Top tips for fat burning exercises
How has lockdown been for you? Have you been able to train away and stay on track or has it put a halt to things so that you have to re-write your programme? Training has changed for many of us along with eating habits that may have added a few pounds here and there. Today, we look at training methods that are reknowned for stimulating fat burning and may help you get back on track.
High resistance work or lifting is a key exercise for burning calories. The fat burning benefits of heavy lifting come after your workout has finished. This is because your metabolism is raised in the hours after the exercise as your body maintains the baseline afterburners and also to repair and rebuild stronger muscles for the next session. To maximise these fat burning gains, increase the weight that you are using. But remember to only lift weight that you are comfortable with, as anything too heavy can cause you to sacrifice your technique and risk injury.
You may, however, just use your own body weight, which provides enough resistance for similar effects. For example, a press up with your hands higher than your feet - off two steps perhaps, is easier than having your feet on two steps and higher than your hands. Whichever level you are at, if you are struggling after three to five of these - this constitutes heavy resistance lifting. After recovery, try to do three sets for best maximum strength results.
Another tip is to run just below your lactate threshold. The Journal of Sports Science and Medicine highlighted that relatively unfit men burnt more fat when they ran just below their lactate threshold, in comparison to athletes who were much fitter. This correlates to a pace where you struggle to say more than one or two words, but is a pace you can continue at for 30 to 60 minutes (or 60 -70 minutes for experienced runners).
Burpees are a full body workout and one of the best fat burning exercises around. Done correctly, burpees are high intensity all over and will raise your heart rate promptly.
Performing two exercises one after another, without rest, keeps your heart rate higher for longer. One 'superset', for example, could be press ups followed by skipping, then a plank, then burpees. A Colorado State University research team found that following your superset workout, your body will continue to burn fat for up to 16 hours, so you can bask with the rewards long after you have finished your exercise.