The top fat burning exercises for men are not always the most fun. In fact, they can be downright brutal. However, they target men's bodies to produce more of the potent fat burning hormones known as testosterone and HGH. It is no coincidence that many of these exercises are also great muscle builders. Building lean muscle contributes to fat burning because muscle is metabolically active, meaning that it burns calories at rest. Add some top fat burning exercises to your workout program to lose weight fast and accelerate your fitness goals.
Hybrid Exercises
Hybrid exercises combine one or more movements into one, such as the clean and press exercise. Start with a barbell on the floor, gripping with palms down and shoulder-width apart, and lift the bar off of the ground with a controlled power movement. As you do this keep your lower back arched and end with your palms facing up as your elbows flair out to brace the bar at collar bone level. Then with a controlled movement press the weight overhead until just short of elbow lockout. Return the bar to the ground and repeat. Hybrid exercises cause blood shunting which, according to strength expert Elliot Hulse of LeanHybridMuscle.com, builds muscle fast and elevates metabolic rate. Other great hybrid exercises include the squat press, the overhead squat and overhead lunge.
Barbell Squats
According to "The Best Muscle-Building Moves of All Time" by Chris Logan, squats are the number one exercise for muscle building and fat burning because they target the large leg muscles with heavy resistance. In response, men's bodies produce more testosterone and GH or growth hormone, which are potent fat burners.
To do these correctly you start with a barbell resting on your upper back and gripping it with your hands shoulder-width apart or wider. Bend your knees as you squat down as if sitting on a chair until your thighs are parallel to the ground or slightly lower. Keep your back arched and your head up throughout the movement, never letting your knees pass the plane of your toes. To supercharge your squats for fat burning do 20-rep sets with a challenging weight.
Deadlifts
Deadlifts also trigger fat burning through hormone production. Start with a barbell against your shins, feet shoulder width apart and hands about the same, gripping the bar with one palm up and the other down. Switch hand positions occasionally to keep the body balanced. Bend your knees and drop your back side to initiate the movement and pick the bar up off of the ground by driving your hips forward and your shoulder blades back. The bar should finish at about mid-shin level. Lower the bar to the ground under control and repeat. To really get the fat burning with these, try rest/pause style sets. This means doing nine reps to exhaustion, resting 15 seconds, doing about 6 more, resting 20 seconds and finishing with as many reps as you can do.
Compound Lifts
Next to hybrid exercises, squats and deadlifts, these have the most profound effect on fat burning and muscle building, according to "3-D Muscle Building." A common example is the bench press, done by lying on a flat bench and lowering a barbell to your chest-line, then pressing it back up to full arm extension. According to "The Ultimate Mass Workout," the best compound lifts for each muscle group are decline bench press for chest, V-handle pull-ups or pull-downs for back, upright rows for shoulders, decline close-grip bench press for triceps and barbell curls for biceps.
Do any of these exercises in NA or negative-accentuated style to burn more fat for up to 72 hours following your workout. "Xtreme Lean" recommends doing these by lowering the weight to a slow six-second count on every repetition of one set, preferably your last set of any exercise.
References
- LeanHybridMuscle.com; Lean Hybrid Muscle Newsletter; Elliot Hulse
- "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2005
- "3-D Muscle Building"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2006
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
- Muscle & Performance; "The Best Muscle-Building Moves of All Time"; Chris Logan, May 2010
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