burning fat?

Floppybits

Was talking to an instructor in the gym over the easter weekend and I was asking the best way to burn more fat, he said that instead of doing 20 minutes of cardio at the start of my weight workout I should instead do 30 - 40 minutes of fast walking instead and that way would I would burn up more fat.

Currently I doing 20 minutes at the start of a weight workout where I am getting my heart beat up to about 155 -160 and then doing weights. I also train 2 days a week with my football team.

So would I burn more fat by doing switching my workout around and doing weights first then doing a 30 - 40 minute walk to finish off?

corkcomp

Floppybits wrote: »

Was talking to an instructor in the gym over the easter weekend and I was asking the best way to burn more fat, he said that instead of doing 20 minutes of cardio at the start of my weight workout I should instead do 30 - 40 minutes of fast walking instead and that way would I would burn up more fat.

Currently I doing 20 minutes at the start of a weight workout where I am getting my heart beat up to about 155 -160 and then doing weights. I also train 2 days a week with my football team.

So would I burn more fat by doing switching my workout around and doing weights first then doing a 30 - 40 minute walk to finish off?

20 minutes is fine if you make very good use of it. 40 is even better. forget fat burning zone just go as hard as you can (within reason)

bladespin

I'm pretty sure the instructor is correct (about burning fat) prolonged low impact cardio should enhance fat burning while higher impact stuff burns more calories.
It's about getting rid of unwanted fat instead of burning off carbs as calories.

Different heart rate zones make the body act differently as to how it sources it's energy requirement.

So the theory goes anyway.

Colm_OReilly

I'm afraid that instructor was either not very well informed or presented a very dumbed down version of how the body works to you.

In low intensity work, a greater percentage of your energy requirements will come from fat. In higher intensity work, a lower percentage will come from fat.

However, higher intensity work keeps the body working after you've stopped, so your metabolism is increased and you continue to burn more calories --> greater fat loss/body recomposition.

This is again very simplified but basically, harder and faster is better.

jt_dublin

I'm surprised that the instructor did not recommend that you leave cardio until after your weights workout, or to do it on a separate day. I would recommend a 5 minute warmup. Rowing is ideal as it works both upper & lower body muscles. Then do your weights routine while you have full energy, then do your cardio. Also agree with Colm re: high intensity training. Google HIIT for some more info.

Kev37

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

I'm afraid that instructor was either not very well informed or presented a very dumbed down version of how the body works to you.

In low intensity work, a greater percentage of your energy requirements will come from fat. In higher intensity work, a lower percentage will come from fat.

However, higher intensity work keeps the body working after you've stopped, so your metabolism is increased and you continue to burn more calories --> greater fat loss/body recomposition.

This is again very simplified but basically, harder and faster is better.

Correct if the sole purpose of the OP is to cut fat but if the OP wants to cut fat and add muscle then the gym instructor is spot on. HIT cardio on top of weights training will cause the body to go catabolic and could impeed recovery. Your body should be using up calories repairing the muscle from weights, doing low intesity cardio on top of that would allow one to burn fat and continue to grow.

corkcomp

Kev37 wrote: »

Correct if the sole purpose of the OP is to cut fat but if the OP wants to cut fat and add muscle then the gym instructor is spot on. HIT cardio on top of weights training will cause the body to go catabolic and could impeed recovery. Your body should be using up calories repairing the muscle from weights, doing low intesity cardio on top of that would allow one to burn fat and continue to grow.

incorrect. if you take in enough protein / calories following a weights + hiit workout there wont be a problem. low intensity cardio is suitable for recovery sessions or when you are tired or not able for high intensity, other than that its not of the same benefit unless you have lots of time to kill

Transform

Floppybits wrote: »

Was talking to an instructor in the gym over the easter weekend and I was asking the best way to burn more fat, he said that instead of doing 20 minutes of cardio at the start of my weight workout I should instead do 30 - 40 minutes of fast walking instead and that way would I would burn up more fat.

Currently I doing 20 minutes at the start of a weight workout where I am getting my heart beat up to about 155 -160 and then doing weights. I also train 2 days a week with my football team.

So would I burn more fat by doing switching my workout around and doing weights first then doing a 30 - 40 minute walk to finish off?

dropping body fat has more to do with intensity and less about far burning zones - intervals will help greatly so start light and work up

Transform

Kev37 wrote: »

Correct if the sole purpose of the OP is to cut fat but if the OP wants to cut fat and add muscle then the gym instructor is spot on. HIT cardio on top of weights training will cause the body to go catabolic and could impeed recovery. Your body should be using up calories repairing the muscle from weights, doing low intesity cardio on top of that would allow one to burn fat and continue to grow.

nope and i work with lots of clients week in week out that have shown the opposite results - faster fat loss, less time etc

burn out will only happen if intervals are done all the time or hard sessions are done too often (trevor are you listening!)

Floppybits

There seems to be a lot of conflicting opinion on this and it has got a bit confusing.:)

Anyways what I want to do is tone up. I do cardio twice a week and on those days I do no weights at all. It is just on weight days to know is it best just to do light cardio after finishing weights or should I do the light cardio first?

corkcomp

Floppybits wrote: »

There seems to be a lot of conflicting opinion on this and it has got a bit confusing.:)

Anyways what I want to do is tone up. I do cardio twice a week and on those days I do no weights at all. It is just on weight days to know is it best just to do light cardio after finishing weights or should I do the light cardio first?

it makes little or no difference based on your goals .. you need to eat clean, create a slight calorie deficit, lift heavy couple of times per week, and do cardio a few times per week.

heybaby

Warm up with light cardio of no more than ten mins, enough to get the heart rate elevated but not to the point that you are breathing heavily. The best proven way of getting lean is HIIT (high intensity interval training), it incorporates explosive movements and elevates heart rate rapidly and is far more effective from the point of burning calories, and muscle activation which results in prolonged heightening of your body's metabolic rate for hours after your session has finished. You must do more than a couple of cardio sessions per week to reduce bodyfat and i assure you if you do several sessions of HIIT per week for as little as ten to 15 minutes per session you will certainly see a difference. What hasnt been commented on so far is the importance of your diet, the long and short of it is this: to lose weight you must have a calory deficit , you can choose to do this in one of two ways, either burn more calories than you consume or consume fewer calories than you burn, the result will be the same. The emphasis diet wise would be on your carb consumption, I would suggest you google Chris Aceto who gives great advice on carb intake manipulation over the course of consecutive days to keep the body guessing and aid in fat burning. get yourself a food weighing scales, without one it is impossible to track your daily consumption. The website Fitday.com is a great way of recording your food intake and weightloss and gives your graphs charting your progress. I would advise up to 4 HIIt sessions per week, 2 on your no weight days and two after weights, never ever do strenuous cardio before weights as it elevates cortisol levels in the body which catabolise (breaksdown) muscle. Good luck.

Khannie

Floppybits wrote: »

It is just on weight days to know is it best just to do light cardio after finishing weights or should I do the light cardio first?

I would repeat what's been said....it's gonna make almost no difference (probably none at all). Personally, I would do weights first because you'll still find the cardio grand after doing the weights, whereas the reverse may not be true (i.e. you may lift less after spending your energy doing the cardio).

Mostly, 99% of the battle is just doing something though (and eating clean).