12 Unconventional Ways To Burn More Fat (Part 1)
You don’t have to spend hours at the gym to lose weight. In this two-part series, Get-Fit Guy gives you 12 unconventional ways to burn more fat without exercising.
As you probably know by now, I have nothing against exercise. You might consider me a workout weirdo, fitness fiend, or gym geek. But there are many people, and perhaps you’re among them, who simply don’t like to exercise.
In addition, there are people who perhaps enjoy exercise, but also want to get as much bang for their calorie-burning buck when they’re not exercising.
The truth is, you don’t have to spend hours at the gym to lose weight. So in this two-part series, you’re going to get 12 unconventional ways to burn more fat without exercising.
#1 Grease the Groove
“Greasing the Groove” is a concept I originally discovered in a book called . The idea is basically this: Instead of doing a long workout at the gym, you simply spread your exercises throughout the day. This not only allows you to become proficient at certain movements, but also elevates your metabolism throughout the day. For example, I have a pull-up bar installed above the door of my office. Every time I walk under that bar, I have a rule that I have to do 5 pull-ups.
Other examples of “Greasing the Groove” include:
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Doing 20 body weight squats every time you go to the bathroom
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Doing 25 jumping jacks for every hour that you’re sitting at your desk
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Doing 10 push-ups during every commercial break of a television program
#2 Stand More
In the episode /health-fitness/mens-health/7-ways-to-burn-calories-by-standing-more?page=1, you learned about how standing can increase the activity of your fat burning enzymes and keep many of your tiny core, leg, and feet muscles working all day long. What are some easy ways that you can stand more?
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Stand when you’re waiting, such as at a doctor’s office or the DMV.
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Stand when you’re working. Check out episode https://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2011/05/how-to-turn-your-workspace-into-a-calorie-decimating-standing-desk-or-treadmill-workstation/.
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Stand while you’re flying. When I’m on an airplane, I’ll often read, listen to music, and watch programs on my phone or eReader while standing in the back of the plane.
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Stand when you’re snacking. You’re prone to eat less and metabolize calories more quickly when you eat in the standing position.
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Stand while on the phone. When you talk on the phone, try to stand up, pace the room, or even stretch.
#3 Cold Thermogenesis
In the episode /health-fitness/exercise/how-to-use-cold-weather-to-lose-weight, you learn that when you get cold, or consume something cold (such as ice water), your body must temporarily increase the rate at which you burn calories in order to keep you warm or to warm whatever cold substance that you ingested.
I personally wear a https://www.coolfatburner.com/ vest when I’m working on my computer at home, and typically jump start that cold fat burning process with a 5-minute cold shower each morning. Finally, on cooler spring and fall days, I go outside each morning to do a goose bump-packed stretch routine. All of this adds up to a significant amount of free fat burning, without any actual exercise.
#4 Extra Weights
At many sporting goods stores or online, you can find that you can wear, and many of these can be worn under long sleeves or pants. You can also get that increase your weight by 5, 10, or 20 pounds.
Anytime you’re forcing your body or limbs to move against an extra weight, it results in increased calorie burning and muscle stimulation. Once you own these kind of weights, you’d be surprised at how many ways you can think to use them, such as when grocery shopping, working in the yard, on a walk, or even while /house-home/housekeeping/5-laundry-room-essentials.
#5 Fasting
Many studies have shown that different forms of fasting – from intermittent fasting to alternate day fasting to simply limiting the amount of snacking and grazing you do – can work very well for weight loss. Here are a few recent studies:
In spite of what you may have heard, you don’t have to starve yourself to fast! For example, on most days of the week, I simply try to not eat anything within 2 hours of bedtime, then not eat anything for 2 hours after I wake up. With 8 hours of sleeping, that gives me a 12-hour fast each day. Another popular method is to simply choose one day per week to fast, and on this day, you basically drink water, coffee, and take a supplement such as a multivitamin.
#6 Fidgeting
Motion detectors have shown that the more active you are, the more likely you are to burn extra fat, and that motion can take place via tiny, seemingly insignificant daily activities such as:
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chewing gum
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tapping your feet
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rolling your head in circles
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shrugging your shoulders
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twiddling your fingers
Of course, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator counts as an even more advanced form of fidgeting!
Next week, we’re going to jump right into the next 5 unconventional ways to burn more fat. But in the meantime, if you have questions, or your own tips to add, just post them at https://www.facebook.com/GetFitGuy
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About the Author
Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. He has over 11 years’ experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports, and as helped hundreds of clients achieve weight loss and fitness success.
