Many people who engage in a weight loss program focus entirely on cardio training which include running, cycling, aerobics and such. While performing cardio exercises is certainly a good thing, you can reap double benefits if you try to build some muscles as well on your entire body. So there is no need to ditch your regular cardio routine but instead make your weight loss regime even more spicy by adding some muscle building exercises. No need to go to the extreme and perform every exercise out there. I will simplify your task.

Just focus on compound exercises. These are perfect for sculpting your body and add some muscle mass to get the athletes' physique. Compound exercises include any exercise which solicit several muscle groups at once like push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats, lunges, bench press, bent-over rows, military press, deadlift, pull-downs. These are powerful compound exercises which not only help you to build muscle but also to burn fat and lose weight as they demand much energy and effort. If you perform several of them in a day properly with several sets and repeats usually 3-5 sets per exercise and 8-12 reps per set, this will be extremely beneficial for your weight loss goals. Use moderate to heavy weights which allow you to perform between 8-12 reps. In addition, this will give you an edge in your cardio training as compound movements build muscular strength and stamina too. Here is what you should know about compound exercises to lose weight:

Compound exercises will build muscle fast. With more muscles in your body, your metabolic rate also known as your metabolism will increase. Your metabolic rate is the speed at which your body burns fat and also the speed at which it processes food for digestion and energy. The higher it is, the more body fat you'll burn and your food will get digested faster for use as energy. This is why people who have sluggish metabolism tend to have poor digestion and slow fat-burning activity, thus they gain weight faster. Having a great metabolic rate will also have a positive impact on your basal metabolic rate(BMR). The BMR of a person is actually the minimal number of calories burnt everyday even when at rest and doing nothing. So your BMR will get a boost, hence you'll burn even more calories while doing nothing as compared to a person with a sedentary lifestyle. Due to a boost in your overall metabolic activity, you'll experience better thermogenesis which is the production of heat in the human body. Consequently, this will speed up the fat-burning process and inevitably, you'll burn excess calories faster. If you get rid of excess calories, naturally you'll end up losing weight.

The great thing about compound exercises is you just need to do your muscle building routine twice per week say Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday. Here is an example:

Monday - push-ups, bench press, squats, lunges, pull-downs
Thursday - pull-ups, bent-over rows, deadlift, military press, dips

Just these few compound exercises will give you a total body workout as they solicit more muscle fibers during the movement. On the other week days, you can perform your usual cardio routine. If you follow this program religiously and adhere to it day in day out, you'll be amazed how much weight you can lose in a short span of time.

Here are some more tips. It's important to get adequate rest and sleep to let your muscles recover and proper nutrition is key as well. This is why it's imperative to have a solid diet in place focusing on lean protein, complex carbs, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats and water.

Next time, if you ever ask yourself whether compound exercises are good to lose weight, refer back to this article.