admin
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Joined: 3/12/2007
Posts: 26 |
Subject: Running For Fat Loss
Running For Fat Loss
by Josh Clark
As fat-loss exercises go, running is right at the top. Although
you may hear that lower-intensity exercises such as walking and
jogging are better for fat-burning, it's not entirely the case.
It is true that the proportion of fat to carbohydrates burned is
higher with low-intensity exercise - the same is true for
sitting in front of your computer right now. But high-intensity
exercise, like running, burns more total calories per minute
(and marginally more per mile), including a higher absolute
number of fat calories.
That said, this does not mean that you should necessarily do
heavy, intense sprinting to burn the most fat. It's the law of
diminishing returns. As you increase the intensity of your
workout to maximum effort, your body uses fewer and fewer
calories of fat and more from carbohydrate-supplied glycogen.
This is because it's easier for your body to convert glycogen
into energy - when your body works at peak effort it seeks
energy from the most efficient source. So the key is finding
the right balance: an exercise level that is sufficiently
intense to burn more calories, but not so intense that you
stop burning fat altogether.
To burn this fat most efficiently, it is ideal to run for at
least forty minutes per session. While you burn mainly
carbohydrates in the first minutes of your run, your body
switches to fat as its primary fuel after about 30 minutes.
The key is managing the intensity of your workout. When your
running becomes very labored, you're not burning much fat.
If you can keep up an easy comfortable pace for 40 minutes,
that's ideal. If 40 minutes is a stretch for you, or if you
start becoming very tired, take frequent breaks of brisk
walking. You will burn more fat with three of these
40-minute workouts a week than you will with six
20-minute workouts.
Over time, too, as your body becomes more and more
accustomed to exercise, your muscles become trained to
use more fat as fuel, rather than carbohydrates. Because
muscle feeds on fat, it becomes a snowball effect: the
higher your percentage of muscle, he more fat you burn all
day long. Keep in mind that as you lose fat, you may not
necessarily lose by the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat. |
| Posted: 1/16/2008 |
Play nice.. |
ashley2212
Forum Mod
Joined: 12/13/2007
Posts: 61
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Subject:
I hate running lol
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| Posted: 1/19/2008 |
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