For years now, George and F45 have spruiked the benefits of functional fitness, a method of training that can easily be factored into your daily life. While running a marathon is impressive and obviously beneficial to your health, it’s unlikely you’re going to encounter a circumstance that requires you to run 42.2km in a single stretch. Similarly, bench-pressing 150kg is a true achievement, but unless you find yourself trapped under a runaway car, it will remain an ability that has no place outside the gym walls. Therein lies the beauty of functional fitness and functional training.

When it comes to functional training and weight loss exercises, it’s easy to fall into the trap of simply doing cardio or exclusively performing strength sessions. If your goal is to find workouts to lose weight, you really need to add a healthy mix of all three training protocols into your regime, targeting all muscles groups throughout a session. “You should aim to target your entire body where you can. This ensures that your whole body is targeted and you won’t miss training a certain body part if you can’t make the session on a certain day,” George says. “The more muscles that are needed in a movement, the more energy you will burn.”

In order to get yourself sorted for Summer, a solid routine is a must. It’s precisely why we asked George to pull together the ultimate shred workout to lose weight this beach season. Like many of functional training workouts at F45, George has grouped a range of weight loss exercises to create a mixed methodology circuit. For this particularly weight loss workout, the protocol will remain the same throughout the exercise. Completing all stations in the circuit counts as one lap and for this weight loss workout, four laps should be completed in total.

This movement is similar to manual abdominal roll-out, with two added squats thrown in. The superset-style exercise works both your core and lower body one after another, making sure you engage in a full-structured routine. To complete;

While generic push-ups work out your centre core and triceps, adding a slight rotation at either end can help to target your obliques. This can, in turn, help you to craft a more defined midsection. Similarly, the AMRAP-style function means your hear-rate is high and you will continue to burn calories throughout the exercise. To complete;

Lunges are a great weight loss exercise because they target core areas of the body simultaneously. These high-intensity lateral lunges get your heart-rate, while working out with glutes and hamstrings. To complete;

As far as the best weight loss exercises go, it’s no surprise many of them target the midsection. The Superman Complex allows you hit the major muscle groups in the abdominal region through a full body movement. To complete;

One of the stranger movements in this circuit, Frog Squats are an exercise centred around balance, core strength and lower body stability. While they may feel a little uncomfortable at first, adding this weight loss exercise to your routine will have significant benefits in the long run. To complete;

The much-maligned burpee is a staple of functional fitness and a great weight loss exercise to add to your regime, but George has modified the movement for extra impact. To complete;

Another superset exercise group, this movement fuses Bicycle Crunches and Leg Raises to absolutely blast your abdominal region. To complete;

More like a yoga pose than standard HIIT or functional training movement, the Four Point Extension targets your core and extremities in a unique way. This weight loss exercise focuses more on concentration and control, so while other movements employ an AMRAP protocol, for this one it’s better to aim for 8-12 reps over the 45 seconds. To complete;

Another lunge movement with an added modification, this movement is a great exercise in core stability. You will need to pivot and hold your squat mid-way down, which can prove to be challenging. To complete;

Starting first with some fast movements, this weight loss exercise will have your blood pumping immediately. By having your heart-rate up throughout the workout, you will burn more calories, which can lead to greater fat loss in the long-term. To complete;

While the weight loss exercises listed will certainly boost your fitness journey, they aren’t enough to simple change your life. There are other factors that you need to consider, particularly if you plan on maintaining a level of fitness throughout the Summer.

“Staying consistent throughout the year is definitely more beneficial for your overall health, but you can step things up if you’re looking to lean up for Summer,” George says. “If you’re only doing three sessions a week, try incorporating one or two more. Tracking the progress of your workouts with a heart rate monitor (we use Lionheart monitors in our studios) can help keep you accountable and give you a target goal to reach in each session – aim for 45 Lionheart points and you’ll definitely feel the difference.”

It goes without saying, but if you want to lose weight, diet is critical, but it’s more than just eating well. “Make sure you fuel your body with a healthy diet, stay hydrated with plenty of water, and ensure you’re getting adequate sleep to help with your recovery,” George says. “Enlisting a workout buddy is also a great way to stay accountable and enjoy your sessions more, plus it can add in a little healthy competition during the session”

While your overall goal might be ‘get shredded’, that doesn’t really count as an achievable or measurable aim. George says the key to long-term success is long-term goal-setting. “Don’t just treat this process with a short term goal in mind, rather use this time to focus on your long term fitness goals as well and you’ll be on the right track,” he says. “Make small changes that you can maintain in the long run and before you know it, you will be living a healthier lifestyle.”