How to burn more calories during a workout to lose weight

Introduction

Maximum calorie burn is achieved through cardio training, however even strength training, if structured effectively, can also tap into the energy supply and keep the metabolism active.

It is essential to focus on the benefits after exercise at the metabolic level: long-term adaptations such as an increase in muscle mass and bone density contribute, in addition to the calories burned, to acquiring a certain physical shape. In this sense It’s important to focus on the quality of the strength training session, not just short-term calorie expenditure. While the benefits of strength training extend far beyond the calories you burn while exercising, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get your heart rate up.

In the weight room

An effective way to increase your calorie burn is to add more weight to your lifts in the gym, enough that you can’t do rep after rep with ease. The more muscle definition you gain, the more your metabolism is sustained and the more efficient you are at burning more fat both during workouts and at rest.

Repetitions

While heavy lifting helps increase calorie burn in the long term, working on muscular endurance (the ability to exert force against resistance over an extended period of time) can increase calorie burn in the short term. High calorie consumption during exercise and excess oxygen consumption after exercise are a very efficient way to exercise when calorie consumption is the main objective.

Recovery time

Taking more breaks between reps results in more calorie burn. One way to increase the effort on the muscles is to add breaks to the repetitions. When it comes to weight lifting, generally, the idea is to work more and rest less. After all, it keeps your heart rate elevated (because cardio burns calories) and keeps your muscles working longer.

Functional exercises for calorie consumption

Functional exercises with the highest calorie burn include those that work opposing muscle groups like a biceps curl and triceps extension or those that target the same muscle group like squats and lunges or even two unrelated muscle groups by doing a hand press. shoulders and a deadlift.

“Filler” exercises, on the other hand, are low-intensity movements that do not interfere with the main goal of the training but offer advantages in terms of energy consumption. For example, if you’re working your lower body, a shoulder exercise is a productive use of that time that still allows you to recover between sets, and execute the more challenging movement well.

An easy way to increase the cardio demand of a strength session is to incorporate a few simple cardio exercises into your workout such as low-intensity, low-skill cardio moves to keep your heart rate up: walk between sets instead of sitting; bench press and jump rope or deadlifts and jumping jacks.

Compound Movements

When it comes to burning calories, intensity isn’t the only thing that matters. The number of muscles involved also plays an important role. That’s why compound movements, which are exercises that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously (squats, deadlifts, push-ups, pull-ups, and lunges), are a great way to maximize calorie burn both during and after your workout. Thanks to the multi-joint compound movements, it increases the basal metabolic rate and calorie consumption at rest.

Metabolic Resistance Training

Metabolic resistance training (MRT) is where strength training meets cardio. A high intensity workout like HIIT, but performed with traditional free weight exercises. HIIT training generally combines cardio with short, intense periods of work followed by rest, while MRT uses strength training with weights whenever possible. The focus is on training density, which means you’ll get more work done in less time. Examples include a dumbbell or kettlebell circuit where you move from one exercise to another with little to no rest.

The MRT works particularly effectively on the muscles and on the anaerobic and aerobic energy system, achieving a high calorie consumption during and after the session. Done correctly, you’ll be performing compound movements of 30 to 60 seconds with short rest periods of 30 seconds (or less) between exercises and sets. The ideal, as personal trainers advocate, is to alternate between upper and lower body or opposing muscle groups two to three times a week with at least one rest day in between.