Weight Loss & Diet Plans

5 Fat-Burning Strategies

2. Fat-burning Workout: Pump Up the Cardio continued...

"Increase the days," White suggests. "If you work out two days, go to three. Or if you're jogging for half an hour, increase it to 45 minutes or an hour."

Interval training -- that is, alternating bursts of intense activity with bursts of lighter activity -- is a good way to burn more fat, White says. "Walk for five minutes, then jog for five," he says, then repeat. That strategy will burn overall more calories and more fat. If you are already jogging, jog then sprint to mix it up, he says.

Increasing intensity for a short period within your regular workout will burn more total calories and therefore more fat, Sedlock says.

3. Fat-burning Workout: Pump Iron or Do Other Strength Training

If you're trying to banish flab, weight training three times a week for a half hour each session -- if you're a beginner -- is ideal, White says. Once your flab is under control, two weight training sessions a week usually will help you maintain tone, he says.

"Work the full body," he says, rather than focus only on, say, triceps work for flabby upper arms. A full workout works all the major muscle groups, not just the flabby ones.

If you're a beginner to weights or other kinds of strength training, such as resistance bands, get some expert instruction first by hiring a personal trainer for a session or two, experts suggest.

You can incorporate the full-body weight training exercises that focus on your flabby areas, of course, White says. "For the muffin top, focus on the [abdominal] oblique muscles by doing bicycle kicks," he says, "or do oblique twists with the cable [weight] machine."

A simpler at-home exercise to burn fat, White says, is: Get a broom, hold it straight up over your head, then lean to the right and the left. You should feel the effort in your so-called love handles.

For flabby upper arms, you can do dumbbell kickbacks with hand weights. (With upper arm parallel to the floor and bent at the elbow, lean over a weight bench or other low bench with your other arm supporting your body. Extend the lower arm holding the weight until it is straight. Repeat and switch the weight to the other hand.)

To maximize the fat burning during weight training, women should aim for 12 to 15 repetitions per exercise, White says, and focus on a higher number of reps rather than constantly boosting the weight. Men should aim for eight to 12 reps and increase the weight periodically.