When looking to shed those excess pounds people generally turn to cardio activity as their main fat burning exercises. This requires you to start cycling, running and walking or using such equipment as the rower in the gym.
Yes as fat burning exercises they will work but are the results as effective as we seem to think? Within the the fitness industry a lot of research is now indicating that too much cardio training can actually be harmful to your fat burning efforts.
This is due to the fact that an over indulgence in cardio training can mean a reduction in lean muscle mass. If muscle mass is lost then your metabolism is lowered resulting in less calories (ie fat ) being burned. A result of this is people who are thin but don't have much lean muscle. This lack of muscle can make them very prone to weight gain should they eat normally again or stop training.
A further key point is that moderate cardio training only keeps your heart rate elevated for maybe 1-3 hours after finishing your workout. Therefore the capacity to burn lots of fat in the "after-burn" of exercise is restricted.
So with these points in mind it now seems that the best fat burning exercise are the ones that build lean muscle and are performed at a higher intensity to create a much stronger and longer fat stripping post exercise metabolic state. Therefore to burn fat you need lots of free weight and bodyweight exercises in your workouts. For fat burning make sure that you just focus on multi joint movements. These exercises recruit far more muscles in the body resulting in higher energy expenditure and stronger metabolic response.
The key exercises you should perform on a regular basis are:
Squats – Perform various types using free weight dumbbells and Barbells (No Machines!)
Deadlifts – Again to be performed with Dumbbells and Barbells
Chest and Shoulder Presses – No Machines if possible
Push ups- Use varying techniques to increase the difficulty
Pullups - Very difficult for most people only perform if you can do full range of movement. If you cannot do this exercise then use lat Pulldowns
Lunges – Vary between front, reverse and side.
Rows – Bent over Rows and cable rows
There are lots of variations of these exercises and I would recommend you examine further to get more ideas.
As you perform these exercises focus on keeping the intensity high. This requires using heavier weights (weights where you can only manage 6-10 reps) and taking less than 60 seconds rest between sets to maintain an elevated heart rate. I also recommend incorporating training techniques such as super sets where you go from one exercise straight to another then rest. This would be one set. A set of 10 reps of squats then performing 10 reps flat chest press immediately after is a good example of this. Using opposing muscle group exercises as your selections tends to have a better effect.
Therefore if want a change from the usual workouts then I strongly advise including free weights in your weekly workouts. The results might just surprise you.