Fat Burning Exercise Routines

Losing weight is on a lot of people's minds, and how to burn fat most effectively is always a matter of some debate. It's easy to say that eating right and exercising will do the trick, but people who are ready to take that step want to know what to eat and how to exercise to best accomplish this. Below we'll focus on the best types of exercise routine to begin in order to burn the most fat possible.

Aerobic Exercises

• Aerobic exercise, commonly called cardio, is a type of exercise in which the body consumes an increased amount of oxygen and in which the heart rate is elevated significantly over an extended period of time. This type of exercise comes in the form of running, walking, jogging, biking, using a stair climber or elliptical machine and more.

  Which type of exercise to do is mostly based on preference, as all of these exercises are aerobic and will effectively burn fat. The real question is how intense of a workout you should do and for how long.

  Longer, moderately intense workouts and shorter, more intense workouts both burn fat. There is logical support for both. We will use the treadmill as an example to show the difference.

  According to Exercise4weightloss.com, a woman weighing 145 pounds walking at 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes will burn 130 calories. Since moderate-intensity exercise burns about 60 percent of energy in the form of fat calories, the woman would burn about 79 fat calories.

  The same woman would burn 348 calories if she ran at 6 miles per hour for 30 minutes. Since higher-intensity exercise burns about 35 percent of energy in the form of fat calories, she would have burned 122 fat calories. So, mathematically the higher intensity workout will burn more fat.

  To develop your own routine, determine your level of fitness and decide whether you fall into the lower-intensity category or the higher-intensity category.

  Can you run nonstop for a half hour? If so, then plan to workout that way. Run for 30 minutes on a treadmill or on the track three times per week in order to fulfill the aerobic portion of your routine.

  Do you feel you are better suited to a lower-intensity workout? This is the category most people will fall into, especially in the early stages of an exercise routine. If so, your routine should include 45 minutes to one hour of walking at a quick but comfortable pace three times per week in order to fulfill the aerobic portion of your routine.

Strength Exercises

• The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be. Since your metabolic rate is responsible for the vast majority of burned calories and for burning calories while you are at rest, it is a good idea to include muscle-building exercises into your routine.

  For the most part, you should do this kind of exercise using free weights or machines at the local gym. Weightlifting is the most highly recommended strength-building exercise, according to Exercise4weightloss.com. Military presses, bench presses and curls should be a part of the routine as well as leg presses and squats. Working one area of the body during each session is recommended. Do upper body one day and legs on a different day.

  To effectively add strength-building exercises to your aerobic routine, plan for a five-days-per-week exercise regimen.

  Do the aerobic exercise of choice on day one, followed by an upper-body workout on day two to build strength.

  The second day workout should include bench presses, military presses and bicep curls at the very least. These exercises should be done in a minimum of five sets of 15 reps using a comfortable yet challenging amount of weight. The last set in each exercise should feel like a bit of a struggle.

  Rest on the third day and go back to work on the fourth day with your aerobic routine. The fifth day will be building strength in the lower body and abdomen. Include squats and leg presses in the routine and find a type of stomach crunch that works for you. Again, do a minimum of five sets of 15 reps for the leg exercises and three sets of 50 crunches. This day of exercise will likely make you sore the first week, but work through it and always remember to stretch before and after.

  The sixth day of the week will be more aerobic exercise, and you should take the seventh day off for rest before getting back to the routine.