A workout plan consisting of regular aerobic and anaerobic exercises are crucial to your weight loss success. You cannot achieve significant weight loss without them. Any weight loss plan that claims you can lose weight with dieting alone is simply false. A combination of diet and exercise (both aerobic and anaerobic) is the key to significant and permanent weight loss and no workout plan is complete unless it includes both of these critical components.

The Importance of Aerobic Exercises
Throughout my discussion of aerobic exercises, I will use the terms “aerobic” and “cardio” interchangeably. They have the same meaning, which is, “with oxygen.” In other words, “aerobic” or “cardio” exercises require oxygen. Aerobic exercises will increase your aerobic enzymes. Aerobic enzymes help burn fat so you want alot of them! 

Cardio exercises should be done at least 3-5 days per week for a minimum of 20 minutes each session. You are going to want a target heart rate in the “weight loss zone” for maximum weight loss. As you put your workout plan together, you will want to choose a primary aerobic exercise. This will be the exercise you will do the majority of the time but by no means should it prevent you from adding some diversity to your workout plan. This is why, in addition to a primary aerobic exercise, you’ll want to choose an alternative aerobic exercise.
 

The Importance of Anaerobic Exercises
When you put your workout plan together, be sure to first focus on aerobic exercises as they will have the most dramatic impact on increasing your metabolism (meaning, you’ll burn more calories and lose more weight). However, don’t dismiss the importance of anaerobic exercises (weight training) when creating your workout plan. After you have established a routine of aerobic exercises in your workout plan, you’ll want to introduce anaerobic exercises for maximum weight loss results.

Anaerobic means “without oxygen.” Weight lifting is the best example of an anaerobic exercise and needs to be included in any successful workout plan. Lifting weights increases your muscle mass, strengthens joints and ligaments, maintains bone density and increases your metabolism. In the long run, weight lifting is a critical component of the Total Fitness Plan and is vital to any successful workout plan.

Chad Tackett's five-part series on Strength Training Principles and Guidelines provides the fundamental principles to develop a safe and effective strength training routine. It's a must-read for anyone new to strength training!

The Importance of Warm Up, Stretching & Cool Down
While not necessarily an important component to weight loss, proper warm up, stretching and cool down are important elements of any workout plan. They prevent injuries and allow the body to return to its normal state so be sure to include time in your workout plan for these critical activities.

Basically, your workout plan is a blueprint for you to follow on the road to attaining your weight loss goals. Don’t think of it as something that is set in stone but rather as something that will change as you progress towards your goals. If you remember to include all of the ideas listed above in your workout plan, then success will be your reward!