Burpees are an explosive full body movement, and also a form of body weight resistance training. These are performed by running in place, dropping to the ground, quickly get back to your feet. and resume running in place. That is considered 1 repetition. You may up the difficulty factor by adding a jump after you come back to your feet, and adding a push-up when you drop to the ground.

Set up a goal of performing x amount of burpees, and time how long it takes you to perform the total amount. This will fuel your motivation against the clock. A beginner may start with 20 while an athlete has a goal of 50.

Medicine Ball Walking Lunge and Wood chop

This is a total body exercise that also trains coordination, stability, balance, and proprioception (the body’s awareness of its environment). Combining all these skills creates a raised heart rate and is quick to make you sweat off some calories.

These are done by holding a medicine ball straight in front of you, and performing a lunge with your knee almost touching the ground. You can up the difficulty level by adding a twist to the side that is lunging.

Try to start by performing 16 (8 walking lunges on each leg) repetitions for 2 to 3 sets. Take only 30-45 seconds rest between sets and be sure to progress your endurance by add more repetitions and increase your strength with a heavier medicine ball.

Swimming is an amazing full body exercise, beginners will generally work at a higher intensity for a shorter duration burning more calories. Because of the shorter duration it is highly effective at maximizing your workout.

Experienced swimmers will maintain a high performance level maximizing the percentage of fat burned and will spend 45-60 or more minutes in the water.

4.)  Jogging

For beginners, it is wise to consult a fitness professional and find an introduction to running program because it is easy to burn out when it comes to jogging. The beginner will quickly hit the ceiling (anaerobic threshold). To force yourself at this level is the same as spinning  and burning up your carbohydrates (via the glycemic stores) and begin to burn muscle in the form of amino acids. (Proper nutrition for all of the exercises in this article is a must. Once again, a fitness profession, or a certified or registered nutritionist will assist you with this.)

When your anaerobic threshold increases so with your overall health and your fat burning ability, jogging is certainly an interval exercise for beginners, as your abilities increase you’ll be able to maintain a steady  fat burn. This exercise can then be combined with Interval Sprinting.

1) Interval Sprints

Studies have shown that sprinting increases a person’s speed, power, VO2 Max levels, endurance and fat loss. Sprinting in an interval program has a similar effect as weight lifting. Both are forms of anaerobic exercise, where the body relies on cellular production of energy rather than Oxygen. The bonus is that sprinting cause a high level of Excess Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). EPOC can simply be described as the body’s ability to continue to burn fat after the workout is complete. Fat becomes a high source of energy for the rest of the day after a quick and effective Interval Sprint program like below.

Sprint for 30 seconds, walk for 2 minutes, spring for 30 seconds, walk for 2 minutes, repeat 5-10 times.

2) Spinning

While many people may be afraid of a spinning class after seeing participants walk out soaking wet from their own sweat, there is a huge reason as to why this is an excellent for fat burning!

In one 45-60 minute session participants will burn 600-900 calories on average.

There is a distinction on how hard you should push yourself depending on your current abilities, and if you are targeting fat loss then you should read the following. There are three target zones to burn calories. In Zone 1, the body burns a higher percentage of fat and a lower percentage of carbohydrates. In Zone 2, the body burns a lower percentage of fat and a higher percentage of carbohydrates. In Zone 3, the body burns hardly any fat, a high percentage of carbohydrates (till carbs are depleted), and then begins to burn your existing muscle in the form of amino acids.

You can easily identify which training zone you are in by the Rate of Perceived Exertion model RPE or as I like to call it ROPE). Zone 1: you still have the ability to keep up with a conversation and you can easily to fairly easily breathe consistently through your nose. Zone 2: you can maintain conversation, but you have to start taking breathes between sentences and it is more difficult to breathe and you feel much better breathing through your mouth. Zone 3: It is highly difficult to maintain any conversation and nearly impossible to breathe through your nose.

All in all, in a 60 minute class interval within Zone 1 and Zone 2 to maximize your ability to burn off maximum fat calories.

Breakfast: Eggs, vegetables, whole grain toast, cereal, yogurt, protein shakes, fruit

- Breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day! Load up now so you’re burning it off later

Snack (4 hours later): Fruit, protein shake, granola bar, unsalted nuts

Lunch (4 hours later): Sandwich, salad, protein shake, fruit

Snack  (4 hours later): Fruit, protein shake, granola bar, unsalted nuts

Dinner (4 hours later): Chicken breast, fish, salad, pasta,vegetables

- Dinner should be smaller then your breakfast and lunch, since your day is coming to an end. I recommend making a big portion, then splitting it into equal portions so you can have it for lunch/dinner over the next few days!

Snack (an hour or so before bed) : Unsalted nuts, fruit, granola bar

Eating consistently throughout the day is the key to burning the most calories possible! Remember, nutrition is more then half of the battle in the war for our health and fitness! Don’t slack on what you’re eating because you are what you eat! Eat smart, eat healthy!

There are some things to note before you begin your gardening workout.  Make sure you stretch before beginning and if you lift heavy pots or plants, lift from your knees not your back!  For gardening and yard work to be effective it is said that you should get at least 30 minutes of gardening in.  However; if you are unable to get 30 minutes in, not to worry, if you perform these tasks periodically throughout the day it is still worth doing.  The type of tasks you will need to complete if you are doing it for a shorter period of time are tasks like raking leaves or spreading compost.  So, get outside and have some fun while exercising!

Remember to consult with your doctor before beginning any new diet or exercise routine.

• low-fat whole grain breads, like rye and pumpernickel
• rice/pasta (no yolk) with veggie sauce
• raw or lightly steamed vegetables
• baked or mashed potatoes
• lean beef 
• lean pork
• fat-free hot dogs
• skim or 1% milk
• low fat cheese
• sorbet or sherbet
• low-fat ice cream

These are just a few suggestions that you could substitute into your current diet.  Remember to consult with your doctor before making any major changes to your diet!  With a healthy diet and exercise you should be able to see results!