This is going to be an interesting article, because there are so many ways that you could structure a workout for fat loss. But what I'm going to do is outline the reasons why certain workouts are great for fat loss and how you can come up with your own ways to burn fat, without getting unmotivated and bored with the routines.
Basically, a great fat loss workout will consist of any activity that burns lots of calories. This is because calorie deficits are what cause fat loss. You could walk for a few hours or you could train really hard for 30 minutes and you would achieve the same thing. A certain amount of calories burned.
However, when it comes to people who are also looking to maintain a certain level of muscularity, I prefer their fat loss workouts to be at a higher intensity rate. This is because is helps promote muscle growth and prevents muscle loss (catabolism). So with that in mind, let me go through some of my favourite fat loss workouts.
1. Interval training. I first learned about this type of workout as a young cadet in the military. It's great because it keeps your heart rate elevated for long periods of time which is great for burning tons of fat. What you need to do is to start running at an easy pace. How easy you should make it depends on your level of fitness. Once you're warmed up, you can start going a little harder. Continue to jog along, then go hard for 100m. Once you've run about 100m, slow down again for another 200m, then run hard for another 100m.
You don't need to do this for long to get maximum benefit. If you give it your all, you will find that you are exhausted within 15 minutes. If you can go longer than this, you really need to up your tempo.
2. Playing squash. Squash is one of my favourite sports. It's fast and intense and heaps of fun. It's also a great fat loss workout. I've included it here because I want you to realise that losing fat doesn't have to be boring. If you can actually make your workouts fun, then you stand a much bigger chance of succeeding in your fat loss journey.
A couple of important points about playing squash as a fat loss workout. Make sure the person you're playing against is of similar ability to yourself. If you are playing someone well below your skill level, it's not going to do you much good. Trust me on this one. My best workouts have come from matches when my opponent and I were running back and forth almost non-stop for 2 hours straight. It's exhausting, but so much fun.
So there are two great examples of fat loss workouts. You should realise now that they don't have to be what you would usually consider a workout to be. As long as you are getting your heart rate up for a while and burning lots of calories, you are going to burn a heap of calories and as a result, lose a lot of fat. So see what sort of interesting fat loss workouts you can come up with, I bet you'll surprise yourself.
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