If you have a busy lifestyle, like most of us do, and you don't have hours to work out each day, then you would probably like to know how to make the most of your exercise time and burn the most calories. The amount of calories you burn whilst exercising is dependent on many factors and varies from person to person, but it is safe to say that it is based on the intensity of your workout. Intensity can be measured by how hard your heart is beating and how hard you are breathing. The more oxygen you are requiring, the harder you are working.
The more intense your exercise routine, the more efficiently it will burn calories in the least amount of time. So how do you increase the intensity of your workouts? Well, there are a number of ways, so lets look at some of them:
Resistance Training
The more muscle you have the more fat you burn! Muscle takes a lot more calories to sustain itself than fat, so even if you are doing nothing at all, your 
body will be burning more calories at rest. When you do muscle building exercises you don't only burn calories during the workout, but you actually increase your metabolism to burn more calories throughout the rest of your day. The most effective way to blast fat and burn some extreme calories, is by combining weights with your cardio in the same workout, or even in the same exercise. You burn 3 times more fat when you combine cardio and weights than with cardio alone! The weights add extra resistance, which increases the intensity of the exercise. You can start out light and continue to increase your weights as you grow in strength.
Train upper and lower body in the same exercise
If you use both your upper and lower body in the same exercise you will burn more calories. It's simple maths really, you are recruiting more muscles so your exertion will be greater and therefore you will burn more calories. It's all about getting more bang for your buck! It is also time efficient to work your upper and lower body at the same time. Just make sure that you are focusing on correct form and using the right weights to not over-exert yourself.
Interval Training
Constantly varying the intensity at which you are training will make sure that you are challenging your body to bring the best results. Alternating between high intensity and slightly lower intensity active recovery periods will mean that you are giving your body sufficient time to recoup and therefore perform at its optimum level during the high intensity intervals. Interval training challenges your heart and helps you to increase your fitness level fast. It is also great for getting that calorie burning fire going so that your body will continue to burn elevated calories for hours after the workout.
Muscle Confusion
Your body is a very clever machine and easily becomes accustomed to a workout if you don't mix it up. It is important to confuse your muscles by varying your workout styles frequently. Alternate high intensity, heavy weight days with lower intensity, lighter weights, to keep your muscles responding and growing. This will shock your body into better results faster.
These are just some of many techniques you can use to burn some major calories. If you have some ideas of your own, please leave a comment below.
