There is no questioning the fact that aerobic exercise for at least 20-30 minutes, 3 or more days per week will burn fat. Even in the running world it is recommended that you do long slow distance running to burn fat. However, are these the best routines for burning the most fat?
I ask this question because there are better and far more effective routines. Most of these routines include more intense work. Understand that when you do intense activity, the rate of burning calories increases greatly. Within a very short period of time, you can burn a considerable number of calories, much more than you can with slow low intensity work.
When you do low intensity work, as occurs in many aerobic activities, you must continue the activity for long periods of time to burn the same amount of fat as occurs in more intense work for shorter periods of time. Keep in mind that in order for the activity to be of low intensity it must be done at a slow rate of speed.
For greater caloric and fat expenditure, you should strive to increase both the intensity and duration of your activity. This means working at a higher heart rate, but still in the aerobic zone, for longer periods of time.
Note that aerobic activity is not the only effective way to lose fat. For example, athletes who do a combination of aerobic and anaerobic work typically do not possess much fat.
Thus you should participate in activities that contain intense periods of work as they can effectively burn more fat while at the same time maintain or improve muscle tone and body shape.
For more information see Biomechanics and Kinesiology of Exercise and Body Shaping.