ShareSo you want to burn more calories?
Why? Because you goofed up? Hey, it happens. 
Unless you’re rehabbing an injury or working on a muscle imbalance, isolating muscle groups won’t get you fast results.
If you’re frustrated by your lack of progress, you simply have to burn more calories.
Here’s the thing…
You don’t need more time in the gym – just more intensity.
Here are 5 Exercise Swaps that burn more calories…
#1: Squats Instead of Leg Press
Leg press is great for isolating your quads – not so much for burning a ton of calories. Here’s why…
This machine puts a ridiculous amount of force on the discs in your lower back. The expert research on this topic Dr. Stuart McGill speaks for itself. It may not break you today, but one day “boom”. Your back will be killing you for no particular reason, thanks to this damn machine.
Unlike the leg press, the squat forces you to use you upper body muscles to stabilize, which means you recruit more muscle fibers. Instantly fire up your calorie burn!
#2: Rowing Machine Instead of the Bike
Cardio bunnies listen up. It’s not just about the number of calories you burn IN your workout. You need to elevate your heart rate high enough to boost the “afterburn” effect so you burn more calories post workout.
Instead of reading magazines on the bike for 45 minutes, the rowing machine or VersaClimber and cut your workout time in half.
#3: TRX Mountain Climbers Instead of Plank
We all know the plank is better than crunches/sit ups for core training. Blah blah blah…
But holding a 4-5 minute plank is not necessary. Challenge your core by doing slow mountain climbers on a TRX or Stability Ball. If you don’t have a one, try Floor Sliders/Gliders instead then tell me how it goes.
This exercise is so tough; you’ll start speaking French by the time you’re done. And you don’t even know French!
#4: Push Ups Instead of Dumbbell Press
While I have nothing against dumbbell press… if you want to burn more calories do push ups.
Why? You recruit more muscles. And not only that, it’s a better exercise for shoulder health, core stability, and metabolic training.
If you can’t do a full push up yet… start with an incline variation. Put your hands on the wall or couch, rather than drop your knees to the ground.
Already a champion at push ups? No worries. Challenge yourself with decline push ups, Spiderman push ups or suspend your feet from a TRX and do Atomic Push Ups.
To make it even MORE fun – change up the tempo and squeeze your glutes/quads. Feel an extra burn? You’re welcome!
#5: Chin Ups Instead of Any Bicep Exercise
Doing isolated bicep or tricep exercises does very little to increase your heart rate. Try chin ups and work your entire upper body. Surprisingly, you’ll also feel it in your abs, too.
If you’re struggling to get your first chin up, don’t feel discouraged. Here’s a program that will help you!
These are just five ways to burn a couple of hundred more calories every workout… but you can even do much better than that…
==> Here’s how to burn up to 1,000 calories a day
Time to burn more calories… and perhaps you CAN out-train your poor diet
Your Coach,
Kate Vidulich, BSc, ACSM, Master CTT
