Hitting the fat burning zone
When it is time to shed some weight, the treadmills ‘fat burning’ mode might be the way to go. But does a slow and steady power walk really gets the job done? Loosing weight might be a little trickier than that!
There has been a lot of debate around the benefits of lower and higher intensity training. The question is “what will make you burn more calories?”.
Low vs high intensity
The standard rule is that during lower intensity activity, the body burns a greater amount of stored fat for fuel and so would be ideal for weight loss.
Higher intensity training is believed to burn more carbohydrates and a better choice for building cardiovascular endurance.
An important fact to know is that the two zones aren’t all that distinct. Fat burning can actually take place at both zones, whether it is at 65-85% of someone’s maximum heart rate (high intensity) or at 55-75% (low intensity).
While the body burns a higher percentage of calories from fat at a slower pace, high intensity cardio blasts burn a greater number of overall calories, particularly during recovery, even up to 48 hours after training.
So what is the answer?
Some of the most effective fat-burning routines, like interval training, offers the best of both worlds. Interval training requiring bursts of intense activity with intervals of lighter activity. This way the body oxidises fat and blasts calories without spending hours on a treadmill.
On top of this is some kind of strength training that is highly recommended. The more lean muscle your body has, the higher your metabolism and then more calories you will burn.
Getting your diet right and keeping it healthy and balanced is very important.