Four Minute Fat Burner

First, let me make this single point before you proceed: Unless you are a competitive endurance athlete – and in many cases even if you are – you must eat clean to get lean. I’ve provided lots of tips and even a bunch of meal and snack recommendations in previous columns and there are even more great ideas for eating to trim the fat in my blog.

That said, there is plenty most people can do to step up both the amount of calories they burn while working out, and the post-exercise fat worked off (after-burn). They key is to minimize joint stress while maximizing oxygen consumption, which, in turn, burns a maximum amount of calories and fat. This four minute sequence does just that.

Assuming you have no medical conditions or injuries to keep you from skipping rope, do the circuit as described below. If the impact associated with skipping rope is too much for you, try a light jog-in-place while making snow angels (lateral arm sweeps) as a substitute for the rope.

Warning – this is for already well-conditioned regular exercisers. It is very high intensity and is not for folks just beginning or resuming their fitness programs. If you’re just starting or re-starting with exercise, please seek guidance through personal training or a well-regarded small group training program. We offer both at the studio.

Each of these exercises is sustained for one minute and transition times are kept to a minimum. Warm up with light cardio for a few minutes before starting the formal circuit. Half depth squats while sweeping arms vertically is a good non-impact choice, as is this one.

Here’s the circuit:

1. Rope Skip 
2. Lateral Mountain Climber - From a plank, pull your left foot forward and wide of your hip. Do a slight hop switching the positions of your legs, repeat pattern for one minute. The first two pictures above illustrate this exercise.
3. Rope Skip
4. Floor Kick – This one looks like a Russian folk dance, with your extended arms supporting you just above a seated position, then kicking your left leg up and out and then doing a slight hop to switch legs, as with exercise #2. Repeat for one minute. The last two pictures demonstrate this exercise.

Rest for one minute. Then, if you can, do another circuit. If you can get through three, you’re in terrific shape. If you can get through four, you’re a monster.

You can do this anywhere you have a little space and a flat ground, and it will incinerate your excess weight, I can assure you.

Just don’t forget – if you want to look like an athlete, don’t just train like one. Eat like one too.

Dan is a nationally certified personal fitness trainer and former continuing education faculty member of the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise. He is the owner and head trainer at Tri Valley Trainer in Pleasanton, which provides personal training, small group fitness and nutrition guidance. He can be reached at Dan@TriValleyTrainer.com