You don't have to hit the gym hard to burn a bunch of calories. As you go about your day, your body naturally goes through calories just to exist. If you're looking for ways you can go the extra mile to torch more calories throughout the day, try these 5 tips and tricks ahead to burn more calories fast and easy.

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1. Eat Before You Workout
You might not think that having a bite before exercising is the best idea, but having some food in your system actually revs up your metabolism to burn extra calories before, during and long after your workout. According to a study conducted by the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, people who ate breakfast before exercising expended more energy and yielded higher fat-burn rates compared to those who hadn't eaten breakfast before hitting the gym. Even better, those who enjoyed a little pre-workout breakfast torched more calories over a complete 24-hour period post-workout.

2. Exercise Your Lower Body
Your legs contain the largest mucscles in your body that require the most energy, and thus burn more calories. According to Chris Jordan, director of exercise physiology at the Human Performance Institute, focusing on exercises that target the glutes, quads and hamstrings will create more micro-tears in the muscle that your body has to utilize calories to repair. 

3. High Intensity Interval Training
Get off the treadmill and engage in high intensity interval training (also known as HIIT). Alternating between periods of maximum intensity and rest will whip your body into peak shape by burning the same amount of calories in half the time as you would logging 60 minutes on the treadmill.

4. Switch Up Your Workouts
Whether it's running, boxing or yoga, be sure to mix up your routine frequently. As your body gets stronger, it adapts in just three weeks to a particular workout, meaning it won't burn quite as many calories as it used to. 

5. Exercise Outdoors
In Arizona, we're blessed with amazing weather all year long to exercise outside. Whether your preference is hiking, running in your neighborhood or playing tennis, taking your workout outdoors challenges the body to overcome different temperatures, varied terrain and wind resistance, which in turn helps you burn more calories!