A brief note: exercise selection for fat loss

What makes an effective fat burning exercise?

I suggest one that works a big group of muscles working together. These demand the most energy (aka pulling in those fat stores!) This is why the big three:

squats, dead lift and bench press are effective.

the most effective way to burn through fat is to promote muscle... do you have to be the biggest person in the room? nope, are you competing to be the biggest person in the room? well that's for you to answer. Regardless male or female promoting muscle is always going to effectively burn the most fat, period!

fellas... notice i have said big muscle groups, this doesn't mean biceps no matter how big you think they are

Two more i would include on this are slightly more for the advanced trainer:

Wide grip pull ups Clean & press

all 5 are very demanding mentally and physically and incorporating these into your training strategy will ultimately achieve you results.