most efficient type of training to burn calories and lose weight.
Treadmill
A treadmill is one of the most popular cardio machines used at home. Running can burn 700 calories per hour on average, so this is one of the most efficient activities to add to your weight loss journey. Jogging activates the muscles of the entire body and strengthens your heart and lungs—meaning its benefits go beyond body weight control. Research has even shown the impact of treadmill exercise on preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
A treadmill does come with some risk factors, including the risk of injury from falling and the stress of high-impact exercise on the joints.
If you want to accelerate your weight loss, opt for a treadmill with an inclination to increase workout intensity. Conversely, if you prefer low-impact cardio that won’t affect your joints, you can switch to walking mode. There’s a common misconception that jogging burns more calories than walking and hence is more efficient when it comes to weight loss. However, a study showed that walking at 8 km per hour uses up at least as much energy as jogging at the same pace.
You can also make the most of your training time with entertainment choices like Netflix and movies offered by many treadmill brands.
Stationary bike
Cycling is one of the most intense cardio workouts and it is much easier on your joints than running. Not only are exercise bikes great for cardio, but they can also help to build muscle in the lower body.
CAROL Bike was developed with leading exercise scientists and tested in the lab to give you the shortest, most effective workouts, called Reduced Exertion HIIT (REHIT). These advantages make CAROL Bike the perfect stationary exercise bike for efficient weight-loss training.
High-intensity training programs showed impressive weight-loss results when compared to regular training plans. Research published in the Journal of Metabolism investigated the impact of a 20-week endurance training and a 15-week HIIT program on body fatness. The study showed that the decrease in subcutaneous fat induced by the HIIT program was ninefold greater than the endurance training program.
REHIT delivers double the health and fitness benefits of regular cardio exercise—in just 10% of the time. CAROL Bike’s signature 5-minute REHIT workout consists of 2×20-second sprints, during which your body works at its maximum capacity, entering fight or flight mode. If losing body fat is your main objective, in addition to 2–3 REHIT rides, it is recommended that you add 1–3 Fat Burn rides to your weekly regimen. CAROL Bike’s Fat Burn program consists of 30–60 sprint cycles and helps you burn twice as many calories compared to traditional training. It can be combined with REHIT workouts to maximize results.
CAROL Bike is the only exercise bike fully optimized for REHIT, thanks to AI-personalization and Instant Resistance. Learn how you can lose weight by training for just 15 minutes per week with CAROL Bike.
CAROL Bike delivers double the health and fitness benefits of regular cardio exercise—in just 10% of the time
Rowing machine
A rowing machine is a perfect solution for weight loss at home. While your legs contribute 60% of the power per stroke, it still gives you a great full-body workout involving your core, shoulders, back, and arms. The rowing technique can be learned very quickly, and this type of activity has one of the lowest injury rates.
The rowing machine allows you to adjust the resistance depending on your fitness level. Because rowing activates multiple muscle groups, you will lose weight faster if you keep up a steady pace for the duration of your workouts rather than tiring yourself too fast at the maximum resistance. It’s important to maintain a straight posture and correct breathing technique throughout the workout so that your body receives enough oxygen and loses weight more efficiently.
In a study run by Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, participants took a course of 5×40-minute rowing workouts per week to achieve visible results in weight loss and improved body composition.
Elliptical machine
An elliptical machine is another low-impact cardio workout option. It allows you to fine-tune the elevation, resistance, and stride length for more impactful weight loss.
A comparison between cycling, treadmill running, and elliptical training showed that elliptical training demonstrates the greatest activation of the lower body muscles. If this is the body zone that you especially want to work on, you can opt for this exercise machine. At the same time, the elliptical allows you to engage your arms and core as well by using the handles.
As with other cardio machines, you can achieve better weight loss results if you implement HIIT workouts on your elliptical. For instance, you can try a 12-minute Tabata elliptical routine. The non-impact aspect of elliptical training makes it easier to make your sessions more intense and
more frequent.
Weight training equipment
When trying to lose weight, most people usually focus on cardio training. However, according to multiple studies, a combination of aerobic and resistance training gives the best result in terms of weight loss. Not only is weight training an intensive way to burn calories, but it also amplifies the efficiency of your cardio sessions by improving endurance and increasing the percentage of your muscle tissue. Increased muscle tissue in your body accelerates metabolism, so the more muscles you have, the more calories you will burn during training—and even at rest. That’s why having weight training equipment as part of your own personal gym is a great way to achieve significant weight-loss results.
Another benefit of such equipment is that it usually doesn’t require much space. You can easily fit a pair of dumbbells, kettlebells, a barbell, and a pull-up bar even in a tiny home gym.
You can include 1–2 resistance training sessions in your weekly exercise routine or you can do 3 high-intensity interval training sessions per week that include both aerobic and muscle strengthening activities.
According to multiple studies, a combination of aerobic and resistance training gives the best result in terms of weight loss.
Boxing punching bag
Boxing isn’t the first type of activity that comes to mind when it comes to weight loss. But in fact, it can be a great and efficient alternative to cardio training for fat burning. High-intensity boxing sessions elicited a better effect on obesity than brisk walking in a 2015 study.
You can use a punching bag at home for both boxing and kickboxing sessions. Besides being efficient approaches to weight-loss training, these techniques have many other benefits such as relieving stress, boosting confidence, and improving coordination. Kickboxing burns more calories than classic boxing, so it may be a better choice to burn fat.
Some models of punching bags may be more difficult to install, so if you are just a beginner, you can opt for a freestanding punching bag. This type of bag requires no installation and you can keep it in the corner of the room after sessions. Speed bags or double-end bags are also quite compact, but they don’t provide a sufficient workout for losing weight.
Stepper or stair climber
Climbing the stairs is one of the most efficient ways of burning calories. However, running the real stairs may cause injuries (in addition to just being inconvenient). You can achieve the same result by using an at-home stair stepper, which is considered to be one of the toughest cardio machines. Another benefit of getting on a stair stepper, as opposed to climbing a real hill or flight of stairs, is that it helps you keep a steady pace throughout the practice and thus control how many calories you burn. If you want to lose weight faster, all you need to do is increase the speed.
The stair climber is a great lower-body workout that targets your thighs, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. Many steppers come with side handles for support. However, unlike the handles on an elliptical, these handles don’t move and can’t be used to activate your arms and core. If you want to work your upper body, you’ll need to include other types of workouts in your practice.
If you’re looking to boost your weight loss program, incorporating exercise machines into your routine can make a significant difference. However, simply having the right fitness equipment isn’t enough to shed those extra pounds. Consistency is key to achieving weight loss goals, and so is pairing your workout routine with a healthy diet that maintains a calorie deficit. Also keep in mind that certain exercise machines may target only specific muscle groups, so it’s important to combine different exercises to work your entire body.
