When looking to shed those excess pounds people generally turn to cardio activity as their main fat burning exercises. This usually results in a program of either running, walking, cycling or hours on the rower and cross trainer in the gym.

As exercises for fat burning they can have the desired effect but are they as good as most people think? Well according to recent research and my own experience as a Personal Trainer an over reliance on cardio training can actually have negative effects on 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. This can result in people who have a small frame but have little muscle tone. Therefore with a lowered metabolic rate they are vulnerable to quick weight gain once they resume normal eating patterns.

A further key point is that moderate cardio training only keeps your heart rate elevated for maybe 1-3 hours after finishing your workout. Therefore the capacity to burn lots of fat in the "after-burn" of exercise is restricted.

After examining these points it can be argued that the most effective exercises for fat burning are performed at high intensity with the focus on building lean muscle to produce a strong fat burning post exercise response. This means including lots of free weight and bodyweight exercises in your fat burning program. However for fat burning not all of these exercises are suitable. You should concentrate on multi joint movements that engage lots of different muscles resulting in more energy being used.

The chief 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 research 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 good illustration of this would be doing 8 reps of pullups then performing 8 reps flat chest presses without rest. You will find that for a more effective response choosing opposing muscle groups is the best way to do it.

If boredom is creeping into your exercise regime then think seriously about doing free weights in your workouts. They may just be the answer to getting the results you want.