Simple Exercise Plan That Works to Burn Body Fat

Exercise plans to burn fat shouldn't be complicated. The best plan is the one you can stick to without burning out or being overwhelmed. In order to reduce your body fat in a realistic and sustainable way, it's important to realize it will take time, consistent effort and resilience. The key is to work out regularly, three to five times a week, making each workout tough challenging enough to stimulate your body to change.

  1. Upper-Body Workouts

    • The best program to burn body fat will focus on each area of the body once or twice per week; include a couple of full-body sessions as well. Ideally, you would work on your upper body twice a week using weights. Key upper-body exercises include the bench press, dumbbell shoulder press, pullups or lat pulldowns, and bent-over rows. Perform six to seven exercises for three sets of 10 repetitions per exercise. Do this twice a week with weights as challenging as you can manage.

    Lower-Body Workouts

    • Twice a week is also ideal for working the lower body. The best lower-body exercises to burn fat are big movements like squats, deadlifts, lunges, leg press and leg extensions. Not only will does weight lifting help to burn fat, but it also tones and strengthens the muscles -- a double whammy as you are trying to transform your body. Perform six to seven exercises for three sets of 10 repetitions per exercise. Work with weights that are as heavy as you can manage while still maintaining good form. Always aim to add one more repetition or a little more weight in order to continue progress.

    Cardio

    • Smart cardio workouts are also key to burning body fat. Brief, tough cardio workouts trigger your hormones to release stored fat during your workouts. Including two of these per week will greatly increase the rate at which you are burning body fat, and they don't have to take up much time at all. In fact, if it suits your schedule, you can follow your upper-body workouts with these short cardio sessions (also known as high intensity interval training, or HIIT) in order to do fewer total workouts. A prime example of a HIIT is running -- or any other form of cardio -- as hard as you can for 20 seconds, then resting for 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat this eight to 10 times for your workout. Studies have found these workouts to be as effective in terms of calorie burning as longer cardio sessions.

    Weekly Routine and Other Factors

    • An example of your weekly workout schedule looks like this: Monday is an upper-body workout and HIIT session; Tuesday is lower body; Wednesday is a rest day; Thursday is your second upper-body workout and aHIIT session; Friday is your second lower-body; Saturday and Sunday are rest days. Finally, in order to really get the most out of your workout program, make sure you are getting as much sleep as you can -- 8 or 9 hours a night -- and eating well. Avoid processed foods and anything with lots of added sugar and salt. Focus on consuming lean meats, eggs and nuts, with lots of vegetables, fruit and healthy grains.