Fat Burning - whats it all about?!!!

Recently one of my clients asked me what was the best way to burn fat, she had been listening to the radio and the debate had been mentioned on there, one trainer argued that long cardio sessions with high repetitions of weight training was best and the other argued that short fast bursts were the best.

My client isn't the first to be confused over which is the best way to burn fat, in fact its one of the most common questions people ask! I have to say I agree with the second trainer and here I'll tell you why.

Well lets look at the 'fat burning' slow cardio - high repetition weight training, sure theres a need to include a few higher repetitions into your training programme to build muscular endurance but when it comes to the statement - you have to jog at a slow pace to stay in your fat burning zone - I have some shocking truth, I was shocked when I first learned this because up until several years ago I occasionally added this type of training into my routine.

Well lets say you want to stay working in this fat burning zone which you'd assume is great yeah? Well here's where you might decide that its not so great! If you're working regularly in this 'fat burning zone' what your essentially doing is teaching your body to use fat as its primary energy source - what does that mean, well your teaching your body to efficiently store fat for energy!! If you have taught your body to store fat then in time you would have to work for twice as long in your fat burning zone to remove that fat. Lets use a well known celebrity who spends much of her time in the gym, her trainer has advised her to perform high repetitions of low weight, her marriage split because of her dedication to spending all of her time in the gym so would you really want to follow this kind of advice! Who has several hours to spend in a gym training anyway - not me that's for sure, and no doubt most of the population!

Lets cut to the chase, if you seriously want to shift the fat from your body you want to be doing some fast burst resistance training and intervals. Exercises that use the whole of the body such as squats, press ups, lunges, plank, jumping jacks, burpees (these are great because you don't need any equipment!). Short fast bursts of sprinting can be extremely beneficial too - this can be done in an interval format, here's an example of an interval session using running:


The intensity is based on rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale of 1 to 10 (1 being easy 10 being extremely hard)

Up to five minutes (warm up) (RPE 4)
30 seconds (RPE 8)
1 minute (RPE 4-5)
30 seconds (RPE 8)
1 minute (RPE 4-5)
30 seconds (RPE 8)
1 minute (RPE 4-5)
30 seconds (RPE 8)
1 minute (RPE 4-5)
30 seconds (RPE 8)
1 minute (RPE 4-5)
30 seconds (RPE 8)
Up to 5 minutes (cool down) (RPE 3-4)
Total Time Approx 18 minutes

This kind of interval training can also be done on a bike or a rower.

By doing the resistance training you will build muscle, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest. The short intervals mean you get your heart rate raised very quickly so after you're workout has ended your heart rate will still be raised and you body has to work really hard to repair and replenish the muscles - burning even more calories sometimes for up to 48 hours - wow you're teaching your body to become a fat blasting machine!!!

So every time you train - put in 100% and reap the rewards!!