This depends on how quickly you want to loose weight, however the following points should help you decide on the composition of your workout depending on the timeframe you have to work with:
- Choose physical activity high in energy expenditure per hour. Rowing, running, and swimming burns more energy per hour than walking and climbing.
- Work on the muscles as well - ideally you want to loose fat rather than muscle, so combine exercise of the first type mentioned with some light weights and sit ups.
- This one may seem obvious but needs reinforcing; the longer you work out for, the more weight you will loose. However, overtraining for longer than just a few hours will do your body more harm than good. Going for a 20 - 30 minute run at a good pace is more than sufficient, followed by some muscular work. If you over work your body, you could end up with an injury that would put you back further than you started.
- Weight loss will simply not work with exercise alone; a dietary assessment is an important part of loosing weight the healthy way. Research how much energy your getting, whether its coming in the right balance, and if you can stick to this long term.
On the other hand, if your purely after which exercises require the most energy per hour, then here's a small list of the most effective (burn over 500 Calories/hour for a 160 pound or 73 kilogram person):
- Running (8 mph or 13 km/h) (861)
- Taekwondo (752)
- Stair Treadmill (657)
- Running (5 mph or 8 km/h) (606)
- Singles Tennis (584)
