Bonus: These moves may also jump-start a lagging metabolism, which means you’ll burn more calories throughout the rest of the day—and even while you sleep!
1. Rehydrate with Cold H2O
Hot outside? Grab the coldest bottle of water you can find. According to a British study, exercisers who drank refrigerated water (39°F) worked out about 25% longer than those who consumed the same amount of warmer water—and they said their exercise sessions felt easier too. Whether you're indoors or out, sipping chilled water both before and during exercise may help keep your body temperature down and your energy up for maximum calorie burn.
Quench your thirst with these refreshing and slimming smoothie recipes!
2. Swing Those Arms
Turn your walk into a calorie-torching workout by bending your elbows 90 degrees and pumping your arms as you stride. It not only automatically speeds up your pace but also helps you burn up to 15% more calories every time you work out.
For proper pumping: Trace an arc from your waist to your chest as you swing. Your thumbs should come close to touching your waistband as your elbow goes backward. Also, make sure to keep elbows in and don't let hands cross past the middle of your chest (in front of your sternum). Too much side-to-side motion drags down your pace.
It's not too late! Get sexy arms to show off this summer with this 10-minute routine.
3. Pop in Your Headphones
If you work out to music you probably know this, but a recent study proves it: Listening to your favorite playlist can help you to go up to 20% longer and burn more calories, according to research from West London's Brunel University. Music blocks fatigue, produces feelings of vigor, and helps you keep pace by synchronizing your movements.
12 more ways to power up your exercise for a healthier you.
4. Put on Some Weight
To really rev your calorie burn, it is not about the number of reps so much, but the size of the weight. Even when exercisers in a study lifted identical volumes (such as 10 pounds 10 times, or 20 pounds 5 times), those using the heavier dumbbells burned about 25% more calories when they were done. Here’s a more scientific explanation: Heavy weights create more protein breakdown in the muscle, so your body has to use more energy to repair and recover—which is how lean muscle tissue is built. Just don’t rely on momentum; keep the movement controlled by counting to 4 during the lowering phase of the move.
More exercise tips to help you lose those last 10 stubborn pounds.
5. Break up Your Sets
Instead of performing 2 or 3 sets of a single exercise before moving to the next one, do a circuit: Complete just 1 set and then immediately move to the next exercise, repeating the circuit 2 or 3 times. When researchers had testers do either standard strength-training (3 sets of 6 exercises with 2 minutes of rest in between) or circuit-training (moving through a series of 6 exercises 3 times, with 30 seconds of rest in between), the circuit-trainers burned nearly twice as many calories postworkout as the standard-style lifters. The reason: Because your heart rate stays elevated longer after circuit-training, you continue burning fat as though you were still exercising.
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6. Head Outside
Besides the fresh air, better scenery, and never, ever having to wait for a machine, heading outside can give your workout a major boost. Research finds that exercisers burn 10% more calories when they walk or run outdoors than they do on a treadmill at the same speed. You use more energy to propel yourself over the ground, and pushing a little against the wind or other elements burns more calories, too.
Try these fun outdoor calorie-burning workouts.
7. Or Crank up the Incline
If bad weather or extreme heat forces you indoors, challenge yourself on the treadmill. By increasing the incline a few levels (my personal preference is steep and slow—great butt toning) you could burn up to 60% more calories. And when you come back down to earth, walking will feel soooo much easier.
Blast fat with this treadmill workout.
8. Log at Least 12 Minutes
Any amount of cardio will burn calories, but to really shed pounds, you need at least 12 minutes (beyond a warm-up) of continuously moderate to high-intensity activity (where you're breathing somewhat hard) most days a week. That's the amount necessary to create a training effect, which improves your body's ability to use oxygen and generate more fat-burning enzymes, such as lipase, so you can blast more flab during exercise and other activities all day. (Try programming 12 minutes of energizing tunes into your playlist). It works for me!)
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9. Don't Skip Stretching
For years I was terrible about stretching (I’ve been known to duck out of a class early just to avoid the cool-down), but that’s a mistake I don’t make anymore. Stretching keeps your muscles flexible, helping to prepare them for exercise and recover from the effort afterward. Skip the stretches, and you won't get nearly the benefits you should from cardio and resistance training.
Avoid these 6 workout mistakes that slow down results.
More Calorie-Burning Strategies From Prevention:
Eat To Get Slim – Delicious Recipes For Every Day
10 Morning Meals That Will Keep You Full 'Til Lunch
Shrink Your Belly With Food
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