When you’re on the treadmill, do you go fast and short, or slow and long? Which type of cardio workout burns more fat?
On just about every piece of cardio equipment, you’ll find that notorious “fat burning” program. This program keeps your heart rate pretty low and your exercise intensity moderate. It follows the premise that when you exercise at a lower percentage of your maximum heart rate, ie, the “fat-burning zone,” you burn a higher percentage of fat.
But does it really burn the most fat? The answer is no.
The problem is, because you’re working at a lower intensity level, you’re burning fewer calories overall, and overall calories burned is the key to losing the most fat.
If you have only a half hour to work out, and you want to maximize your fat burn, increase the intensity. You’ll burn more calories overall, and thus, more fat calories overall. This doesn’t mean that you have to go at full-speed your whole workout.
Interval training is a great option for incorporating some higher intensity cardio workouts into your schedule.
You may be thinking, “I’ll just walk on the treadmill for 60 minutes instead of running for 30 minutes, as long as I burn the same amount of calories.”
Any kind of cardio, be it walking or running, is great. However, higher-intensity cardio increases your after-workout calorie burn.
This is because of the exercise post-oxygen consumption (EPOC) effect. Current studies show that working at approximately 80% of your maximum heart rate allows you to burn more calories, for hours after your workout. So again, if you’re trying to lose the most fat possible, higher-intensity cardio produces better results across the board.
Does this mean that every workout has to be this way? No. If you prefer lower-intensity cardio workouts there’s nothing wrong with that. Enjoying your workouts is the key to sticking with them, after all. But it wouldn’t hurt to mix it up a little by adding variety to your exercise schedule. To start, try incorporating one higher-intensity workout into your schedule per week, and add more as you grow comfortable with it.
