5 Easy Ways to Burn More Calories While Weight Training

When you're one of the many millions of people trying to lose weight and get healthy through exercise, then you've probably spent a fair amount of time reading up on the kinds of techniques and methods you should be utilizing. While weight training is traditionally viewed as a way to build muscle, it's also an extremely effective way to burn calories and shed extra pounds.

The mere process of building muscle within the body requires the usage of calories, and high intensity weight lifting calls for a great deal of exertion as well. However, you can take your weight training a step further and optimize it for weight loss as well. Here are some of the best ways to burn more calories while weight training that anybody can start utilizing immediately.

5 of the Best, Easy Ways to Burn More Calories While Weightlifting

1. Active Rest - The words active and rest being put together might not make much sense, but active rest is a very easy way to burn more calories while working out, whether you're weightlifting or anything else. Active rest means doing anything to keep your body moving in between your sets of exercise.

So in between sets on the bench press, you can perform jumping jacks, jog in place, jump some rope, perform toe touches or anything else that keeps the blood flowing and the heart pumping. Your muscles will still be fresh for your next set, but you will have stayed busy and burnt more calories while you were waiting.

2. Supersets - You can think of supersets as a kind of all-weightlifting form of active rest. A superset is two or more exercise performed back to back, targeting opposing muscle groups, or any variety of different muscles. A few common pairs would be a set of biceps curls followed by a set of triceps presses, or a set on the bench press followed by a set of rows.

After performing both exercises without rest, you then take one rest before performing the next superset. You cut your rest time in half, and force your body to work harder, burning more calories. You'll also finish your workout in less time, which is another great benefit.

3. Circuit Training - Circuit training is another similar concept, except you string together as many as a dozen or more different exercises without resting, and you shift your focus to lighter weights than you would normally use, allowing you to perform more back-to-back repetitions. Your heart rate will be soaring and you'll be helping to shed those pounds as quickly as possible.

Think up your program beforehand so you don't have to spend time guessing where to go in between sets, and if you workout at a gym then have alternatives in mind if your machines are occupied when you want them. Perform each exercise for 30 to 60 seconds nonstop, and then move right to the next exercise. Rest for two to three minutes in between circuits, and complete two or three circuits altogether.

4. High Repetitions - High weights and low repetitions are best when you want to build strength, but for burning calories, you want to keep your body working hard for a longer period of time. So using moderately heavy weights that you can perform between 12 and 15 repetitions of is ideal.

To see the best of both worlds, break down each exercise you do into 5 sets. Spend the first and last set warming up and cooling down respectively, with a lighter weight you can use for 12 to 15 repetitions. For the middle three sets, use a higher weight for between 6 and 10 reps.

5. Compound Exercises - Compound exercises are those that use more than one set of joints. This inherently means that they use multiple muscle groups as well, which means you are working more of your body at once. This is a great way to burn more calories in less time, while also building strength more effectively. Examples of the best compound exercises for weightlifting include the bench press, the squat, dead-lifts, pull-ups and chin-ups and many more.

All of these 5 techniques will help you burn more calories while weightlifting. You'll be stronger and leaner, and you'll enjoy more successful workouts each time you're at the gym.