Thread: Cardiovascular question

That whole "fat burning zone" talk is kind of a misnomer. Percentage wise, yes, you are burning more fat when you are doing a lighter jog. Of course, percentage wise, you are burning more fat when you are sitting on your ass. You burn more total calories jogging faster, and possibly even more total fat, even if the percentage is significantly lower.

It's not until you encroach on anaerobic territory (Think sprinting, heavy resistance training, any activity you cannot sustain for an extended period of time...) that the utilization fat stores as an enegry source starts to become more negligible. However, at this point you also create something called EPOC (Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). Basically, your body increases oxygen uptake post-exercise in an effort to restore itself to a pre-exercise state of being. This leads to increased calorie consumption for hours after exercise.

My point? Just jog for your 30 minutes and don't worry about the fat burning zone. Just make sure to progressively overload yourself over time. You can either make the session more intense (Jog faster in the same amount of time), increase the duration of the session, or increase the frequency at which you train. I would definitely suggest increasing the intensity for at least one or two sessions each week. Also, if improved body composition is your goal, then I highly suggest resistance training.

Go hard or go home, so essentially what Pimp said.

I agree with the clowns above about the "fat burning zone" being BS.

Now, about your long recovery period. Usually, if you are deconditioned, it will take you longer to recover after longer bouts of high intensity work. So, you go up to 80% and it takes you awhile to get back down to a normal heart rate. As you get more and more in shape, you will find your recovery time becomes less and less as your bodys effeciency improves. Working at a higher intensity more frequently, and doing things like longer intervals (say 1min at 80% followed by 1min of low intensity, or as long as it takes to drop your heart rate about 15-20 beats and then go again, up to 80% for another minute) will help to improve that recovery time and your overal endurance and conditioning.

If you do as the heart rate monitor tells and waste time at such a low intensity then you aren't placing a great enough stress on the body for it to adapt.

This all sounds good guys!!! Thank you! I will take your advice(s) ;o)

Originally Posted by bookstar

This all sounds good guys!!! Thank you! I will take your advice(s) ;o)

By the way, there is a lot of great information in the diet & nutrition section that can help you achieve your goals. I suggest at least reading the stickies, and possibly posting your diet if you are ready to make some changes there. I would definitely advise you do. When it comes to body composition, diet is king, although diet and exercise together makes for an awesome synergistic relationship.

Good luck!