7 top fat burning exercises

By: Martin Ebner

Despite what you may have heard, endless sit ups, bicep curls and snail-paced treadmill workouts do not burn fat. If you truly want to power up your body's fat-burning engine, you're going to have to step it up a notch. Incorporate these top 7 fat burning exercises into your workouts for a Leaner and more athletic physique. 

Squats

It is a fact that weight training increases your metabolic rate and squats are the king when it comes to building a strong, lean and muscular body. The sheer caloric expenditure required to perform squats sends the body into fat burning mode and by increasing your lean muscle mass, you improve your body's ability to burn more calories throughout the day.   

Muscles worked: quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, core. 

Kettlebell swings  

Kettlebell swings are the perfect combination of cardio and strength training. Not only are they extremely satisfying when done correctly, they're great for developing power, strength, mobility, muscle endurance, coordination and let's not forget, burn up to a whopping 20 calories per minute. Swing away! 

Muscles worked: Posterior chain (shoulders, back, glutes and hamstrings).  

Box jumps  

Highly addictive once you get over the fear of potentially skinning your shins. Box jumps are one of the best plyometrics exercises for torching fat. Expect to burn anywhere from 10-20 calories per minute.

Note: To reduce the impact, step back off the box.

Muscles worked: quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, core.
 

Lunges

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Love them or hate them (probably hate), there's no denying the fat burning potential of lunges.

With walking lunges specifically, you move from side to side challenging your hips and thighs. The result is an increased range of motion, knees of steel, improved hip mobility, improved cardiovascular fitness and a revved up metabolism.

Lunge your way to a leaner physique with 5-10 minutes of lunges at the end of your workout. 

Muscles worked: quadriceps, glutes, hamgstrings, core. 

Skipping (Jump rope)

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There's a reason boxers are amongst the fittest athletes on the planet and that reason is their obsession with jumping rope. Boxers and other athletes have long used skipping as their weapon of choice to improve cardiovascular endurance and to drastically drop weight in the lead up to pre-fight weigh-in. 

Muscles worked: calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, shoulders, arms, core
 

Burpees

The burpee is the epitome of a functional full body exercise. While not for the faint of heart, if fat burning and a strong, toned beach body is what you're after, look no further than the all powerful burpee!

Muscles worked: All of them!
 

Muscle-ups

The most coveted Crossfit exercise and by far the hardest of the bunch. It requires superhuman strength and a lot of practice to master the technique. However, if and when you get it right, the sheer physical demand of muscle-ups promote the release of growth hormone which signals to your body to build muscle and burn chub!

Muscles worked: Back, arms, shoulders, chest, core

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