Ways To Burn More Calories Through Exercise

You may have dropped pounds at the onset of your exercise regimen, but that dreaded weight-loss plateau occurs when your body adapts to a routine and fights you when you try to shed those last few pounds. While you can't fully control your metabolism, you still have a say in how many calories you burn. You just need to embrace change and spice up your old workout routine.

Boost Intensity

Picking up the pace will help you burn calories at a faster rate. For example, if your normal jog speed on the treadmill is about 5 mph, boost the intensity to 5.5 or 6 mph. You will burn up to 50 percent more calories if you stop working out on level ground and graduate to stairs or a treadmill incline, according to "Fitness" magazine. But don't set yourself up for early burnout; go a bit faster for a week. Then, if you feel as though you can handle an extra challenge, increase your treadmill incline to a 5-percent grade.

Do Intervals

Alternate between a leisure pace and bursts of rapid activity within the same session to burn more calories without burning out. Training in intervals keeps your body -- and your mind -- consistently challenged. You can exercise in prescribed intervals, such as 30 seconds of sprinting after every two minutes of jogging, or change it up every day. For example, sprint for 30 seconds every time you walk past a red mailbox or every time you see an ad for chips.

Go Farther

Extending your exercise session by even a few minutes can help you burn more calories. Additionally, the longer each exercise session, the more calories your body will burn after you're done working out. Prolonging an unpleasant experience is difficult, so find an activity that energizes you and makes your exercise feel less like a burden. For example, skip running indoors on a treadmill and hit a nature trail if fresh pine air invigorates you.

Break It Up

Don't fret if you don't have time to work out an hour at a time. Doing two 25-minute exercise sessions per day can burn off more calories than doing 50 straight minutes because your body uses more energy to start each workout than it does sustaining it, according to Health Services at Columbia University. Your body also burns more calories in the "afterburn" of intermittent exercise sessions than it does after one continuous session.

Build Muscle

Muscle burns more calories than fat does, so incorporate muscle strengthening in your weekly routine. Set a goal to do two or three 20- or 30-minute strengthening sessions a week, including exercises such as pushups and crunches and targeting all major areas of your body. Incorporating more muscles into each workout, such as using the arm poles when working on an elliptical machine, will also help you build muscle.