In general when looking to to lose a few pounds or more most people start a cardio training program to help burn fat. This requires you to start cycling, running and walking or using such equipment as the rower in the gym.
As fat burning exercises these can be successful but are they as effective as everybody thinks? Contrary to popular belief over usage of cardio training may actually harm your fat burning efforts.
This is because excessive cardio training can result in a loss of lean muscle mass resulting in a lower metabolism and if you have a lower metabolism you will be burning less fat. A common result of this is people who lose size but at the same time lose muscle. The loss of muscle results in a much slower metabolism meaning that diet and training must be consistent to stop weight gain.
A further key point is that moderate cardio training only keeps your heart rate elevated for maybe 1-3 hours after finishing your workout. Therefore the capacity to burn lots of fat in the “after-burn” of exercise is restricted.
So with these points in mind it now seems that the best fat burning exercise are the ones that build lean muscle and are performed at a higher intensity to create a much stronger and longer fat stripping post exercise metabolic state. So make sure that in your goal to lose fat start you include lots of free weight and body weight exercises.. However not all these type of exercises are suitable for fat burning and your focus should be multi joint movements that use many different muscles in the body thereby increasing the amount of energy used and increasing the level of intensity of the training.
The chief exercises you should perform on a regular basis are:
Squats – Perform various types using free weight dumbbells and Barbells (No Machines!)
Deadlifts – Again to be performed with Dumbbells and Barbells
Chest and Shoulder Presses – No Machines if possible
Push ups- Use varying techniques to increase the difficulty
Pullups - Very difficult for most people only perform if you can do full range of movement. If you cannot do this exercise then use lat Pulldowns
Lunges – Vary between front, reverse and side.
Rows – Bent over Rows and cable rows
There are lots of variations of these exercises and I would recommend you investgate further to get more ideas.
As you perform these exercises focus on keeping the intensity high. This requires using heavier weights (weights where you can only manage 6-10 reps) and taking less than 60 seconds rest between sets to maintain an elevated heart rate. I also recommend incorporating training techniques such as super sets where you go from one exercise straight to another then rest. This would be one set. An example of this would be doing 8 reps of deadlifts then performing 8 reps incline chest presses straight away. This has a better effect if opposing muscle group exercises are chosen.
If boredom is creeping into your exercise regime then think seriously about doing free weights in your workouts. They may just be the answer to getting the results you want.
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