Fat Burning Exercises you should be doing
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 exercises for fat burning they can have the desired effect but are they as good as most people think? Recent research now suggests that too much cardio training can have a negative impact when looking to burn fat.
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. This can result in people who have a small frame but have little muscle tone. Therefore with a lowered metabolic rate they are vulnerable to quick weight gain once they resume normal eating patterns.
Another reason why moderate intensity cardio training is not as effective is that after doing this exercise your metabolic rate is only kept high for possibly 1-3 hours after you finish. This leads to a limited fat burning window in what can be called the “after-burn” of exercise.
After examining this information we can conclude that for a more stronger and longer fat burning post exercise state focus on exercises that build muscle performed at high intensity. This means including lots of free weight and bodyweight exercises in your fat burning program. 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 central 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 delve into further to get more ideas.
As you perform these exercises focus on keeping the intensity high. To do this use quite heavy weights that allow you to perform between 6-10 reps and rest periods between sets to under 60 seconds to keep the heart rate elevated throughout the workout. Another highly advised technique is to perform supersets to maintain intensity. Supersets involve a pair of exercises being performed without rest as on rep. That would be classified as one set. A set of 10 reps of squats then performing 10 reps flat chest press immediately after is a good example of this. You will find that for a more effective response choosing opposing muscle groups is the best way to do it.
Therefore if want a change from the usual workouts then I strongly advise including free weights in your weekly workouts. The results might just surprise you.