The Best Fat Burning Exercises

There are varied opinions amongst the fitness community as to the best fat burning exercises and the best types of exercise to accelerate fat loss. However, Most experts agree that working out consistently and adding variation to your workouts both in intensity and the types of workouts you do are large factors in determining the amount of fat your body will burn during exercise.

In this article we’ll look into the best fat burning exercises and why they are effective.

Why isn’t low-intensity cardio an efficient way to lose fat?

A lot of people will go to the gym and spend hours on the treadmill at a consistent low-intensity setting and hope that the fat will drop off. Unfortunately this isn’t how fast fat loss occurs and although over time this type of work out may help you slowly lose fat (if combined with a low-calorie diet) there are more effective exercises to burn fat fast.

Excessive bouts of low-intensity cardio combined with a low-calorie diet can actually slow your metabolic rate and reduce your ability to burn fat. When you combine these two factors you can trick your body into starvation mode which can result in your body burning muscle tissue instead of the fat you’re trying to get rid of. In fact if your body is in this mode it will actually work to protect the fat cells and make it easier to add more fat too.

Does this mean all cardio is no good for fast fat loss?

No, it doesn’t. Actually, the right type of cardio will help turn you into a fat burning machine. What you want to do is High-intensity Interval Training or HIIT. The idea of HIIT is to do your cardio at differing intervals of intensity. With the main goal being to never let your body to get used to any given intensity level.

You can do a HIIT session in your favorite form of cardio, whether on the bike or on the treadmill. All you need to do is follow a simple formula.

Start with a low-intensity warm-up to get your body ready (at least 5 minutes). Then do 3 to 10 repetitions as hard as you can go for 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on your level of fitness. Separate these bursts with 15 to 30 seconds of medium intensity cardio and finish with a long cool-down period (at least 5 minutes).

That’s all there is to it. A typical HIIT session will only take you between 15 and 30 minutes and if you do it right the fat will be melting off in no time.

Increase your muscle mass for maximum fat loss in minimum time

Another trick to being able to burn fat quickly is to increase your muscle mass. Within muscle cells there are energy producing units called “mitochondria”. These are the cells power plants and their main function is to convert unusable energy into energy that is usable to the cell. Fat is one form of energy that mitochondria can burn.

Simply put, the more muscle tissue you have, the more mitochondria you will have and the greater your ability to turn fat into fuel will be.

Strength training to increase your muscle mass and accelerate your fat loss?

The best way to increase your muscle mass is through strength training (along with the proper diet). Before you take up any strength training program you should consult your doctor and if you procede be conscious of your limits.

Here are some great strength training exercises that will take your fat loss to the max. (Consult a professional to learn these exercises properly).

1. Squats

   Squats are one of the best strength training exercises you can do. They are really a full body exercise but will mostly strengthen and increase the muscle mass of your lower body and core. If you are new to strength training it is best to start out on a leg-press machine rather than go straight into the free weight version. Try and do 2 to 3 sets of 8 - 12 repetitions.

2. Bench Press

   The bench press is probably the upper body equivalent of doing squats. Like squats they train a whole host of muscles but especially your chest muscles and triceps. Start out on a chest-press apparatus if you haven’t done bench press before. Try and do 2 to 3 sets of 8 - 12 repetitions.

These are two exercise that you should include in your strength training program. You will however need a wider range of exercises and should consult with a professional personal trainer who will develop a program based on your needs and ability. You can hurt yourself with strength training so don’t go and start on your own if you have no experience.

Burn the fat in no time flat!

If you want to lose fat in the quickest way possible then as we have covered you need to combine HIIT cardio with a strength training program and commit to it. If you are consistent and are eating the right food then you will see results very quickly.

If you want to burn fat even quicker then you should consider the Xtreme Fat Loss Diet by Joel Marion. Based on vast research this program is based on strategically timed workouts and nutrition that optimise your bodies fat burning ability. It’s a 5 day cycle that combines the food you eat with the type of workout you do and there is a buzz around the results people have been getting on this program.