Most of us now know that resistive training helps you build lean muscle tissue. In return, that lean muscle allows your body to burn more calories not only during exercise but also when your body is at a resting state. So, if your interested in burning more calories during your workout and throughout the day, follow this simple guide:
1. Choose exercises that target multiple body parts when you are training. Pick a small muscle group and a large muscle group. For example, I plan to work on arms and legs today. So instead of splitting these two workouts up I will combine them with one effective exercise. Using an exercise like the lunge allows me to do this and helps me burn more calories in less time.
As you perform the lunge, you are going to add a bicep curl on the downward lunge motion to train the biceps, quadriceps and gluteals all at the same time. The lunge is also a great way to get some cardio work done as it is a very dynamic exercise that requires you to concentrate on posture, balance and coordination.
2. Use a fitness ball during dumbbell exercises. Instead of sitting or lying on a bench, try performing exercises like chest flies, curls and shoulder press on a fitness ball. This helps you burn more calories because the unstable ball forces your body to activate more muscles in your core and legs to maintain balance on the ball.
3. Use "high intensity interval training" to boost fat loss and burn more calories. Recent studies have shown that interval training can stimulate your metabolism far more AFTER the workouts than lower intensity training. This means you continue to burn more calories and fat for long periods after you're done training. Not so with low intensity training. If you want to read more on interval training I recommend you check out Metabolic Surge or Burn The Fat programs.
Be creative. Think of all the exercises you currently do and adapt them to multi-muscle exercises. You will also have a "brand new" exercise routine to help you get out of that workout rut!
