A Faster Way to Burn Fat

by CHAD WATERBURY on AUGUST 18, 2010

In order to melt body fat, you can’t do things halfway. When your goal is fast fat loss through exercise you must generate the highest metabolic cost possible. It’s imperative to full-body workouts in order to create an oxygen debt which, in turn, stimulates your body to burn more calories and fat (especially after you stop training). Most people just jog on a treadmill or maybe run a few sprints to burn fat. Think of any typical cardio exercise and I’ll bet it’s a lower-body exercise (sprints, jogging, biking, hiking, etc). But there’s a much better, faster way to see your abs. (Don’t forget, eating the right foods is essential, too.)

While training, the key is to do high intensity cardio that stimulates your upper- and lower-body muscles in the same workout. If you just run, no matter how fast, you’re only get half the results you could be getting if you simply added in an upper body exercise. The problem is, people don’t equate upper body exercises with cardio so they don’t know how to supercharge their fat loss.

The best upper body cardio exercise is boxing since it works virtually every upper body muscle and your core. It has a very high metabolic cost, too. The cool part about boxing is that you don’t need to be good at it to see quick results. Just get a pair of 16-ounce gloves, throw punches and hooks against a bag or in the air, and voila, you’re on your way to a leaner, fitter body.

Why not skip the gloves and just throw your punches without gloves? Two reasons. First, those seemingly light 16-ounce gloves make your muscles work significantly harder. Second, wearing boxing gloves creates a psychological response akin to combat. Those gloves put your mind in a state that’s ready for action!

Here’s a sample fat-burning workout that you can do after lifting weights or on a separate day. I’ve had everyone from Playboy playmates to professional fighters strip off body fat with this style of training. It’s awesome. I prefer to do all training outdoors so that’s what I’ll outline first. Then I’ll show you how to modify the workouts for home or gyms.

Warm-up: start with a few minutes of rope jumping, foam roller exercises, or mobility drills to prepare your muscles. Once your body feels ready, it’s time to turn on the juice.

Workout (outdoors): sprint for 50 yards, then jog backward to the starting line. As soon as you return, put on boxing gloves and throw punches (shadow boxing) for one minute. It’s essential that you move around while punching, don’t just stand in place. After a minute of shadow boxing, slip off your gloves and perform another 50 yard sprint followed by a backward jog to the starting point. Continue with this sprint/shadow boxing combination for 10 rounds (about 15 minutes’ worth of work). If you’re in better condition, do it for 15 rounds.

1A Sprint 50 yards
No rest
1B Jog backward to starting line
Rest 15 seconds (enough time to slip on boxing gloves)
1C Shadow box for one minute
Rest 30 seconds (enough time to slip off boxing gloves) and repeat 1A-1C 9-14 more times

Workout (indoors): sprint on a treadmill or in place for 10 seconds followed by 20 jumping jacks. Next, slip on the gloves and hit a bag or shadow box for one minute while moving around. Continue with this sequence for 10-15 rounds.

1A Sprint on a treadmill or in place for 10 seconds
No rest
1B 20 jumping jacks
Rest 15 seconds (enough time to slip on boxing gloves)
1C Hit a bag or shadow box for one minute
Rest 30 seconds (enough time to slip off boxing gloves) and repeat 1A-1C 9-14 more times

There are endless combinations of full-body cardio workouts that can melt body fat, but the sprinting/boxing combo is an excellent change of pace. It’s worth mentioning that just a private session or two with a qualified boxing instructor can make these workouts even more enjoyable and effective. If you’re going to put in the work, you might as well do it right. Who knows, honing your boxing skills might come in handy someday.

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