Monday, June 8, 2009

Fat Burning Zone vs. Cardio Zone

Do you ever wonder what the difference is between the "fat burning zone" and the "cardio training zone"? Light to moderate cardio exercise is called "fat burning" because about 50 percent of the calories burned come from fat, and the other 50 percent of calories come from sugar and carbohydrates. When you work harder on a cardio machine and get your heart rate up higher, the zone becomes "cardio training."

Many people believe that one should stay in the fat burning zone to lose more body fat. However, that is not true.The fat burning zone, indeed, burns a greater percentage of fat, relative to total calories burned. But the higher intensity cardio zone burns more total calories for the same length of time. This means that the total amount of fat that is burned with these calories, actually comes out higher than the total fat burned during easier "fat burning" work.

By Kyle Peters, Personal Trainer at Steel Fitness in Bethlehem
Posted by at 7:42 AM
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5 comments:

  1. but what if you can workout longer at a slower rate? what if you can do 60 minutes 2x a day in the fat burning zone, but can only do 20-30 minutes of the higher intensity workout? Which should you choose then?
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  2. The math doesn't lie. However many fat cals you're trying to burn, you can obviously do it in a shorter time frame with higher intensity. You don't have to be able to do 120 minutes of cardio to get the same results.
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  3. It also has to do with your age and heart conditions. People that are older and have had heart problems should definately stay in the fat burning zone. Thanks!
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  4. Cardio exercises related to the heart and lungs, such as jogging or swimming. This workout is to get the endurance of heart. If you want to lose weight with cardio exercises, you have to practice longer and more frequent.
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  5. I agree with the other commenter that short high intensity workouts deliver more benefit than cardio when it comes to fat burning. I'd happily do a tough 20 minute high intensity than 3 hours of cardio anyday.
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