4 Our Health

Question:

The Fat Burning Zone & Fat Burning Myths
  The Fat Burning Zone is not a myth as such, but is not well titled or is generally not explained very well. Both Resistance and Cardio Training stimulate different physiological responses in your body depending on your the % of Maximum Heart Rate used, Repetition Range and overall Intensity. In order to work in this "zone"
The reason it's called The Fat Burning Zone is that when your is working around 55ish to 65ish percent of HRmax your body becomes very efficient at metabolising fat as energy, improving your endurance potential and capiliarisation, i.e. blood flow to the muscles etc... This ,overall, improves your body's ability to release, transport and absorb nutrients for energy and repair. It's proper title is Long Slow Distance Training or LSDT and is used as foundation in any training programme from MR & MRs Smith to an elite athlete. It is very low intensity training and you may not feel as though anything is actually happening. Remember it's not always about what you can see and feel on the outside. It has many benefits, however calorie expenditure is minimal. Once your body has trained to become more efficent at functioning in this way as a result of LSDT you can increase the intensity and these already gotten benefits will transfer directly.
As for the myth of depleteing glycogen stores to the degree that fat will be used instead is simply not true as well as a sweeping statement saying that resistance training prior to Cardio training will put you in the "Fat Burning Zone" quicker.
When the body is working Aerobically it is ALWAYS using Glycogen, Fat and Oxygen as fuel. On a sliding scale this actually happens from zero activity (sleeping) right up to around 90% of HRmax. All that happens is that the ratios change depending on intensity. The traditional "Fat Burning zone" came about as means getting people into activity without the stigma of high intensity training and keeping the risk of injury minimal. But in reality it occurs right across the scale as previously mentioned.
In the traditional "Fat Burning Zone" the Ratio for average joe is around 60% Glyc & 40% Fat. With training this can be improved to roughly 50/50. As training intensity increases the Glycogen becomes the dominant fuel source and fat gradually takes a back seat. Even though the % of fat on the sliding scale becomes less, overall calorie expenditure increases dramitically proprtionally with intensity and therefore so does the expenditure of fat calories.
Contrary to popular belief when Glycogen is depleted the body can NO LONGER metabolise fat. At this point the body WILL switch to using protein as a fuel source, firstly by scavaging excess protien in the blood stream and after that muscle tissue. In addition to this process you body will activate fat storage enzymes (For prehistoric survival reasons) in order to save as many calories as it can. Ultimately achieving the opposite of most peoples goals.
Depending on what you are trying to achieve there are arguments for executing one type of training before the other during a session and there always will be. For Mr & Mrs Smith these effects of swapping around are fairly minimal. I recomend that you don't worry too much about the order and do what you enjoy, even if it means swapping things around just to shake things up a bit.
If a client wants/has to do both disciplines in the one session I always recommend Resistance before Cardio, but mainly because its safer as technique is often heavily compromised by fatigue and therefore performance and ultimately results. If you can afford more visits to the gym I recomend splitting over two days by alternating. However what ultimately makes the decision is available time to train, personal goals and programme content. There is no definitively right answer, so experiment and find what works best for you.
Hope this helps!!!
Kenny

Answer:

Hi intensity aerobic activity 'burns' fat more effectively than low intensity. Not only this, but it will speed up your metabolsim and keep it boosted up for a short while afterwards too.
What counts from your CV session is the actual cals burned per unit of time. So the more cals you expend, the more fat that will be broken down.
For example -
Walking (low intensity aerobic) for 60 mins burns 270Cals, of which 160 Cals (approx 60% of total cals burned) comes from fat
Running (hi intensity aerobic) for same time, 60 mins, burns 680 cals, of which 270cals (approx 40% of total cals burned) comes from fat.
So Hi intensity CV will result in more fat burned over the same unit of time (60 mins in this example).
This will apply to anyone, regardless of fitness levels, as exercise intensity is always realtive to the individuals' body.
The walk I mentioned above at may represent hi intense exercise for some people, whereas running at 10km/Hr would be considered low intensity for someone who's very fit.

Answer:

Aha, everything suddenly becomes clear! I was always a bit sceptical of a magic fat-burning zone, especially when my heartrate gets there just by walking. So i've alwyas ignored the zones, without really knowing what they were.
But now i understand... cheers for the explanations :D

Answer:

Kenny! :wave:
Not seen you in months, if not years, on here.
Welcome back. :D
kateab

Answer:

Hi Kateab! & Fat Burning Coninued!!
  Hi Kateab
Yes it has been a couple of years now. Hope all is well with you!!
While I'm here I should also mention that as you approach 90% of your thoretical maximum heart rate (On a sliding scale) your body becomes less efficient at releasing fat as energy, but the calculation still remains that overall calorie expediture is much higher, therefore so will you expenditure of fat. When you cross the threshold of 90% your body stops using fat as fuel and shifts to using diffrerent energy systems, of which there are several.
It is worth noting that the percentages I am quoting speak for the general population, However you may find these cross over point occur at different %'s depending of you own physical condition. Again it's not an exact science, but they do offer a relativley reliable guide to get you started and keep you on the right track.
There are two easy ways of calculating HRmax
Age Adjusted:
220 - age = Theoretical Maximum Heart Rate (HRmax)
Training zones are then based and calculated on % of HRmax
Target Training Zone Heart Rate = HRmax x % = ?Bpm
Karvonen Method:
This system requires your True Resting Heart Rate, which can be found while sleeping and wearing a Programmable Polar Heart Rate Monitor or similar device.
200 - True Resting Heart Rate (RHR) = Heart Rate Reserve (HRR)
As previously stated TRaining Zone heart rates are calculated and based on %'s of HRR.
Target Training Zone Heart Rate = (HRR x %) + RHR = ?Bpm
The Karvonen Method is the most accurate as it includes information based on an individual and will therefore be more specific to that person.
These systems should help you train more efffectively during your cardio sessions as you no longer need to follow speed or incline. As you become fitter you will train faster/steeper incline, but your target HR reamians the same.
Hope this helps!!
Kenny