Burning Up Fat
Finding the best way to burn fat can be a difficult task. There are a countless number of articles that tell you the best way to burn fat. The funny thing is that most of the advice has no real backing. Lets take a look at the fat burning zone that you hear so many people talk about.
You may have noticed that some bikes and treadmills at the gym have a setting that says “fat burning zone”, which implies a setting for intensity or speed. The reason for this is that the body burns a greater percentage of fat at a slow pace (or after about 90 minutes of exercise). The fat burning zone, a low intensity speed zone is mainly a gimmick, and here is the reason.
Even though you burn more fat going slowly, you still burn a higher percentage of fat at much faster speeds or intensity. It all boils down to how much energy you expend in totality. For example, if you compare exercising at a slow rate that burns 60 percent fat and 40 percent glucose and a higher intensity or duration that burns only 30 percent fat and 70 percent glucose, you may still burn more fat at the higher intensity.
A typical example. Exercise (A) is the slower 60/40 mix and exercise (B) is the faster, 30/70 mix of fat and glucose fuel.
A. Walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes — 180 calories used — 108 calories of fat burned
B. Running on a treadmill for 30 minutes — 400 calories used — 120 calories of fat burned
You can see from this example that the bottom line really is how much energy you expend — and that is the ultimate fat burning measure. The theoretical fat burning zone is mostly a convenient myth.
The Best Method For Fat Loss
Increase muscle with weight training. Extra muscle helps to burn more energy at rest, even if only a little. This is called the resting metabolic rate of muscle or RMR. Extra muscle will also burn more fat in active phase, the active metabolic rate if you like, or the AMR, so having more muscle will definitely help burn more energy and fat.
Lift heavier weights. What I suggest is that the weights workout should be vigorous, with the number of repetitions kept at the low to medium end of the scale between 8 and 12 RM. To remind you, the RM is the repetition maximum, which means the most weight you can lift for this number of reps before fatigue. The 8-12 is within a range that should provide strength and bigger muscle growth, which is called hypertrophy.
If you go higher than this, say 15 to 20 repetitions to a set, or more, you are getting into the range where you would probably be better off doing cardio because the return on effort, the energy burn, is better spent jogging, cycling, stepping or rowing. At that number of repetitions you won’t build much muscle either, so very high-repetition training with weights has minimum value in my view.
Do aerobic exercise. Considering how much energy you would use in an hour of either type of exercise, weights or cardio, you must do some consistent aerobic or cardio work to burn fat.
Try high-intensity cardio. High-intensity exercise, even if only in short bursts, may rev up the metabolism and get that fat mobilized in the post-exercise period. Do some high intensity as well, but don’t overdo it, because burning the fat is a long-term project and you don’t want to get ‘burned out’. A group exercise program such as a solid cycle spin class might match this requirement. In fact, I highly recommend group cycle spin classes where you are encouraged to go fast, yet with the option to slow down if you need to.
You might also want to try using weight loss pills while working out. Diet pills that work can help give you some extra energy while working out, which in turn helps you to burn more calories with each work out. Some weight loss pills also help the body to increase muscle production and quicken recovery after working out. This can be extremely helpful when working on strength training. You might also want to try protein shakes to help give your muscles a little extra kick after working out.