Best exercise routine for fat burning (not weight loss)?

Okay, like many of our fellow forumites, I'm in the process of getting in shape. I started just over a year ago and have made good progress generally, but slower than I'd like, and slower than is realistically possible, from what I gather. So I'm looking to change up my routine to achieve maximum results. Important to note, as always, is that I'm looking to burn fat, not lose weight.

Let me first say what my current program is:

Monday - 20 min. treadmill, 4 exercises on machines (chest press, arm curl, tricep pulldown & shoulder press), planking/crunches.

Wednesday - 20 min. treadmill, 4 exercises on machines (pectoral, lat pulldown, 2 others which names I can't remember), planking/crunches.

Friday - 20 min. treadmill, 4 exercises on machines (leg raises, calf raises, leg press & hamstring raise thing), planking/crunches.

After reading around a bit, it seems that cutting out cardio completely is the order of the day (should be done more as a complementary exercise for general health/fitness), and focusing on resistance/core training. Deadlifts, squats, bench press & power cleans etc. make up most of the routines that I see people recommending.

Now, my question is: are these exercises really sufficient to burn fat (in addition to building muscle strength and improving physique, naturally)? I realise they are compound exercises, so you use various muscle/joint groups, but the routines seem very simplistic. They can get really hectic, though, I know that.

Does anyone have experience with routines that focus solely on these exercises, and that would recommend it?

Having lost plenty weight to me your work out looks a bit bland.

You need to do more exercises, change it up. You are using the treadmill too much. For me the treadmill becomes more like jumping after awhile. I use the rowing machine, elliptical and stepper. Every minute it is on a different setting.

I assume on the treadmill you walk, jog, sprint, walk jog, sprint type effort or it is the same pace? You need to push your body or it won't take much energy.

Its also equally important to look at your diet. If you are eating TOO LITTLE you will NOT lose fat!!

killadoob said:

Having lost plenty weight to me your work out looks a bit bland.

You need to do more exercises, change it up. You are using the treadmill too much. For me the treadmill becomes more like jumping after awhile. I use the rowing machine, elliptical and stepper. Every minute it is on a different setting.

I assume on the treadmill you walk, jog, sprint, walk jog, sprint type effort or it is the same pace? You need to push your body or it won't take much energy.

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Yeah, it is a bit bland, which is why I want to change it. I used to mix it up between the treadmill, bike and rowing machine, but it felt like the treadmill was working me the hardest, so I just stuck with it. I'm not a natural runner, so it tires me out quickly.

sal12344 said:

Its also equally important to look at your diet. If you are eating TOO LITTLE you will NOT lose fat!!

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Yes, very important. I actually have a decent diet, I just eat too much, so I'm working on that as well, getting the portions smaller, but I'm not starving myself, as your body needs fuel to function properly, just gotta make sure it's the right fuel!

Cardio all the way! When I did Tae Bo I lost all my fat and ended up cut, also bulked up on muscle. Sessions were 60min with a 2 water breaks. Wish I could still do it.

Anyway 20mins is not enough and you need to get your heart rate up.

Atkins diet FTW

ponder said:

Cardio all the way! When I did Tae Bo I lost all my fat and ended up cut, also bulked up on muscle. Sessions were 60min with a 2 water breaks. Wish I could still do it.

Anyway 20mins is not enough and you need to get your heart rate up.

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20 minutes is fine, he just needs to ensure as you say his rate goes up and then down. So sprint for 2 minutes, walk for one, jog for two minutes walk for 1, sprint for 3 minutes walk for 30 seconds. That is how i lost 19kg's. Getting the heart up and letting it drop plus a good diet.

That looks like a good fat burning routine to me, perhaps do 20 mins of cardio in between your training days and on training days substitute 5 mins of cardio for an extra set of weights. Make sure that you keep your heart rate between 70 - 75% of your max as that is the optimal fat buring range.

I started gyming about 9 months ago and for me the biggest factor was my diet. About 6 months in I started eating 5 - 6 clean meals a day and my metabolism just went beserk, the last irritating reserves of fat just dissapeared leaving me with the 6 pack and ripped look I was trying for.

killadoob said:

20 minutes is fine, he just needs to ensure as you say his rate goes up and then down. So sprint for 2 minutes, walk for one, jog for two minutes walk for 1, sprint for 3 minutes walk for 30 seconds. That is how i lost 19kg's. Getting the heart up and letting it drop plus a good diet.

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Yeh, surprisingly enough, what he said.
If you can’t run or jog, then power walk, you walk at a certain pace for 5 minutes, then briskly increase for a minute then drop and again for about 20 minutes, but each day, not on/off.
Well done Killa on losing 19kgs, very well done!

Weight loss and fat burning are different things. Intensity training is fantastic for weight loss however you will experience some loss of muscle mass when pushing your heart rate so high. If the The OP just wants to burn fat I would suggest simple cardio and maintaining a heart rate in the range of 70 - 75% of max.

Do 24's after your cardio and push your cardio up to 30min instead of 20min. Then set aside 1 day for double-cardio with no weight training

semaj said:

Weight loss and fat burning are different things. Intensity training is fantastic for weight loss however you will experience some loss of muscle mass when pushing your heart rate so high. If the The OP just wants to burn fat I would suggest simple cardio and maintaining a heart rate in the range of 70 - 75% of max.

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Surely you should drop the weight and then build the muscle? I could be wrong but cardio 3/4 times a week even if you pushing yourself for 20 minutes should not result in lost muscle. Again i could be wrong

Shot za1 . Got way too comfy with my fiancee and ya let myself go LOL.

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I'm going to keep the cardio and just mix that up in terms of pace/heart rate and then just replace the machine exercises with free weights. I've been reading around a lot and it seems people swear by compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, presses etc.), so I'm gonna replace the machines with that. It's just gonna be a mission in the beginning of the week, the gym's always freakin' busy at the time I can go.

I'm also not sure where to start in terms of how heavy to go. I've made decent progress on the machines, but obviously they don't translate to freeweights equally. Guess I'll just have to start somewhere to get some kind of reference and work from there.

Apparently the advantage with the resistance/compound training over regular cardio is the afterburn effect, where you continue burning calories for up to 48 hours after you finished training, whereas cardio only burns calories while you're keeping the heart rate up. That's why it's so effective. Naturally you don't start burning calories like crazy right away, but as you get used to the training routine and up the weight you can start training in a way that you maximise that afterburn effect. Plus you can exercise your whole body with basically 3/4 exercises.

semaj said:

Weight loss and fat burning are different things. Intensity training is fantastic for weight loss however you will experience some loss of muscle mass when pushing your heart rate so high. If the The OP just wants to burn fat I would suggest simple cardio and maintaining a heart rate in the range of 70 - 75% of max.

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The way I understand it is that you only lose muscle mass is if you basically starve yourself to lose weight. Eating is how you gain/lose weight (muscle mass included), training only directs the body to expend energy in a certain way. So if you eat correctly (and enough), no amount of training (cardio or otherwise) will cause you to lose muscle mass.