Fat burning - aerobic v anaerobic???

lipi

Hi there,

Joined westwood clontarf and am a 31 year old female looking to lose 1/2 stone. Got a cardio program to begin with and they've recommeded the level, time etc. Happy enough with that as am reasonably fit and want to maintain that too.

I noticed on some machines the heart rate level determines whether your exercise is fat burning or cardio. I asked a few instructors about it and didn't get a proper answer from any of them.

My heart rate was about 140 rpm which according to the machine is well into the cardio zone. I like pushing myself and don't see the purpose of taking it easier to get into the fat burning zone. I presume it comes down to aerobic v anearobic exercise, which I don't really understand either so I'd appreciate some help please.

corkcomp

lipi wrote: »

Hi there,

Joined westwood clontarf and am a 31 year old female looking to lose 1/2 stone. Got a cardio program to begin with and they've recommeded the level, time etc. Happy enough with that as am reasonably fit and want to maintain that too.

I noticed on some machines the heart rate level determines whether your exercise is fat burning or cardio. I asked a few instructors about it and didn't get a proper answer from any of them.

My heart rate was about 140 rpm which according to the machine is well into the cardio zone. I like pushing myself and don't see the purpose of taking it easier to get into the fat burning zone. I presume it comes down to aerobic v anearobic exercise, which I don't really understand either so I'd appreciate some help please.

ok, I am guessing you are not a beginner and that you do cardio regularly? if that is the case I would aim to make max use of gym time - in terms of cardio forget the fat burning zone, there is a scientific logic behind it, but its crap if it keeps you from pushing yourself .... go as hard as you can for whatever duration you chose, and even better try to incorporate intervals ... Are you lifting weights also as part of gym program?

celestial

Short answer is that anaerobic exercise makes use of glycogen (energy stored in the muscles) as the primary energy source, aerobic makes use of mainly oxygen and fat.

In practice it means that you will burn more fat calories during aerobic exercise when compared with anaerobic exercise BUT you will burn MORE calories overall with anaerobic exercise, which pretty much makes it a better option for fat loss. This is especially the case when you are not a newcomer to exercise.

lipi

Beginner to the gym but have been going to fitness classes and running so it's seem strange not to push myself.

Was only given cardio and 2 types of sit ups for the first programme. No weights.

My diet is ok. Lost the 1/2 stone earlier this year by dieting and running but got an injury and the weight returned over the summer. Am willing to do whatever it takes to lose it and tone up, but am not willing to diet as I did before as it's not realistic and I like food too much!

What do you mean by intervals?

corkcomp

lipi wrote: »

Beginner to the gym but have been going to fitness classes and running so it's seem strange not to push myself.

Was only given cardio and 2 types of sit ups for the first programme. No weights.

My diet is ok. Lost the 1/2 stone earlier this year by dieting and running but got an injury and the weight returned over the summer. Am willing to do whatever it takes to lose it and tone up, but am not willing to diet as I did before as it's not realistic and I like food too much!

What do you mean by intervals?

if you want to drop fat then you need to pay SOME attention to diet, but seeing as you dont have a lot of weight to lose then you can afford to be a bit more lenient!

Running is great, but Your program is crap if it does not incorporate some form of weights, I would ask the instructor about this, or better still ask a different instructor ... Sit ups arent much use in terms of efficient use of time, TBH it sounds like the gym instructor isnt very clued in ...

google HIIT for info on intervals ..

Transform

give me a break girl!

We all like our food very very much but if you need to drop weight and have gained weight then you do not like your food too much you just eat too much.

You really need to get your nutrition on track not GO ON A DIET - bigggg difference.

Weights - you must do them to become more 'toned' and just focus on the basics first.
Sorry to plug my own crap but are you doing any of these simple exercises in the video yet? -

http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/10kg-dumbbell-set-for-just-e20/

lipi

Thanks Corkcomp. I googled HIIT and it is definitely worth trying and should improve my speed too.

Transform, I had a look at your video and my programme doesn't include any of these, although I was doing most of them before in one of the classes I was attending. As for my diet, I do watch what I eat. However when I went on a diet earlier this year for the first (and only ) time ever, I was so hungry as I was only consuming 1200 calories a day which clearly wasn't enough as I couldn't stop thinking about my next meal! Yeah I lost the weight but when the exercise was reduced along with a few holidays I was back to square one. How do I find the happy medium and still leave a balanced life which involves the odd dinner out at the weekends?