The Fastest Ways to Melt Away Pounds

POPSUGAR Photography | Kat Borchart
POPSUGAR Photography | Kat Borchart

Let's cut to the chase: when it comes to exercise, we want the workout that burns the most calories in the shortest amount of time. You've come to the right place! Incorporate these types of workouts into your routine and watch the pounds fly off.

Plyometrics
POPSUGAR Photography | Kat Borchart

Plyometrics

Go ahead — jump for it: explosive movements like box jumps and jumping jacks help build strong muscles while burning 10 calories a minute. The key is to keep your moves quick and to land softly, so you are engaging leg and core muscles as you hit the ground.

Try one of these Tabata workouts:

Short Workouts
POPSUGAR Photography | Kat Borchart

Short Workouts

Never seem to be able to fit a solid workout? You can still see results even if you just have minutes to sweat — you just have to increase your intensity. A recent study found that just 20 minutes of exercise can cause changes to your muscle's DNA, including metabolism and afterburner effects, while other studies have shown improvements in multiple markers of health in as little as seven. The trick is to exercise at your max potential in 30-second bursts, followed by a recovery period. Sounds manageable, right? Get some workout ideas below.

Supersets
POPSUGAR Photography | Kat Borchart

Supersets

A form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), supersets are circuit workouts that pair two different sets of exercises, one right after the other with no resting in between. This ups the cardio element of any strength-training routine, helping you build muscle and shed fat in less time.

To do supersets, choose two types of moves to pair, either working the same or opposing muscle groups. Perform each set for your normal amount of reps and rest for a minute only once you've completed each superset (pair of moves). Get more details on how to do supersets here.

Try these time-saving superset workouts:

Tabata
POPSUGAR Photography | Kat Borchart

Tabata

Don't let the odd-sounding name scare you: Tabata is just a specific form of HIIT — one that burns, on average, 13.5 calories per minute! Tabata works like this: four minutes of high-intensity training, alternating between 20 seconds of max training, followed by a 10-second rest. Try it for two or three rounds for a quick workout that burns major calories. Get started with one of our Tabata workouts:

Kettlebells
POPSUGAR Photography | Kat Borchart

Kettlebells

If you want to burn calories fast, it's hard to go wrong with a kettlebell workout. The American Council on Exercise found that, on average, you can burn a whopping 400 calories in 20 minutes — talk about fast! The reason: multiplanar movement. "You're moving in different planes of movement," says Laura Wilson, director of programming for KettleWorX. "Instead of just going up and down, you're going to move side to side and in and out, so it's much more functional. It's like you move in real life: kettlebells simulate that movement, unlike a dumbbell."

Ready to get started with your own kettlebell workout? We've got just what you need: