What are the Different Types of Fat Burning Workouts?

Excessive body fat is becoming an increasingly common problem for many people, primarily due to lack of exercise and the convenience of unhealthy fast foods. Being overweight can cause people to feel insecure about their looks, and lead to many health problems that shorten and diminish the overall quality of life. The most healthy and effective way for someone to lose weight and get fit is to incorporate a fat burning diet and fat burning workouts into his or her daily routine. Different types of these workouts include running or jogging, playing field sports, and circuit training.

In order to receive all the benefits of fat burning workouts, the heart needs to work within its target heart range. This range is calculated by subtracting the age of a person from 220 to find the maximum heart range — for example, the maximum heart range of a 50 year old is 170. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that a person trains within 50 to 85 percent of his or her maximum heart rate to receive the full benefit of a cardio workout. Also, the AHA recommends that a person receive at least 30 minutes of exercise five times a week to stay healthy.

Perhaps the most common type of exercise that people do to lose weight is to run. Running requires no specialized equipment and typically has the benefit of outdoor scenery and fresh air. A person can easily get his or her heart rate into the target range while running to help burn fat.

A person can get good fat burning workouts by playing sports, as well. Basketball, soccer, and football require a great deal of running and can get a person into his or her training heart rate without it feeling like work. It should be noted, however, that not all sports are equally effective fat burning workouts. While golfing and casual beach volleyball may be better than simply sitting around, they are not going to get the heart rate up like sports that require a person to frequently sprint across a field.

Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, meaning that it burns calories by just being on the body. This is why it is a good idea to also do strength training exercises when trying to burn fat. Circuit training is one of the best fat burning workouts because it gets the heart rate up into the training range, and it simultaneously builds fat-burning muscle. The basic idea with circuit training is that there needs to be very little down time in between sets to keep the heart rate up. Exercises typically are performed for 30 seconds before taking a 30-second break. Also, the muscles worked can be alternated to help prevent muscle fatigue from setting in and slowing a person down.