Heath & Beauty - Free Fitness Library
Making sense of fat-burning claims
With so many recommendations on the "ideal" way to burn fat, figuring out how hard, how long and how many times per week to work out to maximise fat loss appears to be a complex mathematical formula. In an effort to demystify the fat-burning process, IDEA, the international association of fitness professionals, recently published definitive guidelines for fat loss that anyone can apply to his or her individual exercise programme.
According to an article written by Ralph La Forge, MS and Daniel Cossich, PhD, in Idea Today, IDEA's monthly trade magazine for fitness professionals, the controversy about the ideal way to burn fat lies in whatever low-intensity or high-intensity exercise is the greater fat burner. Studies have shown that your body uses mostly fat for energy when exercising for a prolonged period of time at a low-intensity (30 plus minutes at less than 50% of aerobic capacity), while at a high-intensity (70-75% of aerobic capacity), you are using mainly carbohydrate energy but expending a greater number of calories.
Because exercising at low intensity burns a greater percentage of fat, it's tempting to conclude that low-intensity exercise burns the greatest amount of fat. However, because exercising at a high intensity burns more calories, a greater total volume of fat is actually burned. For maximum fat burning, the goal is high intensity exercise.
While no single exercise prescription is ideal for everyone because of individual variations in metabolism, following are guidelines for working up to a high intensity workout. (Of course, anyone who is new to exercise should consult with his or her physician before starting an exercise program).
1. Start with low-intensity exercise. Include strength training twice
a week to increase muscle mass.
2. Exercise in alternating intervals of high and low intensity to extend
the exercise session.
3. Once you have developed a reasonable level of cardiorespiratory fitness
(you're exercising three to four times per week for 25 to 40 minutes
at moderate intensities), you can begin to increase the rate of fat
loss. Gradually increase exercise duration to 50-60 plus minutes at
least three to five days per week, and raise the intensity as high as
you can sustain it without working to exhaustion.
4. Realise that it will take at least six months to see major changes
in your body, and at least a year to totally change your body composition.
To determine a percentage of your aerobic capacity (or your "training heart rate"), subtract your age from 220, then multiply by the desired percentage. For example, a low intensity (40 percent of aerobic capacity) training heart rate for a 30 year old is 76 beats per minute (220-30=190x0.40=76)
Ralph La Forge, MS, is director of health promotion at the San Diego Cardiac Centre medical Group. Daniel Kosich, PhD, is president of EXERFIT Lifestyle Consulting and consulting senior director of professional development for IDEA.
IDEA, the international association of fitness professionals, is the leading resource for fitness and healthy lifestyle information and professional development. IDEA membership consists of more than 24,000 aerobic instructors, personal trainers, program directors and club/studio owners from78 countries.
For more information contact San Diego, USA 619 535 8979