So what’s the most effective way to burn fat during exercise? Some say to do cardio before lifting weights others, say the opposite. Ask many “weight-lifters” in the gym what kind of work out schedule they have, and many will answer one body part per day. This can be a very effective workout for a male looking to compete in bodybuilding but not necessarily so for a female looking to lose a few pounds and add some extra tone to the body. Obviously this type of regimen is also not geared for sports specific performance enhancement. What does this mean? Workouts are specific to the individual and their goals, but there are helpful guidelines to reach these goals.
As a general rule for beginners or someone who is looking to maximize weight loss, strength requiring exercises should ALWAYS be done before cardiovascular and aerobic activity. The reason behind this is quite simple. Carbohydrates are stored in your muscles in the form of glycogen (long chains of carbohydrates) and are used for energy first when exercising. If you start your workout with long aerobic activity you must burn off this muscle glycogen first before reaching your fat storage’s. When you start to strength train your body moves to an anaerobic state of exercise (little or no oxygen), therefore limiting the total amount of fat you burn. Remember, to burn fat optimally you need oxygen! Your intensity level will also naturally be decreased because you have used up energy during aerobic activity, which will affect how quickly you gain strength and produce Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption E.P.O.C. (E.P.O.C. is what makes weight bearing exercises a great fat burner, studies show you continue to burn calories after you lift weights for up to 72 hours). See how Resting Metabolic Rate testing and VO2 Max testing can help optimize your workouts
If you perform strength training before aerobic activity you burn off all the muscle glycogen stores and circulating carb’s in your blood during training. This sets your body up to be a strictly fat burning machine during the time you devote to aerobic exercise (oxygen required activity) because there is nothing left to burn except fat. This is taking into account you know what heart rate zone you should be exercising in to optimize fat loss. In addition, your workouts will be more intense because your energy levels are higher creating even greater E.P.O.C.
Once you have the basics mastered you can learn about high interval intensity training, plyometrics, and other advanced multi-functional exercises… The important point in all of this is that even though there are a plethora of different ways to burn calories while exercising, none of the methods will be effective without implementing proper nutrition. If I placed a random percentage on importance of nutrition versus exercise I would say eating right is 70% of your ability to effectively lose weight. A person can exercise very little but if they follow sensible eating patterns they will lose weight, while someone can exercise vigorously everyday but if they don’t watch what they eat its possible they won’t lose a pound. There is a reason why there is always fine print on any supplement and exercise equipment that says “with proper diet and exercise.”
Learn not to eat less but to eat smarter! Learn that food does not have to elicit a negative reaction when trying to lose weight! Most importantly, the word “diet” is a horrible word, it indicates a beginning and an end. Whenever someone says “diet” most people cringe because it already has a negative connotation to it. Losing weight is about permanent lifestyle changes, not brief 3 month crash dieting. If you crash diet you will probably gain the lost weight back (yo-yo’ing) which is much worse then just staying overweight. I set the goal to be 2 pounds a week, its steady, its safe, and the weight will stay off because you are losing fat mass not water. If your interested in learning more contact my office to make an appointment and learn the tools to educate yourself on how to lose weight effectively and permanently!
Dr. Gordon
Filed under: Exercise & Nutrition, Brooklyn, Burn Fat, Dr. Gordon Kuang, Effective Ways of Exercise, Exercise and Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, New York, Nutrition, Weightloss
