Three of the best fat burning exercises that are also great for building a lean toned body are the pull up, the single leg squat and the scorpion. The problem with these exercises is they are too challenging or intimidating for a majority of women (and even some men). The great news is you can modify all of them and make them more fun, less difficult, and a whole lot more effective for fatloss and a lean toned body. Here’s how:
The Pullup - according to Women’s Health, "the pull up also known as the chin up or the bodyweight row is considered the holy grail of fitness". It’s one of THE best total body exercises for fatloss and toning. Not only does it burn tons of calories, it also eliminates arm jiggle, back fat, and love handles. The pull up also has the power to reverse forward shoulder rotation and improve posture which can prevent painful shoulder injuries and make you look 5-10 lb. leaner. It’s often used by physical therapists for low back pain treatment.
The Problem: Traditional pullups on bars are impossible for most women. Using an assist (machines or bands) is helpful but robs you of serious fat burning potential and turns workout time into total drudgery. Holding negatives rarely translates to you being able to do a pullup plus it leads to nasty painful calluses.
Solution: Try a more dynamic pullup like the ones in the Jukari video. Not only will you burn more fat, you will build a functional core and total body strength that helps you perform daily activities with ease. No Jukari workout in your area? You can do many Jukari style exercises at home with exercise straps or a suspension trainer.
The Single Leg Squat – also known as the pistol is the go to fatloss exercise of all the best fitness experts. It targets your entire lower body especially the glutes, inner thighs, and hips. It improves balance, hip and knee stability and engages the entire core. It works like a squat and a lunge combined and is much more demanding which means your body burns more calories while doing it.
The Problem: Most people don’t have the hip stability/flexibility or leg strength to execute this correctly. Most people feel knee, back and hip pain when doing it. A majority of people don’t have the core stability or balance to get full range of motion on this exercise.
Solution: Try the leg in back supported version (3rd exercise featured in the video below). Simple, safe, and burns tons of fat and calories while incorporating the dynamic pullup mentioned above. Remember that any time you can combine two fat burning exercises your body burns even more fat and calories in less time.
The Scorpion - also known as the scorpion stretch is a phenomenal exercise used by many athletes and trainers for improving performance and boosting fatloss. It increases hip mobility, corrects postural imbalances, and stretches the entire back and upper body.
The Problem: This exercise is typically performed laying face down on the floor but most people are so tight in the hip flexors, back and chest that lifting the leg and twisting around to the other side causes serious pain or requires serious cheating making the exercise pointless.
Solution: Try the suspended scorpion (2nd exercise featured in the video here). Not only does this version automatically improve range of motion is also teaches you to engage your core the way it was designed to work and it strengthens and tones the entire upper body and burns heaps of fat and calories.
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