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Exercises

Exercises to burn fat: lift to keep muscle, move to burn calories

Published October 29, 2026

The best exercises to burn fat combine strength and cardio. Lift with squats, Romanian deadlifts, barbell rows, overhead presses, walking lunges and push-ups two or three times a week so the weight you lose is fat, not muscle. Add kettlebell swings and burpees for fast full-body work, air bike, rower and sled intervals once or twice a week, and incline walking or running on the other days. Fat itself comes off through a calorie deficit; these exercises raise what you burn and decide what your body looks like as it goes.

  1. Barbell Back Squat Quads, Glutes, Adductors
  2. Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  3. Barbell Row Upper Back, Lats
  4. Kettlebell Swing Glutes, Hamstrings
  5. Air Bike Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes
  6. Rowing Machine Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats
  7. Treadmill Walk Quads, Glutes, Calves

Heavy compound lifts

These four train most of your muscle in four lifts. Heavy work tells your body to keep its muscle while calories are low, which is why the scale weight you lose ends up mostly fat.

Quads, glutes and adductors, squat

Barbell Back Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

The back squat uses the largest muscles in your body with heavy weight, so it is both one of the most demanding sessions you can do and the strongest signal to keep your legs while dieting.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar across your upper back below the neck, hands just outside your shoulders, and unrack it.
  2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out a little.
  3. Breathe in, tighten your stomach as if bracing for a punch, and sit down between your heels.
  4. Stand back up keeping your chest and hips rising together.

Cues

  • Breathe and brace
  • Chest and hips rise together
  • Whole-foot pressure

Common mistakes

  • Hips shooting up first out of the bottom: lighten the bar and keep your chest rising with them.
  • Letting the stomach go soft between reps: re-brace at the top of each one.

Swap for: Front Squat, Box Squat

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Hamstrings and glutes, hip hinge

Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

The Romanian deadlift loads the whole back of the body, from hamstrings to upper back. Keeping it heavy through a fat loss phase holds on to muscle most programs lose.

How to do it

  1. Stand with a barbell at your thighs, hands just outside your legs, feet under your hips.
  2. Soften your knees and push your hips back, sliding the bar down your thighs.
  3. Stop when your hamstrings are fully stretched, usually just below the knee, with your back flat.
  4. Push your hips forward to stand up, glutes tight at the top.

Cues

  • Hips back
  • Bar stays on your legs
  • Back flat

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat: keep them soft and still.
  • Reaching for the floor: stop where your back would round.

Swap for: Weighted Back Extension

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Upper back and lats, bent-over row

Barbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

Rowing a barbell trains the upper back, lats and grip while your hips and lower back hold the bent-over position, a lot of muscle working in a single lift.

How to do it

  1. Hold the bar at your thighs, hinge forward until your torso is near 45 degrees, back flat.
  2. Row the bar to your lower ribs with the elbows tucked near your sides.
  3. Lower to straight arms and keep the torso angle.

Cues

  • Brace before every rep
  • Bar to the belly button

Common mistakes

  • Standing taller each rep as it gets heavier: if the hinge goes, the set is over.

Swap for: Pendlay Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, T-Bar Row

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Shoulders and triceps, standing press

Barbell Overhead Press

Shoulders

Pressing a bar overhead while standing works the shoulders and arms and makes your trunk and legs brace hard. Broader shoulders also make a smaller waist more visible.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack at collarbone height and grip it just outside your shoulders, wrists stacked over your elbows.
  2. Unrack it onto your upper chest, take one step back and set your feet about hip width apart.
  3. Squeeze your glutes, brace your abs so your ribs stay down, and take a big breath.
  4. Press straight up, pulling your chin back so the bar clears your face.
  5. Once the bar passes your forehead, push your head through until the bar sits over the middle of your foot with your arms locked.
  6. Lower it along the same line to your upper chest and re-brace before the next rep.

Cues

  • Glutes tight, ribs down
  • Chin back, bar straight up
  • Head through at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to finish reps, which turns the lift into an incline press: lower the weight until your torso stays vertical for the whole set.
  • Pressing the bar forward around your face: pull your chin back and keep the bar close enough to brush your nose.
  • Stopping short of lockout: finish every rep with the bar over your mid-foot and your arms straight, or the rep doesn't count in your log.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Landmine Press, Machine Shoulder Press

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Fast full-body moves

Exercises that load muscle and push your breathing at once. Use them in circuits at the end of a lifting session or on their own at home.

Quads and glutes, traveling lunge

Walking Lunge

Quads, Glutes

Lunging across the room works each leg in turn and raises your heart rate faster than most strength moves. Start with your hands on your hips, then hold a weight.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall; hold a light plate overhead or keep hands on hips.
  2. Step forward into a lunge until your back knee is just above the floor.
  3. Push up and step through into the next lunge.

Cues

  • Long step
  • Upright torso
  • Back knee hovers

Common mistakes

  • Short choppy steps that jam the front knee forward: lengthen the stride.

Swap for: Cardio Lunge, Dumbbell Forward Lunge, Reverse Lunge

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Chest and triceps, body-weight press

Push-Up

Chest

Push-ups need no equipment and fit straight into circuits. Sets of 10 to 20 between leg exercises keep your heart rate up while your legs recover.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands slightly wider than your shoulders with your body straight from head to heels.
  2. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • One straight line
  • Elbows angled back

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out: tuck them toward your ribs.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Incline Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

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Glutes and hamstrings, fast hinge

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

Swings combine a hip hinge with a fast pace, so 20 reps work the back of your body and leave you breathing like a sprint. Few exercises burn as much in as little space.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips, the bell set about a foot in front of you.
  2. Hinge down, grip the handle with both hands, and hike the bell back between your thighs.
  3. Snap your hips forward to stand tall, letting the bell float up to about shoulder height on straight arms.
  4. Let it fall back between your legs as you hinge again, and go straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Hips snap, arms just hold on
  • Stand tall at the top
  • Bell passes high between the thighs

Common mistakes

  • Squatting the swing by bending the knees deeply: push your hips back and keep the shins nearly vertical.
  • Lifting the bell with your shoulders: if your arms are working, the hips are not driving it.

Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift, Superman

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Full body, floor to jump

Burpee

Quads, Glutes, Chest, Shoulders

Dropping to the floor and jumping back up works your legs, chest and trunk in every rep and has you out of breath within a minute, with no equipment at all.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, then squat down and plant your palms.
  2. Kick your feet back into a plank.
  3. Jump your feet back under you.
  4. Stand up and jump, reaching your arms overhead.

Cues

  • Fast down, fast up
  • Solid plank
  • Land soft

Common mistakes

  • Sagging hips in the plank: brace on every rep.
  • Slowing to a walk-out: keep it crisp or rest.

Swap for: Half Burpee, Mountain Climber, Dumbbell Burpee

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Hard intervals

Short efforts that burn a lot in a little time. Once or twice a week is plenty; more tends to eat into your lifting and leave you hungrier.

Full body, fan-bike intervals

Air Bike

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes

The air bike works arms and legs together with no impact, and resistance rises the harder you go. Ten rounds of 20 seconds hard is a complete interval session.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so your knee is slightly bent at the bottom.
  2. Let your arms drive the handles in time with your legs.
  3. Start easy for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, then build to moderate for the last 30 seconds.

Cues

  • Arms push and pull
  • Breathe through your nose at first

Common mistakes

  • Sprinting in the first minute: save it for the WOD.
  • Gripping the handles so tight your shoulders shrug.

Swap for: Rowing Machine, Stationary Bike, Ski Erg

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Legs, back and arms, rowing

Rowing Machine

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats

Each stroke works the legs, back and arms, so hard rowing intervals burn a lot while you sit. The monitor makes it easy to beat last week's distance.

How to do it

  1. Strap your feet in and hold the handle with straight arms.
  2. Push with your legs first, then lean back slightly and bring the handle to your lower ribs.
  3. Reverse the order on the way back: arms forward, body tips forward, knees bend.
  4. Keep the pace conversational, around 20 strokes a minute.

Cues

  • Legs, body, arms; arms, body, legs
  • Easy enough to talk

Common mistakes

  • Racing the first minute: this is a warm-up, so finish feeling fresher than you started.

Swap for: Stationary Bike, Air Bike, Jump Rope

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Quads and glutes, pushing

Sled Push

Quads, Glutes

Sled pushes are hard on the legs and lungs but have no lowering phase, so they cause little soreness. They fit at the end of a leg session without wrecking the next one.

How to do it

  1. Load the sled and grip the high or low handles with your arms extended.
  2. Lean in until your body forms a straight line from head to back foot.
  3. Drive the sled forward with short, powerful steps, pushing through the balls of your feet.
  4. Keep pushing for the target time, then rest fully.

Cues

  • Low body angle
  • Short, hard steps
  • Keep the arms locked

Common mistakes

  • Standing too upright so the sled stalls: lower the hips and lean in.
  • Long, loping strides: keep steps short and fast.

Swap for: Sled Pull, Air Bike, Barbell Back Squat

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Steady cardio

The bulk of your weekly calorie burn. Incline walking suits almost everyone; running suits those whose joints already handle it.

Legs and glutes, incline walking

Treadmill Walk

Quads, Glutes, Calves

Walking up a steep incline burns much more than walking on the flat and is gentle on the joints. Thirty to forty-five minutes on most days adds up to more calories than any single hard session.

How to do it

  1. Start the belt at an easy walking pace.
  2. Raise speed or incline every minute until you are walking briskly.
  3. Walk with a normal arm swing.

Cues

  • Let go of the rails.
  • Short, quick steps as speed rises.

Common mistakes

  • Holding the rails and leaning back.

Swap for: Brisk Walk, Elliptical

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Legs, running

Running

Quads, Hamstrings, Calves

Running burns more per minute than walking and needs only shoes. Build up with walk-run intervals if you are new, and keep most runs at a pace you could talk through.

How to do it

  1. Jog easily around the field, court or a lap of the area you have.
  2. Mix in some backward jogging and side shuffles if you have room.
  3. Keep the arms swinging forward and back, not across your body.
  4. Finish the block a little faster than you started.

Cues

  • Easy and loose
  • Arms forward and back
  • Build gradually

Common mistakes

  • Turning the jog into a race with teammates: save speed for the primers.
  • Running with your chin up and shoulders tight: let the shoulders drop.

Swap for: High Knees, Jump Rope, Stationary Bike

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Beginner in the gym, three days a week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets44 a week
  • Per workout~40 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Treadmill, Dumbbells

You are new to the gym, want to lose fat and not just weight, and have about an hour three times a week.

Two alternating full-body sessions give each major muscle 6 to 9 hard sets a week, enough to build muscle as a beginner even while eating less. Each day ends with 6 steep walking minutes, and you add longer walks on other days.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Back Squat2 warm-up sets first 3 × 6–10 3 3 min
Push-Up 3 × 6–15 2 90 s
Barbell Row 3 × 8–10 2 2 min
Treadmill WalkSeconds at a steep incline. Flat between. 6 × 60 3 1 min

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Romanian Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–10 3 2:30 min
Barbell Overhead Press 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Walking LungePer leg. 2 × 8–12 2 90 s
Treadmill WalkSeconds at a steep incline. Flat between. 6 × 60 3 1 min

Open Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Run A and B in turn on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Walk 30 to 45 minutes on two or three of the other days.
How to progress
When every set reaches the top of the rep range with 2 reps in reserve, add 5 pounds to presses and rows or 10 pounds to squats and Romanian deadlifts. Add one incline walking interval every two weeks.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Two lifting days and two interval days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts4× a week
  • Working sets44 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Air Bike, Sled, Dumbbells +1

You already lift, want to speed up fat loss, and can train four times a week.

Two heavy full-body days hold your strength and muscle with 12 hard sets each. Two short interval days add a lot of calories in 20 minutes without the leg fatigue of extra lifting, and walking fills the rest of the week.

Lift A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Back Squat2 warm-up sets first 4 × 5–8 2 3 min
Barbell Overhead Press 4 × 6–8 2 2:30 min
Barbell Row 4 × 8–10 2 2 min

Open Lift A in the session builder

Intervals: Bike and sled
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Air BikeSeconds all-out. Pedal easy between. 8 × 20 1 100 s
Sled PushSeconds per push. 4 × 15–25 1 2 min

Open Intervals: Bike and sled in the session builder

Lift B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Romanian Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 4 × 6–8 2 3 min
Push-Up 4 × 10–20 1 90 s
Walking LungePer leg. 4 × 10–12 2 2 min

Open Lift B in the session builder

Intervals: Row
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds hard. Row easy between. 8 × 40–60 1 80 s

Open Intervals: Row in the session builder

How to run it
Lift on Monday and Thursday, intervals on Tuesday and Saturday. Warm up for 5 minutes before the intervals and keep the easy spells truly easy.
How to progress
Lifting: double progression at 2 reps in reserve, adding weight when every set reaches the top of the range. Intervals: beat your calories or meters by a little each week; when you cannot, add one round.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

At home with one kettlebell

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets48 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells, Dumbbells

You train at home with a single kettlebell, have 25 minutes, and want sessions that build strength and burn calories together.

A four-move circuit trains legs, hips, chest and the whole body in turn, so each muscle gets hard sets while your heart rate stays high. Four rounds, 16 working sets, about 25 minutes, three times a week.

Kettlebell circuit
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
A1 Kettlebell Swing1 warm-up set first 4 × 15–20 2 30 s
A2 Push-Up 4 × 8–15 2 30 s
A3 Walking LungePer leg. Hands on hips or hold the bell. 4 × 8–12 2 30 s
A4 Burpee 4 × 6–10 2 2 min
How to run it
Do it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Move through the four exercises with 30 seconds of rest and take 2 minutes after each round. Walk outside on other days.
How to progress
Add reps until every round reaches the top of each range at 2 reps in reserve. Then hold the kettlebell for the lunges, add a fifth round, or move to a heavier bell for swings.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What exercise will burn the most fat?

Per minute, sprints, burpees and hard air bike or rowing intervals. Per week, the exercise you can do most often, usually walking. Combine both with strength training and a calorie deficit for the best result.

How do I drop 20 pounds fast?

Lose it steadily: at 1 to 2 pounds a week, 20 pounds takes 10 to 20 weeks. Lift three days a week to keep muscle, walk daily, and add one or two interval sessions; the pace itself is set by what you eat.

What is the 30-30-30 rule for fat burning?

A routine of 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking, then 30 minutes of easy cardio. The protein and the daily walk are both useful habits, but there is nothing special about the timing.

How to burn 1,000 calories a day?

Exercise alone would take two hours or more of hard work. Most people get there with a mix: around 10,000 steps, a lifting or interval session, and generally moving more through the day.

Is cardio or weight training better for burning fat?

Both. Cardio burns more calories per session, and weight training keeps the muscle that would otherwise be lost while dieting. A plan with two or three lifting days and some cardio beats either alone.