When looking to shed those excess pounds people generally turn to cardio activity as their main fat burning exercises. This normally takes the form of lots of running and walking or getting on the cross trainer and rower in the gym.

As fat burning exercises these can be successful but are they as effective as everybody thinks? Contrary to popular belief over usage of cardio training may actually harm your fat burning efforts.

A possible side effect of excessive cardio training is a lower metabolism meaning you will be burning fewer calories and less fat. This is because during and after cardio training the body can use lean muscle for energy if there is no other energy sources available. A common result of this is people who lose size but at the same time lose muscle. The loss of muscle results in a much slower metabolism meaning that diet and training must be consistent to stop weight gain.

Another reason why moderate intensity cardio training is not as effective is that after doing this exercise your metabolic rate is only kept high for possibly 1-3 hours after you finish. This leads to a limited fat burning window in what can be called the “after-burn” of exercise.

After examining this information we can conclude that for a more stronger and longer fat burning post exercise state focus on exercises that build muscle performed at high intensity. Therefore to burn fat you need lots of free weight and bodyweight exercises in your workouts. If must be noted that not all of these kind of exercises are suitable. For a more effective workout focus on multi joint movements that use lots of muscles and therefore lots of energy.

The most important exercises  you should perform on a regular basis are:

Squats – Perform various types using free weight dumbbells and Barbells (No Machines!)

Deadlifts – Again to be performed with Dumbbells and Barbells

Chest and Shoulder Presses – No Machines if possible

Push ups- Use varying techniques to increase the difficulty

Pullups -  Very difficult for most people only perform if you can do full range of movement. If you cannot do this exercise then use lat Pulldowns

Lunges – Vary between front, reverse and side.

Rows – Bent over Rows and cable rows 

 

There are lots of variations of these exercises and I would recommend you explore further to get more ideas.

As you perform these exercises focus on keeping the intensity high. To do this use quite heavy weights that allow you to perform between 6-10 reps and rest periods between sets to under 60 seconds to keep the heart rate elevated throughout the workout. A further proposal would be to use a system such as super sets in your workouts. Supersets involve performing 2 exercises back to back as one rep. This would be one set. A great example of this is 10 reps of bent over rows then performing 10 reps Shoulder presses right away. This has a better effect if opposing muscle group exercises are chosen.

If you are struggling to get the desired results from your cardio routine then I would recommend starting a free weight program as part of your overall plan.