When it comes to exercising for weight loss we hear similar stories all the time of people spending endless hours at the gym on the cardio machines (cross-trainer, bike, treadmill or rowing ergo) to burn those unwanted calories. But is this really the best way of burning fat and losing weight?
Wouldn’t it be great (and easier!) if we were able to burn fat even when we were at rest rather than just when we were working out?
To do this we need to train efficiently and make the most of our natural energy burner, our metabolism.
Your basal, or resting, metabolic rate is the number of calories that your body burns just to function. All of the tissues in our bodies need energy to function, however different tissues will burn energy at different rates. It is suggested that muscle cells are about 8 times more metabolically demanding than fat cells, which is why using the muscles during exercise helps to burn calories and why any exercise you do is better than none!
If you want to really maximise your results though, are you using your training time as well as you possibly can?
You might notice the cardio machines tend to have the ‘Fat Burning’ training zone plastered across the display, explaining that you should keep your workout at a slow steady pace in order to burn fat.
True, at lower intensities the body will draw a higher percentage of energy from fat than other sources, however the total calories used during the session is relatively low. Also, many people do not have enough time to spend 3-4 sessions a week in the gym for 1-2 hours on the cardio machines.
Using high intensity interval training where you spend, for instance, 3 minutes at a moderate pace and 30 seconds at maximum effort as an alternative may be a little more beneficial. Even though the percentage drawn from fat is slightly lower, the total calorie output would be far higher.
This consideration works alongside another area that most people do not consider when targeting weight loss as a goal: resistance work or weights sessions.
Keeping in mind the fact that, at rest, lean muscle burns more energy than fat, increasing lean muscle mass will therefore help to increase your metabolic rate.
This doesn’t mean we all have to train like body builders! As little as 5-10 pounds of lean muscle mass can have a huge effect on your metabolism and help you burn more energy even when you are at rest.
Call one of the team at Drummond Clinic on 01628 639 532, to organise how you could make the most of your training time and reach your weight loss goals.