Is it better to stay in the fat burning zone

Researchers assigned groups of women to one of three plans: short high-intensity workouts , low-intensity workouts roughly twice as long in duration, or no exercise at all.

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As indicated by body mass, body fat percentage, and levels of subcutaneous belly fat, women in both exercise groups achieved similar levels of fat loss. Maressa Brown is a writer and an editor in Los Angeles specializing in health and lifestyle topics.

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Skip to main content Skip to footer. Success Stories. Digital Unlimited Workshops. Stay healthy. Unlimited Workshops Virtual or in-person workshops. Digital Coach-led events. Your expert guide to target heart rate and weight loss. However, it's more important to consider the amount of calories burned during your workout versus the amount of fat utilized.

The amount of calories you burn is directly related to exercise intensity. It is a fact that the body uses fat as the primary source of fuel during lower intensity exercise. About 60 percent of the calories burned come from fat. This fact has given birth to the fat burning zone notion. But, for overall fat loss, what matters most is the difference between the number of calories you expend and the number of calories you consume.

Both zones are designed to keep your heart rate within your target range.

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Your target heart rate ranges from 50 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate states the American Heart Association. If you exercise in the fat burning zone, your heart rate stays in the lower end of the range, not exceeding 70 percent. To exercise in the cardio zone, the intensity of exercise must increase, resulting in an elevated heart rate.

Exercises such as walking and cycling with little resistance prompt your heart rate to stay in the fat burning zone. Because the intensity of these types of workouts is low, you must exercise longer to burn the same amount of calories as you would compared to a higher intensity workout. Low-intensity workouts are recommended for those who are de-conditioned or significantly overweight. I thought it was an error the first time, but it happened a second time and both times I was so tired afterward I slept for the rest of the day.

I assume this is true? Or does the body protect itself? I wonder if going to is too high, but I have never suffer any repercussions. Also, thanks again for another great article! I think intensity really depends on fitness level and age. In my opinion, if you are concerned about your workout intensity, I would wear a heart rate monitor and cross reference how you feel with your heart rate. Also consider as you get in better shape, it will be harder to maintain a higher heart rate.

Hi Mark. I am new to workouts, started them a couple of months ago. Before starting, I made a meticulous research on how to do it and methods in more than a hundred sites I am not exagerating , papers, and other sources. I am on my 50s, lots of work, no time to lose with unnefective techniques.

I can tell you that your site and your propositions, methods are the most logic I ever found. They really are bringing me results. I subscribe to your site with another one as the basis for information for my workout programs. Thank you for that. I do not want to get out of the subject of this article, but by reading your comment above on the nausea feeling. I used to practice karate when a teenager.

I remember having strong nauseas at that time when doing the aerobic exercises. As I grew older, nausea reduced and since 10 years ago disappeared no matter how much I do aerobic exercise, including HIIT. Is that something I should check? Thank you for your advice. Thanks for the kind words regarding the site and happy to hear you are doing well with the workouts!

I gave you a new topic to write on ;b The Max Heart Rate article slipped under my radar. That explains everything, and I think I am good for my high end zone. I had my V02max and lactic threshold tested not too long ago. Doc said I could improve on the lactic threshold a bit but but the VO2max looked fine. Hey, there is another article topic. Quick question though, Is there a substantial difference between using say an elliptical vs. I have very bad knees is why I ask this and 5 days a week running leaves me in serious pain.

You should be doing something like weights though to counter not doing high impact cardio to keep your bones strong. Alternatively, you can crosstrain, like doing elliptical one day and running the next. I used to be down on extended periods of strolling for exercise, but I have come to realized that one of its most underrated functions is to get people in the worst shape out of the house and away from easy snacking when they are most bored.

Agreed Katherine, going for a walk is definitely a good way to curb the desire to mindlessly snack and get your body moving. Slow and steady wins the race…. Hey Michelle, thanks for your participation!.. Slow and steady is definitely one very viable option to lose body fat, but there is no question that interval training helps burn fat faster while retaining muscle mass. There is mountains of research about this, check out my interval training article on BuiltLean.

If you have a research report or two showing muscle loss with HIIT and a non-extreme calorie deprivation, please share. Thank you for this informational article. Therefore, lower intensity training seems a better way to burn more calories in total.

Thanks for sharing your insights and experiences! HIIT also elicits a hormonal response specifically, catecholamines, cortisol, and growth hormone , while simultaneously affecting heart rate, venous blood glucose, and metabolic reactivity.

All of these responses play a role in the effectiveness of HIIT to reduce body fat. However, it also shows that high intensity cardio burns a LOT more more than 3 times! So, why, combining all these conflicting factors, high intensity cardio is better? Thanks in advance! Sorry for not responding to this sooner, it slipped by me!

Glycogen is stored in both the liver and muscles. Most of the fat-burning happens after the exercise with high intensity interval training, which is really the point of the article. Comparing the relative percentages of how much fat is burned during the workout for HIIT vs. Thanks for your question. Say that to my knees. They love low intensity workout, just enough to work a sweat. But I will keep at it for hours a day no problem.

While I agree that food intake should be your main source of fat burning, being able to do low-intensity workout while watching your favorite tv-shows is a great addition to that. And something you can keep doing every day till you are at your optimal weight. HIIT is scary, intensive, and potentially painful.