4 Calorie-Burning Combos

If you’re looking to crush calories and tone your entire body in the shortest amount of time, try the 4 functional exercises in today’s video. Functional training was developed by world- renowned physical therapists and professionals who specialize in high-performance exercise physiology and kinesiology.

Instead of training one muscle at a time, which used to be the fashion, functional training follows the “integration” method of physical exercise. For example, one move is called the “Sumo Squat and Cross Chop”, and it entails bending, twisting, lifting, reaching, squatting, lunging, and extending, all in one sequence of integrated movements.

It is not that there is anything wrong with isolating muscles and training them as you would in, say, a bicep curl. But there are limitations with that kind of training. You are not getting the improved function, balance, flexibility, and coordination that come only when you treat the body like an integrated whole.

By contrast, integrated movement is natural movement. In daily life, muscles work together. When you get on an airplane, for example, you must bend, twist, and stretch in the narrow aisle to hoist your luggage and place it overhead. That twisting, bending, and placing is an example of the compound, integrated movements that occur every day at the grocery store, when taking out the trash, or when putting the kids in the car.

This is a holistic style of training that ultimately protects you against the aches, pains, and risk of injury that accompany age.

Moreover, because it draws upon how we move naturally in everyday life, it gives the body what it needs to respond more quickly to signals from the brain, optimize coordination and balance, and gain maximum agility.

The Core Difference

You can’t perform these movements easily, effectively, and safely unless you have built a strong core of supporting muscles, using exercises that mimic daily demands.

Adding Weights

Start by using your own body’s weight as resistance. But when you are ready to challenge yourself further, try using the extra weights that are optional in the moves. By adding more weight you push your metabolism higher, increase the demands on your muscles so they burn more energy and build more lean mass, and up your body’s oxygen use for the best calorie burning. You decide how much weight to add.

To give you a little jumpstart, try today’s 4 calorie-burning functional moves. Besides being effective toning moves, this functional method of training moves your body the way it moves in everyday life. And the big benefit? MORE TONING IN LESS TIME.