Want to step up your daily calorie burn? Here are some easy ways to burn more calories in your fitness plan, helping you to shed weight in no time…

Exercise for 10 minutes in the morning

Whether you usually exercise in the morning or at night, try to wake up 10 minutes earlier and do some quick extra physical activity. It could be as simple as taking a walk around the block, or dancing to the radio. Getting in that small bit of extra exercise early on will help to wake up your body and get your metabolism moving- and send you off to work in a better mood!

Add intervals to your workout

Alternating high-intensity cardio with moderate recovery periods is a great way to blast more calories in your workout. Whether you’re running, swimming, biking, walking, or any kind of aerobic activity, you can add in intervals to give your weight loss an extra kick. For example, after a warm up, increase your speed and/or resistance for two to five minutes, then return to your usual pace for five minutes. Keep alternating short bursts of fast, intense exercise and you’ll burn more calories in less time.

Work out with someone faster

Challenge yourself by working out with a friend who is more fit or experienced with exercise than you are. It’s a great way to motivate yourself to work harder to keep up- and by making exercise social, the time will go faster and will probably be more enjoyable! You only have to push yourself as far as you’re comfortable with- even just increasing your walking speed can help you to burn an extra 100 calories an hour.

Make the most of coffee breaks

Take ten minutes in the middle of the day to go for a walk. It’s a great way to sneak in some extra calorie-burning in you day without even realising it, and you’ll go back to work feeling more refreshed and energised. Use the time to clear your head- or if you can’t justify taking a break, you can combine it with a practical purpose, like doing the office coffee run, or even having a walking meeting with a colleague.

Extend your workout routines

A simple, painless way to challenge yourself and burn a few extra calories is to extend your workout time by just ten minutes. Once you’re in the rhythm of your workout you’ll hardly notice the extra time- and you can burn an extra 100 calories or more. Added up over the whole week, if you run for an extra ten minutes three times, you could be burning an extra 400 calories.

Change activities

Mixing up your workout plan is a great way to shock your body into burning more calories, as well as giving you a chance to try new activities that you might learn to love. So if you always run on the treadmill, try a few sessions on the elliptical trainer or try a step class instead. Keep challenging yourself and pushing the intensity whenever an activity is getting too easy or your body feels too used to it. 

Try a mini-triathlon

Give your body a fun, fast challenge with a running, cycling and swimming circuit. Try 15 minutes on each activity in succession, trying to keep up a high intensity the whole time. The variety will keep it interesting and you’ll work a good range of muscles, helping you to burn heaps of calories and improve your fitness fast.