Top 10 Fat Burning Exercises

To burn as much fat as possible when you exercise, you need to use large groups of muscles with every move and make sure you're working your whole body. Strength training and HIIT (high intensity interval training) are the best types of fat burning exercises and they build muscle which boosts your metabolism.

Plyometric exercises are also great because the explosive movements increase power and control.

Don't forget to warm up first so that your body is ready and you can push yourself to the limit, and cool down gradually after to lessen the risk of injury. You need hardly any equipment to do these exercises, just your body and a mat, so they're easy to do at home and don't take much time. You officially have no excuse not to work out!

Burpees

Yes, we know they're the worst, but that's because they work. Burpees really get your heart pumping and exercise your arms, legs and core all at the same time. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and squat, then put your hands flat on the floor and jump your legs back. Do a press up, then bring your feet back up to your hands, go back into squat position, and jump.

Start slowly if it's been a while by stepping back into press-up position one foot at a time, and keep your jump gentle until you feel comfortable.

Clap Push-Up

Start in a normal push-up position and lower yourself down until your chest is a couple of inches from the floor. Push as hard as you can against the floor, keeping your back straight the whole time. There's no need to actually clap until you're confident you can do it – just let your hands briefly leave the floor and then drop back.

The explosive power of this exercise builds the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and upper arms, expands the mobility in your shoulders and burns more fat than a normal push up.

Mountain Climbers

To do a mountain climber, first get into plank position. Keeping your left foot on the floor, bring your right knee up towards your chest as far as it will go. Then step your right foot back to plank and bring your left knee up towards your chest. Keep switching back and forth as fast as you can.

Supporting your body works your arms here, while bringing your knees up keeps your abs engaged and works your legs, making it a total fat burning exercise.

Bicycle Crunch

Somebody took the crunch and made it even more brutal, and we're grateful. To do a bicycle crunch, bring your shoulders off the mat in the normal way and then lift your left knee and bring your right elbow across your body to touch it. Swap sides.

Doing this keeps your core constantly engaged to hold you in place, and also exercises the external obliques at the side of your waist. It's the best exercise to work all your core muscles, which means it burns more fat than a single-muscle exercise.

Bridge with Leg Lift

Lie on your back on the mat with knees bent and feet planted. Tighten your core muscles and raise your hips off the floor until your body is a straight line from shoulders to knees. Gradually bring your right leg up until it is in line with your body, then bring it back down and swap legs.

Unlike the others, this exercise burns more fat at a slow and controlled pace. That's because you have to tense your muscles for longer and can't rely on momentum to help you move your legs.

Side Plank

To do this exercise, lie on your front on the mat, then push up so you're supporting your weight on your forearms and toes. Roll to the right so that your weight is resting on the side of your right foot and right arm, and stretch your left arm above you. Hold for thirty seconds, then go back to the starting position and repeat on the left side.

The side plank builds the muscles in your abs and back, which will give you better posture and go on burning fat even when you're sitting at your desk.

Lunge Jumps

Step your left foot forward into the lunge position, keeping your knees loose. Push through your heels into a jump, switching legs in midair and landing with your right leg forward. Keep switching legs as quickly as possible, keeping your back straight the whole time.

Lunges are already a good fat-burning exercise, but powering them up with a jump means you burn more calories and work the muscles even harder. Jump lunges target your glutes, quadriceps and core and are great for stability.

Jumping Rope

Steady-state cardio doesn't use up that many calories, but short bursts of exercise are ideal for burning fat and strengthening your cardiovascular system. Jumping rope is a fast exercise – if you were running you'd have to do an eight-minute mile to keep up – and strengthens the upper and lower body.

If you're afraid of hitting something in your apartment, don't worry about the rope – doing the movement is the important bit. So long as you're moving your arms and legs at the same time and getting your heart rate up, you're burning calories.

Jumping Jacks

They might make you feel like you're back at school, but jumping jacks are an amazing fat burning exercise. They're great for your cardiovascular system, getting your heart and lungs working and pumping oxygen around your body.

To get the full calorie burning benefit, make them part of an interval workout. Do as many jumping jacks as you possibly can in 30 seconds – you should be breathing so hard that conversation would be difficult – then jog on the spot for 30 seconds to recover. Alternate ten times.

High Knee Skips

Hop on your right leg while bringing your left knee up towards your chest, then switch legs. Try to jump as high as you can to get the most cardiovascular benefit from the exercise and burns as many calories as possible, and use your arms for balance to work the muscles in your arms as well as your legs.

Move as much as you can and use all the different muscle groups, and you'll burn off the fat in no time.