When leg muscles are compared to those of the back, which burns more fat? I’m a certified personal trainer.
When it comes to leg muscles vs. back in terms of burning the most fat, the answer is based on potential, because it depends on the exercise routine and how it’s carried out.
Leg muscles have the potential to burn more fat than those in the back. But the reverse is also true. However, suppose the back muscles are subjected to the most vicious weight lifting routine imaginable for this part of the body, and likewise, the legs are stressed with the most wicked weight workout conceivable.
With that being said, which muscle group would burn the most fat: legs, or back? It is legs! There is simply more muscle fiber packed into the body from the hips down, and this includes the muscle group that enables the legs to perform vital movements: the buttocks muscles.
Which lower body routines, when done intensely and with heavy weight, burns the most energy? Squats with a free barbell. Other major calorie burners are Smith squats, hack squats, deadlifts and leg presses (full range of motion).
Which back routines, when done intensely and with heavy resistance, burn the most fat? Pull-ups, chin-ups, lat pull-downs and bent-over dumbbell rows.
The way a routine is performed also influences how many calories are burned. Squats with light resistance will not burn as much fat as chin-ups to failure. This would be an example in which the back muscles burn more fat than those in the quads, hamstrings and glutes. Heavy lat pull-downs to failure will burn much more fat than will deadlifts with a 50 pound barbell.
Calories burned is also influenced by the rep max. A 10-rep max (and I mean a true, exhausting 10-rep max with your heaviest weight) will burn more fat than doing 15 reps and then stopping even though you could go to 20.
If rest time in between sets is too long, fat-burning potential is compromised. If rest time is too short, it’s compromised simply because you will not be recovered enough to exert significant effort for the next set.
Range of motion is also a factor. Performing decline leg presses with tons of weight piled on the machine, but lowering the sled only five inches, won’t use that many calories. Lighten the weight load and bring your legs down all the way so that your knees go past your chest on either side. This will recruit much more muscle fiber. Find your 12 rep max and do the pressing in this way, with 45 seconds in between sets, for five sets, for a blistering fat burning workout.
When considering maximal intensity and the best compound routines, leg muscles burn more fat than those in the back.