Losing weight requires a healthy diet, aerobic exercise and weight training. The better these activities are done, the faster you'll see results. When it comes to exercise, some activities can burn fat more efficiently and result in faster weight loss. But before starting or changing your exercise routine, particularly with a goal of fast weight loss, consult with a doctor.
Fat Burning Aerobic Activity
To burn fat, you need to do aerobic activity in your target heart rate range, which is within 50 to 85 percent of your resting heart rate. You can visit the American Heart Association online or check with your local gym for target heart rate range recommendations. Another option is to use perceived exertion. On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being no exertion and 10 being maximum exertion, you want a workout between a 7 and an 8. Whichever scale you use, you should exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. For optimum health benefits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends five hours of moderate aerobic activity a week, or an average of one hour a day, five days a week. Exercises that burn fat quickly include running, using elliptical machines and stair steppers, and taking aerobic classes.
Total Body Workout
To achieve the most burn for your effort, choose fat burning activities that utilize more than one muscle group. Swimming and rowing both use multiple upper and lower body movements to burn fat and build muscle. It's like getting two workouts in one. Other good ways to exercise more than one muscle group include running, which uses core muscles, and working out on an elliptical machine, which involves arms, shoulders and back.
Interval Training
Interval training can burn lots of calories in a short period of time, notes the Mayo Clinic. Interval training involves alternating your workout intensity between high and low activities. An interval workout can use traditional aerobic activities, such as running, in which you run hard and fast for a minute -- perceived exertion 9 or 10 -- and then at a slower pace -- perceived exertion 5 -- for a minute, alternating for a total of 20 minutes. Or you can participate in activities that naturally involve changing intensities, such as tennis or basketball.
Strength Training
When people think about burning fat, they don't usually think about building muscle. However, studies show that the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn, even in your everyday activities and at rest. Include at least two days of strength training in your workout schedule. Target all muscle groups, including quadriceps, hamstrings, abs, back, shoulders and arms. Vary your strength exercises to be sure you include all the muscles and avoid overuse injury. For example, instead of doing a biceps curl all the time, vary it by doing a hammer curl.
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