4 Ways to Burn More Calories in Your Next Resistance Workout
Let me preface everything I am saying with the following:
These are four simple ways to burn more calories the next time you're in the gym. This is not advice for your cardio training. This is also not advice for a Strength or Explosive athlete or anything along those lines. These are four tips I believe the general population could use to help them burn more fat next time they are in the gym.
So, without further ado...let's get into it.
Tip # 1: Shorter Rest Periods
First easy way to burn more calories during your next time in the weight room is to simply take shorter rests. Posting on Instagram that you're at the gym or texting people may be a critical part of the workout but let's keep it at a minimum if fat burn is your goal.
Simply try your next workout with rest periods no longer than one minute between sets and different exercises. I guarantee you will notice a significant difference.
Tip #2: Supersets
To piggyback on my first note, Supersets are a great way to increase caloric expenditure in your workout. A superset is a combination of exercises performed without any rest in between the sets. The two exercises could be working the same muscle group or completely different ones (depending on goal).
For example, I could do some normal weighted squats. Dumbbell, Barbells, Kettlebell...doesn't matter. Say I pick up a weight and I perform 8 repetitions with the weight and it's tough. Without resting, I could transition to some Bodyweight Squats without the weight and keep the burn in my legs going. Or I could transition to some burpees for a more cardio based effect. Whatever you're going for, supersets are a great way to get there. I personally love these and include supersets whether for cardio or muscle endurance in almost every clients workout.
Tip #3: Standing vs Sitting (No machines)
The next time I see someone performing a seated exercise while on their phone, I'm actually going to lose my mind. When I worked at a big box gym, these were always the people who asked about their lack of results to trainers. This isn't meant to be rude in any way- this is the just the truth of what would happen.
Get off your butt! Why are you sitting on a machine?
There absolutely is a time and place for machines but if you find yourself wandering the gym floor from machine to machine...this may be the most valuable point for you.
Learn exercises. No seated shoulder press- Grab some dumbbells and stand up and press them overhead. No Leg Press machine as your substitute- learn how to squat properly.
You will recruit your core muscles better and burn much more calories from doing this. go read through your routine and see if there are any exercises you could do standing instead of sitting. I'm willing to bet there's a lot.
Tip #4: Don't fear the weight
What am I talking about? I'm talking about how when people tell me they want to lean out they start going for higher reps. Look, this could work fine (theoretically) but there are way better reasons in my opinion to use a higher rep range. (For example- first learning an exercise, burnout, drop set, etc.)
What I mean is, when you are resistance training- using dumbbells, barbells, cables, etc. you will be able to recruit muscle fibers and burn plenty of calories. However, if the stimulus is not enough or the exercise is not adequately difficult, you will not reap all the benefits.
For example, if you can Barbell Curl 65 lbs. for 10 repetitions, peace of cake...maybe up that intensity...
People always assume, "Oh I'm "cutting" I should try doing 65 lbs for 20 reps instead."
Or my favorite "I don't want to get bulky by lifting all that heavy weight"
Look, you're not going to get huge over a few sets- otherwise we would just have bodybuilders walking around everywhere. That's first off. You would notice yourself gaining size and then you could tone it back.
But in general, lifting lighter weights for more reps will simply reduce the stimulus in most cases.
No stimulus= No change. Simple as that.
There you have it folks! 4 Ways to Burn More Calories In Your Next Resistance Workout. Try these out and let me know about your results! I'd love to chat with any of you!
And if you're in the Woodland Hills area- I invite you to come do a workout with me. I would love to help you on your fitness journey.