1. Add 10 minutes in the morning
While you may be religious about going to the gym after work, waking up 10 minutes earlier in the morning and taking a walk around the block (or, alternatively, simply dancing to your morning radio show for 10 minutes) will let you start off your day with a faster-burning metabolism and, most likely, head off to work in a better mood than usual.
*Calorie-burning boost: 275 calories per week
2. Do intervals
When you alternate high-intensity cardio work with moderate-intensity recovery periods, you boost your calorie burning and increase your fitness level. This will help you break through plateaus.
Here's how: Warm up for 5 minutes, then increase speed or resistance on the machine for 2-5 minutes. Return to your usual pace for 5 minutes, then continue with short bursts interspersed with a moderate pace for the rest of your workout. Cool down for 5 minutes at a slower pace.
When you're ready to progress, make the work part of the interval longer and decrease the recovery time (but never to less than 30 seconds). For example, you could do 6 minutes at a higher speed and recover for 3 minutes.
*Calorie-burning boost: 300-450 calories for 45 minutes
3. Work out with a faster partner
Whether it's in the gym or on the neighborhood track, a fit buddy will challenge you to keep up and exercise at a higher intensity. It's the friendliest way to kick your own butt! Plus, workouts go faster accompanied by good conversation.
*Calorie-burning boost: Simply increasing your walk from 3 mph to 4 mph will burn almost 100 extra calories in 60 minutes.
