Tips from the Trainer

BURNING QUESTIONS ABOUT FAT AND METABOLISM

Resistance Training and Metabolism

Fact: Resting metabolic rate is influenced by the body’s amount of fat-free mass (muscle). Adding muscle to your frame increases the demand for energy, helping you burn more calories all day long, even at rest. Build muscle by incorporating resistance training into your routine!

Fun Fact: EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), also known as exercise after-burn, is the amount of calories burned above resting values after the exercise bout ends. EPOC is dependent on exercise intensity and can burn 65 to 150 calories post-workout.

Cardiovascular Exercise and Fat Metabolism

Fact: One of the primary physiological and metabolic adaptations to cardiovascular exer­cise is the increase in the number and size of the mitochondrion. These are the cells’ pow­er houses and “fat burning furnaces.” Result: doing cardio builds you more and bigger furnaces, making you a better fat-burner.

Which Burns More: High Intensity or Low-Intensity Cardio?

Fact: Both are effective for burning fat. Carbo­hydrates and fat are the main fuel sources utilized for energy during exercise. Fat is the primary fuel during low intensity exercise. As exercise intensity increases, the ratio shifts: more carbohydrate and less fat is burned. When exercise intensity increases to near-max levels (lactate threshold), moving from aerobic to anaerobic, carbohydrates become the main fuel source. However, once exercise continues beyond 1.5 to 2 hours, muscle glycogen (carbohy­drate) and blood glucose concentration levels drop. This metabolic state creates a deficit in the availabil­ity of carbohydrates, requiring the muscles to switch back to fat for fuel.

Fact Sum-Up:

Low intensity exercise—Mostly fat

Moderate to High intensity exercise—Blend; more carbohydrate than fat

Near-Max intensity—Mostly carbohydrate

More than 1.5–2 hours of exercise—Mostly fat

Though a greater percentage of fat is used during low intensity exercise, high intensity training yields a greater TOTAL calorie expenditure and total amount of fat burned.

Spot Reduction and Body Fat

Fact: There is no such thing as spot reduction. You cannot ab crunch away the body fat around your mid-section. When doing exercises for a specific body part, it is the muscles that are being targeted and not the fat itself. If fat loss is the goal, focus your efforts on burning more energy than you consume. Balance your program with cardiovascular and resistance training and a healthy diet.

Note: High-intensity training may not be appropriate for sedentary individuals or those with orthopedic, cardiac or health risks. In these cases, the best weight loss plan is to start with low intensity work and gradually progress to longer duration. High intensity exercise should not be done daily due to the potential risk of overtraining and overuse injury. It is recommended to balance both high and low intensity exercise for optimal calorie expenditure.