THE Best Fat Burning Moves to Make
Burning fat is hard work. Most of us have spent a lifetime accumulating excess body fat so we shouldn’t expect to be able to get rid of it overnight. Successful fat loss is a combination of caloric restriction, cleaning up the diet by cutting out simple carbohydrates and smart exercise. In this article, we will focus on the exercise side of the equation.
There are literally hundreds of exercises you could do to lose body fat. What you need to do is identify the handful that will give you the best bang for your buck in terms of caloric burn and the degree to which the exercise boosts your metabolism after your workout. The four exercises to follow have been proven to be the most effective moves to accomplish both of those objectives.
Front Squat
The squat is often thought of as a leg development exercise. While it can do that, it is also a very intense fat burning movement. This exercise is exhausting! As a compound move, it works both your upper and lower body at the same time. The reason I suggest doing the front squat variation of the exercise is that it places a lot less compressive force on your spine than the back squat. I recommend doing the front squat on a Smith Machine. When you are squatting for fat loss, your focus should be on higher reps rather than heavy weight. Do three sets of 20 reps.
Burpee
The Burpee is a classic bodyweight exercise that most people love to hate. The reason is that they are so hard. And when it comes to burning off body fat, hard means good. In fact, burpees will burn more calories per time invested for any body weight exercise except for the jump rope (which is coming up next).
To perform a burpee, stand with feet shoulder width apart. Now drop to the floor and kick your feet back. Perform a standard push up and then immediately jump your feet back in. Finish by exploding up into the air to return to the start standing position.
You should perform burpees in standard set format for 3 or 4 sets of 10-15 reps. Another awesome way to use the burpee as a fat burner is to do a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout, where you perform burpees as fast as you can for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this sequence for 8 rounds!
Jump Rope
The humble jump rope exercise will burn more calories than any other exercise. It will also improve your agility, balance and coordination. Begin with a basic double foot skip, aiming to get two minutes in without a break. This may take some time as the rope hits your feet, forcing you to stop. However, persevering is definitely worth the effort. Building up to 3-5 sets of 2 minutes will churn through a lot of stored body fat!
Mountain Climbers
The mountain climber is a good example of an exercise that focuses on the core while churning through the calories. Position yourself face down on an exercise mat with your arms fully extended, palms on the floor and your body extended so that you are resting on your toes. Begin the exercise by bringing your left knee up and across to the right side of your torso. Immediately kick the leg back and repeat with the other leg. Continue in a fast, repetitive action to complete your rep count. Keep your butt down throughout the exercise. You should do relatively high reps on this exercise. I suggest 3 sets of 25-30 reps.
Putting It All Together
Now that we have the 4 best moves for fat loss, let's combine them into a workout:
Jump Rope - build up to 5 sets of 2 minutes with 60 seconds rest between sets
Front Squat - 3 x 20 reps, with 60 seconds rest between sets
Mountain Climber - 3 x 25 reps, with 60 seconds rest between sets
Burpee - 3 sets x 12 reps, 60 seconds rest between sets
