Today’s blog article is in tandem with GoldnWarrior (GW) Warrior Workout program’s wellness talk on Exercise Myths.
There are many of us who have been misinformed about the Fat Burning Zone, in that it is the most efficient way to lose weight. We’ve heard this advice before, “If you want to lose a few pounds you need to exercise in the fat-burning zone.” But as studies have shown, it isn’t necessarily the right way to go, especially if you aim for weight loss. Read on to get new insight before you get on that treadmill/long run/aerobic class.
What Is the Fat Burning Zone?
The “fat-burning zone” is a theory wherein maintaining a heart rate of 70-80% of maximum heart rate during exercise burns fat. This happens when you are on a constant heart rate level for a period of time. Generally, it is at a long, slow, steady-state aerobic exercise, considered as a low-intensity workout. These include exercises such as slow jogging, brisk walking, dance class.
There are apps and tools and calculators that actually recommend and keep track of your heart rate and keep you informed once you’re pulse rate (beats per minute -BPM) has reached the desired level of ‘fat-burning heart-rate’. This is all good if you want to target endurance, and if you’re training for endurance sports like marathons. However, It’s isn’t the case if you’re aiming for weight loss. As Rachel Cosgrove, of Active.com puts it: “A different plan of attack needs to be used to burn fat—a more effective plan”.
3 Myths Busted
Myth #1: Fat Burning Zone is applicable to everyone. False. Most cardio workout machines have a heart rate chart based on age, an ‘average’ basis assuming everyone has the same heart condition, lifestyle, sleep quality, good nutrition. This clearly is not an accurate measure for you as an individual, as you have your own health and nutrition history. The Fat Burning Zone and heart rate chart actually helps endurance athletes in their power training, making efficient burn and use of their fat fuel (like marathon/ long-distance runners/cyclists) in times when they need it.
Myth #2: The more aerobic exercises I do, the more fat I will burn. There is some truth to this, that at lower intensities (and longer periods), the body burns fat as fuel, but at a low rate. Therefore, it may take much longer (1hour + of exercise) to reach that high fat-burning rate. However, higher intensities burn more total calories, due to the faster fat-burning rate, means more fat calories burned vs. lower intensity workout. So if you’re exercising at a low intensity where you still can muster up a conversation and have you breathing at a regular rate, you’re not efficiently burning fat. Instead, you’re conditioning your endurance and heart.
Myth #3: Exercising on the Fat Burning Zone increases my metabolism. The answer here is, False. Metabolism is greatly dependent on how much muscle mass you carry. It is in Muscle repair and rebuilding that increases metabolism. It is at REST that fat is metabolized. Aerobics and low-intensity workouts do nothing to maintain and build muscle. It does not help raise metabolism while at rest. Muscle building, repair, and rebuilding lean muscle is the key to increased metabolism. And raising your metabolism is what long-term fat loss and body transformation are about.
We Recommend
- Myth #1, we recommend: There are other indicators of fat-burning, and it isn’t solely on the fat-burning zone. Consider your nutrition, hydration, lifestyle habits, stress level, rest and recovery, and quality of sleep. All these with a consistent and a variety of exercises will lead to weight loss for the long-term.
- Myth #2, we recommend: Go for High-Intensity-interval-Training (HIIT) exercises or Circuit Training workouts. Research proves it burns more calories in intense 20-30minutes of exercise only, as your body regains normal oxygen levels hours after the workout, called the Afterburn Effect.
- Myth #3, we recommend: Include exercises in weights training/ body-weight exercises. As women age, muscle mass turns into fat mass much quicker. The best way to battle that transition is to maintain muscle mass through weight training.
GoldnWarrior works as the Exercise Arm of FindYourFierceGlobal. Here is a workout video using a Circuit Training format. Follow this video for a FIERCE GoldnWarrior workout.
Imagine if
Imagine if Fat and Weight was not the focus, but rather having a stronger heart, a fitter, stronger body, better sleep, better nutrition were instead our main goals? Weight and Fat loss will become the after-effect. Exercising at the Fat Burning Zone is not really foolproof to attaining weight loss, nor fat burn. Other factors play a major part in it too: proper nutrition, managed stress level, sleep, and hydration. Aerobic, cardio nor weight lifting alone isn’t the answer either. It takes consistency, commitment, and a variety of forms of exercise. Incorporating HIIT and cardio exercises actually fast tracks fat-burn, improved cardio, and weight loss. Consider it hitting 2 birds with 1 stone. Now that’s FIERCE!
featured image by: Flip Mroz Unsplash
video courtesy of: GoldnWarrior In YouTube