burning calories, fitness, exercise Burning alories. Image: Instagram/@freeletics
If you're looking to lose weight in a hurry, don't just google “best exercises to burn the most calories” because that'll open you up to perceived wisdom like if calories burned is greater than calories in, you’re golden. But it’s just not that simple.
Apart from all the usual disclaimers about bodies, weight, metabolism, and abilities all being different and all playing a part, one issue in your pursuit of abs might just be that fat loss workouts can be kind of boring. We each lose weight at different rates, so why should we all stick to the same kind of workouts, hoping to see the same kind of results?
If you’re a cyclist, you might not want to start bench pressing. Or, if you’re a powerlifter, treadmill sprints might sound like your worst nightmare. The best way to stay locked in is to find something you love. With that in mind, here are three bona fide approaches for rapid weight-loss for you to choose from.
As we mentioned, the basic principle of weight loss involves burning more calories through exercise than you’re taking in through your mouth. There are 7,700 kcals worth of energy in 1kg of fat, so if you know how many calories your favoured workout burns, you should be able to figure out how long it will take you to get down to a given weight.
Naturally, doing this in a slow, controlled manner is not only more sustainable long-term, it’s also going to be safer. “When trying to lose weight, people can get caught up in doing intense exercise straight away, however, it’s better to start slow and build yourself up,” says fitness and nutrition expert Penny Weston. “Be realistic with your fitness level, as if you go too hard too soon you could hurt yourself or put yourself off working out altogether.”
Itching to get started? Follow these protocols for the best exercises to burn the most calories, and you'll be grand.
High intensity exercise – like circuit classes – work by forcing you to expend a lot of energy in a short amount of time. Not only does this burn fat, but it can keep your body burning calories long after you’ve left the gym.
Tabata is a type of HIIT with tiny, precise intervals to really get you fired up. According to Weston, it can torch up to 13.5 calories per minute. “Each of these exercises is great for burning calories as they increase your heart rate and cardiovascular fitness simultaneously,” says Weston. Work through the below four times, for a total of eight active minutes. Each exercise lasts 20 seconds, then it’s a ten second rest before you’re onto the next.
Get into a press-up position with your arms extended. Drive your knees up to your elbows, one at a time, sort of like horizontal jogging on the spot.
Back into press up position. Shoot both knees up to your elbows at the same time. Press down through your palms to get into a standing position, using the momentum to jump straight up from the mat. Get back down and go again.
Think mountain climbers, but standing vertically. You can even hold hour palms out as targets for your knees, if you like. The higher the better.
Sit down into a squat then drive through the heels, driving your arms down by your sides for momentum as you jump straight up like a pencil. Land, squat, jump again.
Lifting heavy weights, while slower and less dynamic than HIIT workouts, is no less efficient. “Heavy weightlifting can be just as effective when it comes to long-term fat loss and total calorie expenditure,” says Tactical Athlete founder Farren Morgan.
Compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously. This drives up your heart rate and energy use. “What’s more, as you increase your lean muscle mass, your basal metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn at rest) goes up,” says Morgan.
Morgan reckons the below can burn 168-252 calories, depending on your weight, with a further 100-150 calories burned as your body works to repair itself later on. After a thorough workout, try the below for a calorie-crunch with added muscle pump. You’re going to do each of these for four sets of just five, heavy reps, allowing for a 60-90 second rest between sets.
Start by engaging the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, core, and grip with deadlifts. Bend at the hips to grip a weight bar. Hinge at the hips, keeping your arms and back straight to bring the bar from the floor to your waist. Hold, then reverse the movement to lower the weight.
Squats target your quads, hamstrings, and glutes – all huge muscles with massive calorie burning potential. Stand with a barbell across your shoulders. Take the weight, then hinge backwards at the hips, lowering your bum as far as is comfortable. Drive down through the heels as you stand and straighten up once again.
Although the bench press emphasises the chest, shoulders, and triceps, the rest of your body works to stabilise the bar, making it a great all-rounder. Lay on the bench, grip the bar then extend your arms to lift it overhead. Exhale as you bring it slowly down in line with your nipples. Power back up for one.
Bent-over rows mainly target your lats, traps, and biceps, helping to really round out your workout, and maximising the afterburn effect. Hinge at the hips, keeping your back straight. Hold a light barbell parallel to your legs, then engage your lats, bringing your elbows up into your ribs to lift the bar into your chest.
If circuits aren’t quite your thing but you prefer to get your heart hammering harder than weights allow, Weston suggests sticking with cardio. “Cardiovascular exercise can be an intense way to burn calories,” she says. If you’re already an avid runner, cyclist, or rower, you likely already have a solid sprint routine on the go. But, if you’re new to cardio or looking to mix up your fitness routine, Weston suggests ‘Jeffing.’
Not as in ‘Effing and jeffing’ but as in mixing running intervals with periods of walking, so that your heart rate is constantly having to readjust to your pace, sending your calorie-burn sky high.
There are plenty of ways to do this. Setting your favourite cardio machine to ‘fat burn’ is one. A more DIY approach might see you sprinting flat out through the choruses of your favourite songs, and walking the verses, for example.
Or, you might set yourself a distance target, aiming to do it as quickly as possible. When you’ve reached the limit of your running ability, allow yourself to walk, but only for 30 seconds before running again. Every time you stop to walk, you’re allowed five seconds less walking than the last time.
There really is no hard and fast rule to jeffing, except, don’t stop moving. By gamifying your cardio you’re not only making it interesting, but you’re keeping your brain just as engaged as your body, meaning you’re more likely to stick with it for the long haul, setting up a solid foundation for scorching calories any time, any where.
Via GQ UK
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