mederate intensity vs. high intensity

[jenny27]

ok here's the scoop...i'm trying to lose fat and maintain muslce and have been weight training and cardio (4-5x a week 45min either jogging or walking on an incline around 3mph). Now I hear that doing higher intensity cardio for say 20 min would benefit me better than what I'm doing. I'm a little confused and don't want to change things up if I'm not positive that it will benefit me more. I would appreciate any feedback and possibly a sample cardio session.

 

[crew9]

Pretty sure lower intensity, like walking as opposed to running, was more effective at fat burning?

 

[150shot]

I would go would mix it up if your torn. for me I like higher, it gets the heart rate up to a faster rate which I like the feel more.

 

[crew9]

I would go would mix it up if your torn. for me I like higher, it gets the heart rate up to a faster rate which I like the feel more.

There is a difference between cardio and fat burning though.

 

[Bulldog_10]

Technically, the lower the intensity, and longer the duration...the percentage of fat being oxidized goes up...whether this translates to actual fat loss depends more than just the type of exercise you're doing.

 

[Aerojaxx]

HIIT - High Intensity interval training works best for me.....Go like hell for 5 min slow down for 5 min; Go like hell 10 min slow down for 5 min; Go like hell 5 min - slow down, cool down.

 

[bebasshome]

I wish I could link you to the page in my Exercise Phys book. It goes into pretty good detail about the benefits of HIT cardio, as opposed to moderate cardio for optimal fatburning. As well as some graphs, and studies done on fat loss comparing low intensity, to hit cardio. Essentially....the lower intensity "fat burning zone", does hold some merit, in that at lower intensity, you burn a higher PERCENTAGE of fat, to carbs.

HOWEVER, at HIGH intensity, you burn MORE FAT CALORIES. Almost 50% more actually. That is, if you can maintain a higher intensity, which generally corresponds to 85%+ of your max heart rate. For example....5 minutes of sprinting won't do you much good, but if you can keep that up for 15-20minutes, you'll burn a greater # of fat calories, then if you were just say walking on a treadmill, or going easy on an elliptical for 45minutes. Now, granted, you burn a great deal of carbohydrates also. So HIT cardio usually isn't always practical, unless you have a decent amount of carbs in your diet. If you don't, you could potentially eat into your lean muscle mass, which none of us want.

I know there's a bunch of links on the web concerning HIT cardio research, but I'm running late for class, so I gotta run, hope this helped you out.

Brian

 

[leatherface]

Burning fat doesn't necessarily mean losing weight. Without going into much detail here, if your trying to lose fat and maintain muscle, you can switch it up once in a while, but primarily, high intensity. I would recommend HIIT as well. If your really curious go ahead and do a couple weeks of both, see what you like.

 

[Joe Stenson]

A word of warning: For the cardio to truly be HIGH intensity there is no way one can keep this pace up for as long as some are suggesting in this thread. If you're "sprinting" for 5 minutes, you are NOT sprinting.

 

[MsBeverlyHills]

i'm trying to lose fat and maintain muslce and have been weight training and cardio (4-5x a week 45min either jogging or walking on an incline around 3mph).

whats your weight training workout? Heavy/ hi intensity lifting is superior to cardio for burning fat & maintaining muscle, while your dieting. Its prob your lifting routine that needs tweaking more than your jogging or walking.