The Winning Combo of Muscle Building
and High-Intensity Interval Training
In today's fast-paced world, it is important to lead a healthy and balanced life style. It seems that fitness and healthy eating have become a trend. Whether you are getting beach-ready or want to maintain your figure throughout the cold months, this article will highlight the best exercises you can perform to shred fat fast! These recommended exercises are suitable for both men and woman.
One of the secrets of burning fat fast is to incorporate muscle building exercises with cardio, more specifically, high-intensity interval training, or HIIT. If you were to represent this in the form of a simple equation, it looks like this:
Muscle building + HIIT = Burning fat FAST!
Ready to exercise? Don't forget to take a towel and water bottle to gym. If you want to exercise in the comfort of your own home, these two items are still a must.
1. Dumbbell Lunges
Targeted area: Legs 
Targeted muscles: Quadriceps (calves, glutes and hamstrings)
Type: Muscle building
How? Stand up right with one dumbbell in each hand by your sides. Step forward with your right leg and bend your left leg into a 90 degree angle until it is close the floor. Come back up to your starting position and repeat with your left leg.
Benefits: This simple exercise can make a big impact. It is ideal for improving full-body strength and balance. For beginners, you may do simple lunges without dumbbells and as you progress you can add them.
Do 3 sets of 10 reps per leg.
2. Crunches & Pushups
Targeted area: Chest and abdominal
Targeted muscles: Chest, shoulders, triceps and abdominal
Type: HIIT
How? For crunches, lie on an exercise mat on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent. Place your hands behind your head and hold your elbows out to the side. Now curl forward so that your upper body lifts off the floor. Hold it for a moment and go back down. Try to keep your feet flat on the floor.
For pushups, get into a plank position with your hands firm on the ground. Lower your body and then push back up. Keep your elbows close to the body; the angle that the upper arms make in relation to the torso should be no more than 45 degrees.
Benefits: Crunches help to define and strengthen your core/abdominal muscles. This simple exercise helps to improve your balance and posture. Pushups will assist in strengthening and toning the targeted muscles such as chest, shoulders and triceps. A big plus: you don't need to go to the gym to do these exercises, you can also do them at home.
Do 30 seconds of each, rest for 10 seconds and repeat 4 times.
3. Squats
Targeted area: Quadriceps
Targeted muscle:Calves, glutes, hamstrings and lower back.
Type: HIIT
How? Place your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart with your toes facing forward. Lower your body by pushing your hips back and bending your knees. Don't let your knees go over your toes and try to keep a neutral spine. Pause, and then lift back up to your starting position.
Benefits: Squats help to build muscle all over and burn fat fast! Squats are functional and help reinforce mobility.
Perform for 30 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat 4 times.
4. Deadmill Sprints
Targeted area: Quadriceps
Targeted muscle: Glutes and hamstrings
Type: HIIT
How? Deadmill sprints are like your normal interval sprints on the treadmill, but with a twist! The treadmill must be switched off.
Benefits: This forces you to push against the machine and increases your metabolism. This exercise is not easy, but it is guaranteed to burn fat fast!
Sprint for 15 seconds, rest for 30 seconds rest and repeat 8 times.
5. Rope Jumping
Targeted Area: Quadriceps
Targeted Muscle: Calves and hamstrings
Type: Muscle building & HIIT
How? Hold the skipping rope handles in each hand. Use your hands and wrists to swing the rope over your head. When the rope comes towards the front of your feet, jump over it and repeat.
Benefits: It's a full body workout, you can do it anywhere and it is fun!
Perform for 1 minute and repeat 8 times... without resting between the sets.
So there you have it, a simple guide to burning fat fast! These five easy steps will ensure that you are fit and trim, come summer or winter. Don't forget to eat healthy by creating a meal plan that includes a balanced diet, as well as drinking lots of water.
