If you’ve ever watched one of the many high school/college football or army movies out there, then by now you are probably familiar with burpees—the gut wrenching torture technique, seemingly designed to empty every last drop of energy from the human body and induce sessions of throwing up. Theatrics aside, burpees are a very popular workout tool in the professional sporting world and we think you might benefit from learning how to do burpees too.

First off, how to do burpees correctly:

You start in standing position,  then squat, push both feet backwards till you’re in position to do a push-up, then do a push-up till your chest touches the ground and return to starting push-up position, then draw your feet back up, jump up explosively and clap your hands in the air.

Here are some reasons why burpees might just be your secret weapon against excess fat and weight:

1. Resistance training

Resistance training forces muscles to work hard and exert themselves against the resistance of an external force or forces and this is the way muscles grow. Burpees are not just any old kind of resistance exercise, though, they are body weight exercises—which are performed against the resistance of the body itself. You might be wondering what difference it makes if burpees are body weight exercises or not? The answer is: a lot. Body weight exercises are particularly good at improving balance, flexibility, strength and endurance, and can be done from the comfort of your own home or even during your spare time at the office to boot, so you definitely should be doing them as much as you can.

2. Compound Exercise

As if being such an effective body weight, resistance exercise isn’t awesome enough, burpees are also a compound exercise. Compound exercises are exercises that target multiple muscle groups and multiple joints at the same time. Again, you might wonder what difference it makes if you work specific muscles and joints on their own or if you work them collectively as a compound exercise? Again, the answer is: a lot. When multiple major muscles and joints are being worked out at the same time, you become much stronger and fitter than you would if you were working individual muscles and joints alone.

3. Full body workout

Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry of an exercise is labelled a full body workout these days, and while this may be true for some, it might not exactly be true for others. It certainly is very true for burpees though. Burpees combines elements of pushups which target the arms and chest primarily, core, back and lower limbs secondarily, and jumping jacks which target the lower limbs primarily and the core and arms secondarily. Do you see what we’re talking about? Burpees are pretty much the ultimate full body workout.

Although this is true, don’t expect to get massive muscles from doing burpees. It is unusual for anyone to truly achieve a massive body mass from doing body-weight exercises unless you’re spending the whole day working out, which the average person probably doesn’t have time for.

4. Anaerobic Fitness

Even though aerobic workouts are all the rage in the fitness world right now, anaerobic workouts are very good for fitness and general health. An anaerobic exercise is one which is done at such a high intensity that the body cannot inhale the amount of oxygen that it needs to support the activity. You don’t need to bother about all the messy technical details of how anaerobic exercise benefits you, we’ll cover that in another article, what you need to know is that anaerobic exercise help to build power, strength and endurance. You’ll also burn calories faster than you can say calories!

Conclusion

Now you’ve heard just how much burpees could benefit your fitness, it’s time to get out there and do them till you get into the shape of your life.

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Most people don’t mention weight lifting and arthritis in the same sentence. But in fact, a number of studies have shown that proper weight training can be beneficial both for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis of the knee. The reason it helps is because muscles protect joints, and weak muscles allow cartilage to wear out.

The types of weights that have been studied include free weights and weight machines, as well as exercise bands, which offer a different type of resistance. And while most were effective with the right strategy, it’s best to start with weight machines to increase muscle strength. The next step is to progress to dumbbells, and after several months working with a qualified trainer, resistance bands could be used at home to maintain strength.

Strategy

The most effective strategy is that participants needed to increase the weight they lifted as time goes on. This allows the benefits to continue to build as muscle strength improves. And the vast majority of successful trainers will suggest that you must workout at least three times a week. In one study on osteoarthritis of the knee, participants benefited from doing three sets of eight reps of various weight machine exercises including biceps curl, chest press, leg press, leg curl, leg extension and standing calf raise.

Your legs carry the weight of the body and move it around all day long. You might think this therefore would keep them lean and give them a sculpt, muscular look. In fact, the legs are an area of the body where excess weight often appears.

3. Lifting Too Light

Another misconception about training for fat loss is that you should opt for light weight and high reps to get lean. This misconception is probably the result of thinking that higher reps means more work performed, which can help you burn more calories. But it’s not just about how much work you do, but also how the work you do affects your body and your metabolism.

Similar to HIIT cardio, research confirms that using heavier loads in your workouts results in a higher metabolic rate post-workout as compared to light weight.

4. Taking Too Much Rest

Another area that may be hampering your fat-loss efforts is all the time you waste in the gym between sets. If getting shredded is your goal, you should spend as much time as possible moving in the gym, not standing around admiring yourself in the mirrors.

Bottom line: Minimize your rest time between sets. Researchers have discovered that when subjects rested 30 seconds between sets on the bench press for 5 sets of 5 reps, they burned a little more than 50 percent more calories than when they rested three minutes between sets.

I suggest turning your rest time into work time via super sets or cardio acceleration. As discussed earlier, cardio acceleration can save you time in the gym and further enhance fat loss. Super sets involve doing two exercises back to back, either for two different muscle groups (such as a chest exercise followed by a back move), or for the same body part (such as two quad exercises).

5. Sitting For Too Long

What you do when you’re not in the gym may further be compromising your fat-loss efforts, not to mention your health. Researchers found that, out of more than 2,000 subjects who exercised vigorously for a minimum of 2.5 hours per week, those who watched more than 40 minutes of television per day had higher waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood-glucose levels than those watching fewer than 40 minutes.

The researchers theorized this may be due to the fact that, when you sit for prolonged periods, your body’s ability to burn fat is severely compromised.

The take-home here is simple: Avoid a fat-burning slump by staying active throughout the day. If you sit for long periods at work, try getting up and stretching or walking to the fridge or water cooler at least every 20 minutes or so. Do the same if you’re sitting at home in front of the TV or computer. When you’re shopping or running errands, park far away from store entrances to increase total walking distance. Even better, walk or bike to run your errands when possible instead of driving. Avoid elevators and escalators and take the stairs whenever you can.

Seizing all of these opportunities for physical activity can add up to a lot of extra activity, which can keep your fat-burning engines primed and your health optimized. At that point, you won’t need to look for reasons you’re not ripped because you’ll be ripped!

Are your weight-room errors hindering your results?

Lifting weights can help you drop pounds, lower your blood pressure, and improve bone density.  There is however, way more to lifting than just lugging around whichever weight is available at the gym. You’ve got to think about the perfect number of pounds, the best workouts, and the right number of reps and it can get overwhelming.

• Don’t Forget About Your Core

When you lift weights, you’re probably focusing on your arms, unknowingly neglecting your center. If your core isn’t on your radar, you could end up injuring yourself and this is due to your back having to compensate. In order to make sure you’re using the right technique, pay attention to your ribs: If they’re sticking out, your core is probably not engaged. To assume the right position, think about bringing your ribs together and bracing your core.

• Using Too-Light Weights

If you want to see true fat loss, you have to stick to heavy weights. You’ll build lean muscle, the kind that helps burn body fat faster, and save time in the long run. Go for a weight with which you can only get six to eight reps at most. Start light with good form and only add weight as you get stronger and can maintain form.

• You Don’t Have a Weight-Lifting Routine

You’re probably all aware that if you repeat the same exercises with the same weights for the same number of reps every time you lift weights, your body will plateau. If you keep changing up your routine, you never get a chance to progress and master anything to really push your body beyond what it is used to. You’ll be better off if you settle in with a three-day-per-week program over the course of about four to six weeks, and then,only once you’ve mastered it move on to another one.

• Give Free Weights A Chance

Sometimes the most effective equipment in what I like to call ‘the big boy gym’ is free weights. Lots of women skip the free-weight area because they are too intimidated. Using free weights is more effective than just sticking to the seated machines because you use your body in a more natural movement than being on a fixed machine, and it allows all of your stabilizer muscles to work, a lot more muscles working means more calories are being burned. Once you’ve mastered the basic movements, grab a dumbbell or two. For example, once you can perform six to eight bodyweight squats, try them holding a pair of dumbbells.