Multi Joint Workout to Lose Fat

The standard way to lose fat has long been to hop on the elliptical or bike and peddle away. But there are ways to shed excess fat that are effective and far more interesting than logging miles on a treadmill. Multi-joint exercises that are normally reserved for building muscle strength and size can also be used to elevate your heart rate and burn lots of calories quickly. Including a multi-joint workout in your routine can boost fat loss and add variety to your weekly cardio grind.

  1. Multi-Joint Intensity

    • The key is to perform exercises that use multiple joints at a very high intensity. Multi-joint movements, like burpees, recruit several muscle groups at once and use more energy than isolated movements, such as bicep curls. Combine this with fast-paced, explosive motion and you can maintain an aerobic heart rate. Studies have shown that this type of continual full-body resistance and movement training can have a significant effect not only on calories burned during exercise, but also on the amount of calories used when the body is in a state of rest.

    Structure for Results

    • Structure your routine so that all the exercises are done at a high intensity. Doing three or four sets of a few reps might be good for strength training, but it just won’t elevate the heart rate enough to burn fat. Try doing multi-joint movements in circuits that progress from one exercise to the next with little or no rest. Perform a high number of reps quickly. Interval training, in which you work hard for 20 to 60 seconds and rest for 10 to 30 seconds, can also get your heart rate soaring and calories burning.

    Full-Body Workouts

    • Always perform a five- to 10-minute warm-up before doing multi-joint exercises to raise the core temperature of the muscles you are going to use. Then, to accelerate fat loss, perform the following round of exercises: burpees, pull-ups, mountain climbers, deadlifts, jumping jacks, clean-and-presses, alternating lunge jumps and kettlebell swings. Then cool down for another five to 10 minutes and stretch. Do this routine as a circuit with 10 reps per station. For a shorter bodyweight workout you can do anywhere, try doing 20-second intervals of pushups, squats, bear crawls and steam engines, with 10 seconds rest between each.

    Safety, Recovery and Diet

    • These exercises can be much more physically demanding than getting your cardio workout on a stationary bicycle. This makes them very effective, but can also place a lot more stress on your body. Explosive exercises like burpees and lunge jumps, for instance, can be harmful to your joints. It is important to never sacrifice form during these routines, and to only do them once or twice per week to avoid overtraining and injury. Also, proper nutrition is important for recovery as well as fat loss, so be sure to eat lean proteins and healthy carbs after each exercise session.