Posts Tagged ‘bodyweight exercises for burning calories’
Bodyweight exercises are great for burning calories and burning fat. One of the most effective exercises that you can perform to really get you heart pumping is box jumps. They are just what they sound like. You jump up on a box and then either step down or jump down. Then repeat. I usually perform them in sets of 15 as part of a bodyweight exercise circuit but you can perform them as a stand alone workout as well.
I built a platform out of 2 x 4s from some wood I had laying around the house. I put a 3/4″ piece of plywood on the top of this very primitive platform. It is quite sturdy despite its ugly looks. There are other more attractive options that you can build so that you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on plyometric boxes. There is a design that Crossfit has published that is quite good. It is even slanted to help to possibly save your shins a bit if you miss a jump. My plyo platform is not so forgiving. You can find the pdf file for building the box here.
Here are a few videos of box jumps to get you started in case you are not sure exactly what they are. Give them a try. Use them in place of your regular cardio workout. You will burn many more fat calories with box jumping than you will with a leisurely jog through the neighborhood.
