Los Angeles, Dec 17 (IANS): Fat burning is the key to losing weight, toning up and getting the figure you desire. A few basic exercises involving cardio and weight training work best for long term benefits.

According to trainer David Caldwell, the first step towards getting in shape is to start exercising, moving and, most importantly, burning fat, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Here are a few basic tips to get started:

- Cardio: If you want to burn fat and see results quickly, cardio is vital. It speeds up your metabolism and is the best way to burn fat. There are the obvious activities like running, swimming and cycling, but if you don’t fancy them there are lots of other things you can do like horse riding, dancing or squash.

- Weight training: Weight training is essential to burn fat. The more lean muscle mass you have, the more energy your body will need to consume to function effectively and the more efficiently your body will burn fat.

- Combination exercise: Combination exercises combine weight training and cardio. They’re fantastic for burning fat and target multiple muscles so they really help you to get the most from your workout.