GirlsGuideTo | Do You Know the Best Cardio Machines to Burn Fat Faster?

I was working on my fitness the other day at the gym and I got to thinking, why do another boring, pick-up-a-magazine stroll through 20 minutes on the elliptical work out? I wanted to channel my favorite spinning class and get a kick-butt, out-of-breath workout that melts fat before my eyes!

So what machine do I pick? Trainer Jeff Halevy told SELF that, "The biggest takeaway about using any type of cardio machine is that it will be most beneficial to fat loss if high-intensity intervals are utilized, and if either weight lifting or lighter, steady-state cardio is done immediately after — yes, after. This is not a recipe for maximal muscle growth but is the recipe for maximal fat loss."

Check out his recommendations for the top three cardio machines that will give you the most fat-loss bang for your buck at the gym, and little tweaks on how to make sure you're using them properly.

Ergonomic Rower
Because the entire body is working at once, and the heart needs to get blood and oxygen to the two largest muscle groups (legs and back), energy expenditure is very high. Most people can't log 20 minutes on a rower at a sufficient intensity, so try using intervals to start. Make sure to use proper rowing form.

StepMill
Use the StepMill (that evil machine that looks like a big set of rotating stairs)! Climbing stairs puts all of your body weight on a single leg at a time in a lunge pattern, so if you're doing the StepMill at 60 steps per minute, it's almost like lunging 60 times for each minute that you're on. Talk about sweat! But no holding onto the arm supports — it'll greatly decrease the demand on the body.

Treadmill
Since we all use it, we’ll give it a go. The two rules for the treadmill: never run flat and always use intervals. Why? Running on a flat treadmill is supereasy. I could easily run speeds would never reach outside. An incline of two should become your new "flat." This will keep the difficulty level up to maximize your time, but not so much so that it will burn you out the way a steep hill would (though I would encourage you to mix steep inclines into your training as well). The other rule is to use intervals. Treadmills were not intended for logging mileage, and again, the intervals will pay off for fat loss.

Happy sweating ladies!