Highly Effective Ways to Exercise for Fat Loss
30th Jul 19
Using exercise for fat loss or general weight loss is one of the most popular health and fitness goals out there. It not only reduces the percentage of your body fat and aids weight loss, but it also helps increase muscle toning as a byproduct!
Reducing the amount of body fat you have can make you look leaner, more defined and a few pounds lighter if that’s what you’re looking for. Doing it, however, isn’t that black and white. After all, exercise and dieting are crucial and work in tandem.
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Fat Loss
A quick side note: It’s important to avoid fad diets or the latest celebrity craze. These types of diets can harm your body in the long term and are unsustainable in the long term. Instead, a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise will have greater benefits. Always.
Typically, extra weight tends to gather around your thighs and stomach area. These are the more common areas in the human body where fat is stored. That’s completely natural. Remember, your body stores fat for survival, but it’s how we maintain and manage unwanted and additional fat that’s important here.
Although exercising is an obvious way to do this, nutrition is also a key factor in achieving these goals. It’s also vital to prevent unwanted fat from returning later. This is mostly done by monitoring the intake of calories in your daily diet and your daily requirements.
Fat Burning Exercises
Back to the matter at hand: effective ways to exercise for fat loss. There is a tonne of different ways you can do it. Here are some of the tried and tested most effective (with examples)
HIIT Training
High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is an awesome way to burn calories in a short time. The downside? It takes a LOT of effort. They’re seriously hard workouts but even more rewarding. They burn many calories both in and out of the workout through built muscle mass.
You can use pretty much any cardio machine and resistance bands, boxing, or even weights or bodyweight! This would involve having around eight different exercises, with 6-8 repetitions of each at a high pace for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest. Each set will last for 3-4 minutes. Here is an example routine;
Exercise | Duration |
Jumping Jacks | 20 seconds |
10 seconds rest | |
Jumping Jacks | 20 seconds |
10 seconds rest | |
Jumping Jacks | 20 seconds |
10 seconds rest | |
Jumping Jacks | 20 seconds |
10 seconds rest | |
Jumping Jacks | 20 seconds |
10 seconds rest | |
Jumping Jacks | 20 seconds |
10 seconds rest | |
Jumping Jacks | 20 seconds |
10 seconds rest | |
Jumping Jacks | 20 seconds |
10 seconds rest | |
Move on to the next exercise and follow the same format. |
Other exercises that can be included in your bodyweight HIIT workout are:
- Burpees
- Jumping Squats
- Push-Ups
- Mountain Climbers
- Skipping (with skipping rope)
- Jumping Lunges
Don’t forget to warm up for a few minutes before and cool down after. For example, your warm-up could include a 3-minute run or jog on the spot. Then, stretch for your cool-down period.
Cardio
Cardio is another great way to exercise for fat loss and doesn’t necessarily require exercise machines. For example, running, cycling, swimming and tennis, for example, are effective for fat loss and burning calories. They increase your heart rate, speed up your metabolism, and burn fat.
If you’re not confident exercising outside or there’s been some time since your last run, start slow and build up your pace. Once you feel confident, take it to the next level and introduce interval training into the workout. Similar to HIIT exercises, you’ll run (for example) at a high pace for 60 seconds and rest for 60 seconds or jog before repeating. Aim to complete this workout over 20 minutes.
LISS
Aside from these HIIT exercises, it can also be efficient to replace the intensity of a workout with a prolonged period of time. That’s where LISS comes in to create an elevated heart rate for a longer duration. That’s actually one of the best ways to exercise for fat loss per calorie burned. That takes a lot of pressure away from the difficulties that HIIT can produce.
The average maximum heart rate among humans is around 220, gradually lowering with age and other factors. The ideal rate for fat loss is around 55%-70% of this, meaning that if you can perform cardio to the extent that results in this rate for a prolonged period of time, you may well be burning fat as efficiently as possible.
(Incline walking is a great example of this)
Fat Loss Circuit Training
Similar to HIIT training but less intense, circuit workouts are also recommended for fat loss exercises. You can complete similar exercises to the ones mentioned earlier for HIIT training, but perform each exercise for slightly longer before moving on to the next one.
Circuit training provides you with a full-body workout. It helps build and tone muscle whilst offering the benefits of a cardio workout. Plus, a circuit workout boosts your metabolism and increases fat burning.
A circuit workout should last around 20-30 minutes and have between 10-15 different exercise stations. Complete each exercise for 1 minute, and move on to the next station until you have completed the circuit workout. Then, rest and repeat the full circuit and don’t forget to warm up and cool down.
Here’s a circuit workout example you can do at home.
Circuit Exercise | Time |
Squats (with or without weights) | 60 secs |
Russian Twist (with or without weights) | 60 secs |
Push-Ups | 60 secs |
Mountain Climbers | 60 secs |
Burpees | 60 secs |
Crunches | 60 secs |
Leg Raises | 60 secs |
Reverse Crunches | 60 secs |
Jumping Jacks | 60 secs |
Step-Ups (aerobic box, fast paced) | 60 secs |
Triceps Dips | 60 secs |
Plank | 30-60 secs |
Skipping | 60 secs |
High Knees (running on the spot) | 60 secs |
Bicep Curls | 60 secs |
2-minute rest, repeat the circuit. |
Finally…
As with any fitness goal, you must be committed and dedicate time. Do your best to create a realistic exercise plan that works around your lifestyle, so you’re not compromising or turning your workout into a chore.
Fat loss exercises require stamina and endurance, so don’t give up and make sure you have a bottle of water at hand. You will feel and see the benefits in no time.
Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.
If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.