They key to burning fat is to use up more calories for energy than you consume on a daily basis. This forces your body to go into your fat stores for extra energy. Here are 5 tips to burn more calories throughout the day.
Use movements that use lots of muscle mass
If you’re trying to lose body fat you should already be doing some form of resistance training. With that being said, not all resistance exercises are created equal. Some exercises use much more muscle mass and therefore burn much more calories than others. Those exercises fall into a category called compound movements.
In general, compound movements consist of the basic movement patterns:
- Squat
- Hip hinge (Deadlift, Kettlebell Swing)
- Horizontal Push (push ups, bench press)
- Horizontal Pull (Inverted Row, DB row)
- Vertical Push (Handstand push ups, DB overhead press)
- Vertical Pull (Pull ups, Lat pulldown)
- Single leg (Lunges, Step ups, Single leg squats)
These movements train multiple muscle groups at once vs. one muscle at a time and have a much greater metabolic effect on your body. They’ll also make you STRONG!
Move more
Simply moving more during the day can burn hundreds of extra calories. Over the course of weeks and months that’s thousands of excess calories which will take pounds of fat off your frame. Go for walks or hikes, take the stairs, play sports or other physical activities. Move more!
Eat more protein
Everyone knows protein builds muscle, but what many don’t know is that protein raises your metabolism. The digestion of protein itself burns tons of calories through what is known as TEF, or the Thermic Effect of Feeding. When compared to digesting carbs and fats, protein burns an extra 15-20% of calories.
Eat more protein = raise metabolism and burn more calories = burn more fat!
Get stronger
Workouts that only raise your heart rate will only work so long before they stop giving you the results that your want. In order to keep burning fat you need to progress and the best way to do that is to get stronger. Being stronger allows you to use heavier weights and perform more work. Heavier weights and more work mean more calories and fat burned.
Getting stronger should be a focus in your program to achieve maximum results.
Sprint
Sprints are amazing for fat loss because they use lots of muscle mass and raise your metabolism. But do you have to be an athlete to sprint? Absolutely not.
Although actual sprints on a track are ideal, you can simulate the effect in the weight room if you don’t have access to a track. Think of sprints as bursts of intense activity. To reap the benefits you want to create a burst of intense, fast activity which uses a lot of muscle mass coupled with a full recovery, repeated for multiple rounds.
Here’s an example:
1a. Goblet Squats x 10
1b. DB Press x 10
Choose moderate weights and complete the reps as fast as possible. You’re looking to complete all reps in 20-30 seconds. If it takes longer, lower the weight. If it’s shorter than 20 seconds increase the weight.
Rest 1.5-2 mins and repeat for 5-7 rounds
