Bridger said:
Hey ladies,
My fiancee is trying to figure what her heart rate should be during cardio for fat loss. She is currently jogging a few nights a week for about 30mins each time. She asked me for help with this only i've never done cardio for any length of time. I've done a google search and peeked at the forums but haven't found a definitive answer. Some say its a certain percentage of your max HR and some say 'target heart rate zone for fat loss is a myth'. My best guess is like a weight training session...
give it a high level of intensity and be done in like 45mins. If you take too long you are half assing it, too short and you over did it. She used to do spining classes in the past and kept her HR in a certain range and is convinced that is the way to do it, but can't remember what it was.
So, what do you ladies think? What is the best way to use cardio to burn fat? And which of us is right, or both?
Bingo. That's the ticket.
Weight training is far more effective for fat loss in the long term as well.
Funny you should ask this, this is the recent blog from Tom Venuto:
Last week's newsletter about high intensity interval
training versus steady state training produced more
emails, blog comments and web hits than any newsletter
so far this year.
Obviously, there is a lot of interest in cardio
training and how to do it right.
Sadly, most people are still doing 2 things terribly
wrong and it's killing their results.
As I thought about reviewing the newest scientific study
from Australia this week, or explaining the post workout
"afterburn effect" (EPOC), it dawned on me to backtrack
and ask...
WHY are people still confused about fat burning cardio
in the first place when the solution is drop dead simple,
common sense and right in front of our noses?
I thought to myself, "if I could help remove the SOURCE of
the confusion, then regardless of which cardio program you
choose, every decision and action that emerges from your
new understanding would be more productive right?"
(right!)
As best as I can figure, there are two major reasons
why people are still mucking up their cardio programs
for fat loss.
REASON #1 NOT ENOUGH FOCUS ON TOTAL CALORIES BURNED
Most people aren't burning enough darn calories.
Why? Well, I guess these folks are too busy worrying about
the "proper" type of exericse, the mode (steady or interval),
the "optimal" ratio of intervals, or the "best" duration.
Some people coast along on the treadmill at 2.3 miles per
hour or some similar sloth-like pace and they think
that just by hitting a TIME goal, such as 45 or 60 minutes,
that with "X" duration completed, they are assured to get
the results they want.
On the other extreme, we have folks who have found or created
some mega-intense, super-duper short training protocol like
the "4-minute wonder workout from Japan." Just because the workout
is high in intensity and performed in intervals, they too
think they are assured to get the results they want.
What's missing in both cases is the realization that total
fat loss is a function of total calories burned (assuming you
don't blow your diet, of course).
AND...
Total calories burned is a product of INTENSITY times DURATION,
not intensity OR duration.
Too much focus on one variable at the exclusion of the other
can lead to a less than optimal total calorie burn and disappointing
results. And remember, intensity and duration are *variables*
not absolutes! ("Variable" means you can change them... even
if your "guru" sez you can't!)
when you understand the relationship and interplay between
INTENSITY X DURATION you will find a "SWEET SPOT" where the
product of those variables produces the maximal calorie
burn and maximum fat loss, based on your current health
condition and your need for time efficiency.
REASON #2: TOO MUCH FOCUS ON WHAT TYPE OF CALORIES BURNED
There is one whopper of a mistake that is still KILLING
more people's cardio programs than any other, and that is:
Way too much focus on WHAT you are burning during the workout -
fats or carbohydrates - also known as "substrate utilization."
This idea comes from the notorious "fat burning zone" myth which
actually tells people to exercise SLOWER and LESS intensely
to burn more fat.
Hold on a minute. Pop quiz. Which workout burns more calories?
(A) A 30 minute leisurely stroll through the park
(B) A 30 minute, sweat-pouring, heart-pounding run?
Like, DUH!
And yet we STILL have trainers, authors and infomercial gurus
telling us we have to slow down if we want to burn more fat??? Bizarre.
The reason people still buy it is because the "fat burning
zone" myth sounds so plausible because of two little science facts:
* The higher your intensity, the more carbs you burn during the workout
* The lower your intensity, the more fat you burn during the workout
And thats the problem. You should be focusing on total calories
burned during the workout and ALL DAY LONG, not just WHAT type
of fuel you are burning during the workout.
It's not that fat oxidation doesn't matter, but what if you have
a high percentage of fat oxidation but an extremely low number
of calories burned?
If you want to be in the "fat burn zone," you could sit on
your couch all day long and that will keep you there quite
nicely because "couch sitting" is a really low intensity
("fat-burning") activity.
(Of course, "couch sitting" only burns 37 calories per half hour...)
HERE IS THE FAT-BURNING SOLUTION
In both cases, the solution to burning more fat is drop dead
simple: Focus your attention on how you can burn more TOTAL
calories during your workout and all day long.
If you want to burn more fat, burn more calories and you can
do that by manipulating ANY of the variables : intensity,
duration and also frequency.
If you build your training program around this concept, you
will be on the right track almost every time.
THERE IS MORE TO IT...
Naturally, we could argue that it's not quite
this simple and that there are hundreds of other reasons
why your cardio program might not be working... and I would
agree, of course. But on the exercise side, the ideas above
should be foremost in your mind.
On the nutrition side, you have to get your act together
there too.
For example, many people increase their food intake at
the same time as they start a cardio training program
thereby putting back in every calorie they burned during
the workout! Then some of them have the nerve to say,
"SEE, cardio doesnt work!"
Incidentally, this is the exact reason that a few studies
showed that adding cardio or aerobic training to a diet "did
not improve fat loss": It's not because the cardio didn't
work, it was because the researchers didnt control for food
intake and the subjects ate more!!
It should go without saying that nutrition is the foundation
on which every fat loss program is built.
Choose the combination of type, intensity, duration and
frequency that suits your lifestyle and preferences the
best, and WORK THE VARIABLES to get the fat loss results
you want
But whichever cardio program you choose, remember that a
solid fat burning nutrition program, such as Burn The Fat,
Feed The Muscle is necessary to help you make the most of it.
Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com
www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com
PS For more information on fat burning nutrition and
Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, visit:
http://www.burnthefat.com
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