Do you have a goal to lower fat? Did you know you don’t have to burn fat predominantly in order to lose fat? Whoa. What just happened there?! Stick with us to get the most accurate fat-burning advice directly and subcutaneously!
Let’s walk through the sometimes confusing realities of killing off kilocalories. Once we appreciate the role carbohydrates and fat both serve in providing fuel, we can understand how to select the “best” workout programs.
Go For A Caloric Deficit
The goal is to have a caloric deficit to lose any weight. That deficit comes from the age-old energy balance equation: take in fewer calories than we put out (eat less); put out more calories than we take in (move more). The entire weight-loss picture is far more complex, affected by a myriad of other factors. It’s not just about cals in and out, though you do have to start there!
Burn Calories Absolutely, Not Relatively
We break down carbohydrates 40 times faster than fat, with carbs supplying most of the fuel (energy) to power our exercise. Distinguish between absolute and relative numbers when thinking of fat loss. When you exercise with some intensity, you use a higher percentage of carbohydrates compared with fat as the fuel source. However, the highest total of burned calories is what you are going for. For that, you need to suck it up and add some effort.
Higher-intensity exercise burns more calories; however, a long, slow approach is better than what most of the adult population is doing — as in better than not much or nothing! But a workout with some oomph to it at a higher pace will use more total energy (calories) than the lower-intensity plan. Absolutely!
Fat Burning Is A Myth; Burn Calories
Forget needing to be in a “fat-burning zone” when making cardio equipment or fitness tech choices. Get in the calorie-burning zone, which is also a high carbs-burning zone. Here are the exciting, proven, no-magic-required realm of the four best training programs to maximize calorie burning and become lower fat! Let’s try all four methods.
4 Calorie-Burning Exercises
1. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Select a cardio activity you enjoy, such as cycling, running, walking, or using a row machine. Go as hard as you can for about 30 seconds. Then recover at a self-selected, variable pace for about 3–4 minutes. Complete 4–8 rounds for a total workout time of about 30–45 minutes.
2. Tempo Training
This fat-burning workout has you going at your hardest, fastest tempo for 20 minutes max. Pick a pace you can sustain for this shortened duration and give it your all! Recovery is at the end for as long as you need. That’s it! Simple and hard at the same time.
3. Split Training
Ready, set, go for 10 minutes as hard as you can at a pace you can sustain for the time, but no longer. Take a recovery break for as long as you need, up to around 5 minutes. While you can stick with one mode for this method (such as all jump roping), it’s best to alternate between two activities: treadmill for the work interval and elliptical for recovery, for example.
4. Steady-State Training
Go with this approach when you need a low-to-moderate intensity recovery day. Walking is a great activity for the steady-state workout. You want to move comfortably for 30 minutes to 1 hour at a constant pace that allows you to sustain a conversation. If you launch into a long-winded monologue, pick it up a bit. If you are panting out a few words, then having to grab your breath, ease up a bit.
And if you forget all this, simply recite the Kymberly mantra: “Go as hard as you can, as long as you can, as often as you can.” I hear the sizzle of calorie burning already!
