When it comes to caloric expenditure, not all lower body workouts are created equal. To accelerate calorie burning in your leg sessions, the majority of the exercises should be compound, or mulit-joint, movements. Additional calories are expended by increasing workout duration and/or training volume, and by decreasing rest time between exercises. By implementing any or all of these changes, the body's metabolic rate remains elevated longer following the workout session, which will further aid in caloric expenditure.
Burn More Calories with Lower Body Workouts
Step 1
Structure your lower body exercise program around compound movements. Compound movements involve more than one joint and substantially more musculature than isolation exercises. They require more energy to execute, burning more calories. Examples of lower body compound movements are squats, lunges, and deadlifts, which can all be performed with dumbbells or barbells. Each of these exercises involves muscles that cross the ankle, knee, and hip, ultimately leading to increased energy expenditure. Conversely, training with isolation exercises like the leg extension or calf raise will only require muscular effort at the knee and ankle respectively.
Step 2
Decrease rest periods between sets. To maximize the amount of calories burned during a resistance-training session, you need to work more and rest less. Use your watch to limit rest between sets to 30 to 60 seconds. Often we use our intuition to start a set, wait too long, and leave the body idle, burning significantly fewer calories than it would during active sets.
Step 3
Increase workout duration. When you shave time from your rest periods, you will have additional time to exercise. Fill this time by adding an additional set to each exercise you perform or by including a new exercise.
Step 4
Increase training volume. Volume is equal to weight times reps times sets. By increasing any of these variables, you will burn more calories in your lower body workout session.
Step 5
Reap the benefits of Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). Compound movements and high-intensity resistance training contribute to a longer period of EPOC than isolation movements and low-intensity training. The body's caloric expenditure remains elevated after you have stopped working out in an effort to resynthesize fuel sources, replenish oxygen stores, and repair damaged tissues.
Things You'll Need
- Dumbbells
- Squat Rack
- Watch
References
- Strength Training; National Strength & Conditioning Association; Lee Brown (Ed.); 2007
- Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning; Baechle et. al.; 2008
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