The best exercises for weight loss – burn fat during and after

A list of the best exercises for weight loss – in order of effectiveness.

Plus a circuit with effective exercises to burn fat.

Making the most of your fat burning workout

If your goal is to lose fat then you definitely don’t want to waste time by doing less than optimal exercises. Losing fat is hard enough as it is!

Since you are reading this, it tells me that you are probably willing to do what it takes to get where you want to be, so I want to show you what works best for me and my clients

Before I list the best exercises for weight loss, realize that there are a few factors involved to determine what will work. First of all, it depends a lot on what shape you are currently in. For instance, are you able to do all-out sprints or 400m laps with 60s rest in between? Not many people are but if you are, then I’d say that this type of high intensity running is certainly your best method to lose fat, and you should make that the core of your workout.

Nothing trumps sprinting or interval running to burn fat but this article is not about running in all its different forms as a way to burn fat, but rather about the best exercises that you can do if your goal is to lose weight.

So, when I compiled this short list, I looked at the individual exercises that I know cause the most metabolic changes, i.e burns the most fat. If you are looking to start exercising or you are already working out but looking for the best exercises to reach your dream weight, then this is for you.

At the end of this post I provide you with a weight loss exercise circuit, incorporating some of the best exercises.

The best exercises for weight loss:

Man makers.

Despite the name, it is a great exercise for women too! It works great for burning fat while toning your arms and your shoulders.

This exercise is tough. It will send your heart rate through the roof which means you will maximize calorie burn. What is more is you will keep on burning calories long after the workout is done (EPOC).

The man maker combines different movements that taxes all the major muscle groups. This exercise is excellent especially if you are after that lean, toned athletic look.

How to do a man maker exercise:

Start by standing upright with a pair of dumbbells. Don’t go heavy. (Intermediate fit weight recommendation: Women: 4-6kg, Men: 8-10kg)

Squat
Push-up with dumbbells
Single Arm Row
Push-up with dumbbells
Single Arm Row (opposite arm)
Squat
Power Clean
Push-Press

This is not a quick exercise, so you will need patience, determination and be tough to do just 10 reps for more than one set. Aim to work up to three sets of 10 reps or if you are super advanced, two sets of 20 reps as part of your fat burning workout.

2. Mountain climbers

I love mountain climbers, but this hasn’t always been the case! It is one of those exercises which works best in slightly ridiculous high repetitions. If you do a few sets of them weekly or twice weekly, you might hate it while you are doing them, but rest assured that it is time spend really well.

While you are still busy to improve your overall fitness, they will be hard. In fact mountain climbers might feel like torture to some. Just push through, you’ll swear at me swear in your head while doing it, but you will thank me later.

You won’t know which body parts feels it the most because you will likely feel a massive burn in your shoulders, arms, glutes, abs and hip flexors all at he same time. This is good, because it means it targets some of the most important body parts- the spots where you want to look good.

How to do mountain climbers (Intermediate recommendation: 3 sets of 50-100 per leg)

Get into a straight arm plank position, making sure to distribute your weight evenly between your hands and your toes.
Your hands should be about shoulder-width apart, back straight, engage your core , and keep your head aligned.
Pull your knee into your chest as far as you can.
Then switch, pulling that knee out and bringing the other knee in.
Keeping your hips down, run your knees in and out as far and as fast as you can.
Keep your body relatively still, don’t bounce too much – try to move just your legs.

3. Plank twist with a dumbbell

The dumbbell side rotational exercise is a great because it raises your heart rate while seriously challenging your core. It is one of those exercises that, due to physiological differences, challenge women more than men. I have to admit, I don’t enjoy this one all that much, but I know it is effective and its a better option than your normal sit-ups or crunches ab workouts.

It is especially recommended if you have an ab separation , which often happens in women if they’ve been pregnant but can also be experienced by men who’ve been lifting heavy weights or gained a lot of weight. This common problem is called diastasis recti. This simply means the paired rectus abdominus muscle that runs vertically down each side of your abdomen has separated in the middle due to stretching of your abdominal muscles during pregnancy.

If you want to test if you have it lie flat on a mat with your knees bent. Place your hands in the middle of your abdomen near your navel as you do a crunch. If you feel a separation that’s more than three fingers wide, you probably have diastasis recti.

Ordinary abdominal exercises won’t help this problem and, in some cases, can make the problem worse. This rotational exercise is one of the best ab exercises there is.

How to do a plank twist: (Intermediate: 3-5kg Women, 5-8kg men)

Get into a side plank position by placing your right forehand on the ground.
Grab the dumbbell with your left hand.
Scoop the dumbbell underneath your torso then rotate your left arm and dumbbell towards the ceiling, straightening the arm.
Let your head follow your arm by looking at the dumbbell until it reaches the top, then go straight into the scooping motion again to repeat.

4. Side-to-side bench jumps (Slalom bench jumps)

There are two ways of doing this exercise, well there is more but I am giving you a safe version and a more difficult one. One version will have you keeping your hands on the bench and the other won’t. The latter is an advanced exercise. Please do not attempt it if you don’t do a lot of plyometric exercises frequently, are athletic and fit.

Either way, you now have a exercise that will deplete glycogen quickly and burn many, many calories during the aftermath. Done properly, you will feel it the rest of the day. It might leave you ravishing hungry because your body will want to repair all and get back to a state of equilibrium.

This is good since it means you will expend a lot more calories because of your raised metabolism. Just be prepared, otherwise you might give in to bad food choices that will render your efforts ineffective.

You want to give your body nutrients and the best way to get this is from real food. Include copious amounts of vegetables in your meals and be sure to include some good fats like those found in fish, olives and nuts (sparingly). Saturated fats from sources such as free range eggs or red meat in moderation as part as a sensible diet may be a good choice to help recovery and keeping hunger at bay.

How to do side bench jumps (Recommended version)

Stand next to bench and grasp both sides.
Keeping feet together jump over bench landing on both feet on opposite side.
Continue to grasp bench as you hop over from side to side, keeping feet close together

How to do side to side bench jumps (Advanced version)

Set up a bench and stand next to it so your hip is facing the long side
Jump over the bench side to side with no rest in between jumps

Okey, if you are up to it, using slalom jumps at the core, here is one of the hardest circuits you can do. Again, do it at your own peril.

Treadmill- Sprint for 45 Seconds on a 8% Incline at Your Fastest Speed.
Jump Rope- 30 Seconds.
Slalom Jumps over a Bench- 15 Reps Each Side (30 Total Reps) as Fast as Possible.
Women 18-24″, Men 24-36″ Plyo-Box Jumps- 15 Reps as Fast as You Can.
Rest 1 Minute;
Repeat this Circuit 2 more times

Want another circuit that will burn huge amounts of fat? Here it is:

This calisthenic circuit include many other effective weight loss exercises that you can use.

Warm-up: Jog 1 mile at RPE 5

10 x Squat jumps
30 x Jump lunges
30 x Mountain climbers
25 x Burpees (No push-up)
Inch worm for 1 min
20 x Hip Extensions
10 x Push-ups (Men do clap push-ups*)
50 x Jumping Jacks
10 x each leg Pistol squats (women*) or knee touch squats (men)
Rest 2min. Repeat 2 more times.

Notes:

I did not include man-makers in this circuit, nor side-rotational plank. This circuit works great as it is. Rather use these excluded exercises as part of a full body workout on a another day.

*Men can do pistol squats if they want, I just find that men typically struggle more than women with this exercise. Like wise with knee-touch squats or clap push-ups. Women, feel free to do them, but it might be better to first try it as a stand-alone exercise, rather than in a circuit.

Want to swap some exercises for others? Feel free to ask this or any questions and I’ll see if I can help.