So we all know that conditioning workouts pretty much use every energy system in the body . But what about Fat loss ? Many coaches and trainers unfortunately still believe that boring lengthy aerobic sessions are needed.
Aerobic exercises was once considered as the King of Fat loss , as we all know that fat is the preferred fuel at low intensity activity. The body basically burns free fatty acids for fuel when participating at lower intensity exercise. Now when you up the intensity of the exercise your body starts to burn less fat as fuel for the exercise. Many people think this is not effective for fat loss and on the surface of things it makes sense . You burn less fat performing conditioning so how can he be better for fat loss surely lengthy aerobic is better if you burn more fat .
Unfortunately those who focus solely on the fuel source used during the exercise are missing the bigger picture and are not considering what happens for the rest of the day . What about the other 23 hours your not running around the park or on the bike or cross trainer. What does the body do during these hours . Let me answer that for you NOTHING.
Research confirms that fat loss is not dependant on the fuel source (Not the fuel you burn at the time of the exercise) . It is actually more important to focus on what happens after your workout has finished that's what really matters . AKA The bigger picture.
High intensity exercise leads to higher post exercise energy expenditure Your resting metabolic rate (BMR) is elevated for many hours after your workout has finished .
. Basically when your sitting on your bum watching telly after performing high intensity exercise your body burns more calories than it would burn after completing low intensity aerobic exercise . In fact research has proved that you BMR will return to normal levels almost immediately after you stop low intensity exercise . (The minute you step of the treadmill you BMR returns to normal)
Science confirms that high intensity exercise will elevate your metabolic rate for a longer period of time, which results in post exercise lipid oxidation . So even though your body burns little fat during a high intensity exercise a significant amount is burned in the hours after the workout . Otherwise known as the recovery period . Your body will use extra calories to repair damaged muscle fibres etc. When one considers fat loss they need to focus on the overall calories being expended not solely on the energy source during the actual exercise session.