Trying to lose weight is a never ending battle for both men and women. The key to burning fat, and achieving the physical fitness you’ve dreamed of, lies in the combination of your diet and your exercise training methods. Contrary to popular belief, a paleo or low carb diet is effective for helping shred fat and keep energy levels high. After your nutrition, your training is your “secret weapon” in the fight against fat, and you need to uncover a best training methods that specifically boost your body’s fat burning potential. The good news is, we’ve found them for you. Here’s the top five training types to add to your workout regime.

1. Cardio

You’ve heard it a thousand times I’m sure, but adding steady cardio to your workouts – like walking uphill, swimming laps, or biking – will effectively burn those pesky calories away, and kick start your metabolism into top gear.

Burn fat fast by including the following cardio exercises into your training routine:

• Running: Running can burn anywhere from 566 to 839 calories per hour at a ten-minute mile pace. Not only that, a bonus is an activated metabolism which will have your body continue to burn calories throughout the day.
• Jump Rope: Jumping rope burns more than 10 calories a minute, and as any good boxer or martial arts athlete knows, it’s the best weight loss workout on the road.
• Swimming: Hit the pool and do laps. Swimming is a whole-body cardio workout that is extremely effective at melting fat away through a combination of cardio, resistance, and thermal based energy drain as your body attempts to keep warm in the water.

2. Yoga

Besides burning anywhere from 226 to 335 calories each hour you spend on the mat, yoga works to calm the mind, strengthen muscle, gain flexibility and is a great activity for rest days. Try a power vinyasa flow class for a more cardio style yoga. Or, for a real challenge, attend a 90 minute class of Bikram yoga in 105 degrees and full humidity—you’ll see the fat dripping off, literally.

3. Strength Training

Strength training is extremely important in getting fit and burning fat.

Why?

The more muscle you have, the more your body needs to work to feed them, hence you burn more calories. So, you need a strength training workout that builds muscle, bulk, and burns ridiculous calories leading to fat loss over your entire body. Try the following exercises in a strength training circuit to target areas all over your body:

• Single-Leg Deadlift: Balance on one foot and lift the opposite parallel to the floor. The goal is to bend as far to the ground without losing a straight back and knee. Use your glutes and keep the core tight.
• Push-Ups: Start in a plank position and… you know the drill. Be sure to keep a straight back and not let your lower back lose form when you lower. Go on your knees if you can’t do a normal one.
• Plie Squats: Stand with your feet slightly turned out about four feet wide. Lower your glutes into a sitting position until your quads are parallel with the floor.

4. Bodyweight Resistance Training

To tone up your muscles and reduce body fat content, the new kid on the block is bodyweight resistance training. Bodyweight resistance training differs from strength training, as the aim is to tone your muscles rather than build bulk and size. A bodyweight resistance workout will require a high number of repetitions, and the aim is to push yourself to fatigue – until you can no longer perform the exercise while maintaining correct form and posture. An advantage of this style of workout is that there is less tendency to get injured, since the only forces you’re applying is your own bodyweight. And that’s something you have total control over.

5. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, is the new craze sweeping the health and fitness industry, and for good reason. HIIT is one of the most effective, efficient ways to burn fat, fast! Performing exercise furiously for short periods of time is what it’s all about, and there is really no limit to ways you can modify a HIIT workout, other than your creativity.

To get your HIIT training started, try the following exercises:

• Mountain climbers
• Jumping jacks
• Jump rope
• Sprints
• Jump lunges
• Jump squats
• Jumping Chin-ups.

Try practicing a rest-pause on each set, then, on the last set, go right until your muscles fail. Rest for 20-30 seconds in-between.

Show Fat What-For

With the right training, burning fat off your body is easy. These five training types will provide you with the exercises you need to make your fat loss dreams a reality, producing fast results with minimal cost. What are you waiting for?

Credits:

Samantha Thorenson