Running and walking are undoubtedly the best ways to burn fat, but you’re still likely to face stagnation and ultimately boredom. Fortunately, there are plenty of great exercises that can help bust that rut. While they aren’t going to magically melt away the fat, they can raise your calorie burn significantly enough to give you a much-needed boost of weight loss and motivation. So, here are seven of the best exercises to burn fat that you should consider adding to your routine.

7 Exercises to Burn Fat Faster

1. Jumping Rope

The idea of jumping rope may seem tedious, but that’s probably because you’ve never really explored jump ropes. This exercise can give you the most complete body workout with plenty of calorie burn and all you need is a rope. To get started, just stick with simple skipping for short periods, building speed as you get in the groove. Do this for at least a minute at a time and once you’re completely comfortable, switch to some high-intensity interval training (HIIT) jump rope routines to get even bigger gains. 

 

2. Med Ball Slams

This is even simpler than jumping ropes and it’s also a great stress buster. In case you didn’t know, high cortisol or stress hormone levels can increase fat accumulation, making it harder to lose weight. Quite simply, this exercise involves slamming the ball into the ground with as much force as possible. This uses the entire body if done right. You raise the ball above your head, also extending yourself by standing on your toes. You then engage almost all of the muscle groups— the hips, core and arms, to slam the ball down to the floor before you. As the ball bounces back, you simply grab on to it and repeat the slam again. You can keep doing this for as long as you like, but make sure that you don’t push yourself in terms of speed or duration beyond what’s comfortable.

3. Box Squat Jump

Plyometric exercises in which the muscles exert maximum force in short intervals are particularly effective for stimulating larger fast-twitch muscles fibers and burning fat, but they can be too strenuous, especially if you’re packing extra pounds. Box squat jumps are a good option for such situations as they are easier on your knee joints. You simply sit back on a box of about knee to hip height and jump up and forward as far as you can.

 

4. Plank With Dumbbell Row

Exercises based on the plank pose are among the best for working on the deeper abdominal muscles, which is why you’ll find them in any routine to burn belly fat. Combining it with the dumbbell row gives you a more grueling workout that works on muscles in the upper back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. To perform the exercise, simply get into the plank position while grabbing on to a set of dumbbells. Lift one dumbbell using a rowing movement and without moving the rest of your body. Lower it back down and repeat with the other arm. Keep alternating between left and right arms, maintaining a steady pace, but not focusing too much on speed. Form is more important, so stop the moment you feel your hips start to sag.

 

5. Walking Lunge With Biceps Curl

Lunges are great in themselves, but when you combine them with biceps curls, you have the ultimate fat-burning exercise. All of the major muscles including the quadriceps, glutes, core muscles and upper body receive a good workout, also improving balance and stability. Single-leg exercises are also known to promote dynamic flexibility of the knee, ankle and hip joints. The exercise is simple enough and you need to do a standard lunge while holding a pair of dumbbells. Each time you lunge forward and have the rear foot slightly raised, you also lift your dumbbells for a biceps curl.

 

6. Single-Leg Deadlift

Single-leg deadlifts are again powerful single-leg exercises that work on the glutes and hamstrings, burning calories and giving your booty great definition. You’ll need a pair of dumbbells with overhand grips for this one. Just hold the dumbbells at arm’s length in front of your thighs and stand with your knees bent slightly, feet at hip-width. Move your weight onto one leg and bend forward from the hips, without changing the bend at your knees. Your torso should now be lowered so that it’s parallel to the floor. Your hands should remain immobile holding onto the weights throughout. Then return to your standing position.

 

7. Sprints

And we’re back to the basics. Sprints are among the most effective and efficient exercises to improve overall athletic performance and increase fat burn. You start in the lunge position, keeping your back at a 45-degree angle and with your weight leaning forward. You probably don’t need an explainer on sprints, but make sure to follow proper intervals. Just stick with 10-yard sprints before taking a 30-second rest period to launch into the next sprint.

Keep in mind that while these exercises will help burn fat, it would be best that you learn them from a certified personal trainer as it’s easy to make mistakes with form when you learn from instructional text or video. If you suffer from any back injury or sciatica pain, your trainer can also modify or recommend alternative exercises to minimize the risk of injury.