Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Fat-Burning Zone Myth

Hello Everyone!

At AGSP we are all about fast results. From time to time I'll have an adult or athlete ask, "Shouldn't I be training in the fat-burning zone if I want to lose weight?".

Many of us have seen the exercise equipment with the fat-burning zone charts displayed, but what exactly is the fat-burning zone and why is training in this zone not the best, fastest way to lose weight?

The fat-burning zone was created when scientists learned that at lower-intensity exercise the body's main fuel source comes from fat calories. Therefore, scientists reasoned that if you trained at lower intensities you would literally burn more fat.

Yet, like most things with the human body, isolation of specific fuel sources does not lead to the specific desired result of losing fat. The human body tends to work as a summation of many different factors working together towards a common goal. Therefore, to lose fat faster, the best way is to forget about the fat-burning zone and instead train at high-intensities because you burn a greater amount of total calories (some from fat, some from glucose). It is the total calories burned that has the greatest impact on your body composition!
Next time I'll explain why you burn more total calories at higher-intensifies along with why all athletes main cardio/conditioning should be done at high-intensities and not for mileage/distance.

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance 

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