If losing body fat is your goal, weight training and aerobic exercise both play a part. Weight training uses resistance exercises to strengthen your muscles. Aerobic training uses cardiovascular exercises to strengthen your heart and lungs. The functions of the two activities are different, but both will help you lose weight. Fat is your body's primary fuel source, so you will burn fat no matter which activity you are doing; however, if your goal is fat loss, not just weight loss, aerobic training at high intensity levels will cause greater energy expenditure and use a higher amount of fat.
Aerobic Exercise
The word aerobic means "with oxygen." Throughout aerobic exercise, you should be able to breathe at an increased pace, yet not gasp for air or be taking in breaths so quickly that you start to hyperventilate. You can walk, run, skate, swim, cycle or dance your way to losing body fat. When you walk and exercise at a low intensity, your body uses fat as its primary fuel source. As your heart rate increases, as when you go into a jog, your body continues to use fat but also adds in carbohydrates for energy. If you continue your intensity into a faster run, the ratio shifts further toward carbohydrates. As your pace increases, your total use of fat and carbohydrates for energy also increases. So, the ideal pace for burning the fat is a medium to high intensity level.
Weight Training Exercise
The authors of a study published in Medicine in Science and Sports and Exercise reported on resistance training and abdominal fat. Twenty-six older men and women participated in a 25-week weight training program. The results showed only a slight decrease in fat mass. The loss is only slight because weight training cannot be continued for an extended duration before the cells run out of oxygen. When oxygen is not available, the body cannot use fat as its primary energy source and will use carbohydrates instead.
Higher-Intensity Workouts
A suggestion for optimal fat burning comes from the IDEA Health and Fitness Association. Interval training is a workout pattern that alternates between high-intensity work periods and low-intensity rest periods. IDEA recommends adding one or two interval training workouts per week. This pattern can be used with cycling, running, walking, or whichever aerobic exercise you choose. The intervals use a percentage of your maximum heart rate. To calculate this, subtract your age from 220 and multiply the result by the recommended percentage.
One option for an interval workout is three minutes at high intensity, 95 to 100 percent of maximum heart rate, followed by two minutes of low intensity. Repeat this pattern five or six times. Another option is four minutes at high intensity, 95 to 100 percent of maximum heart rate, followed by three minutes of low intensity. Repeat this pattern four times. You can also create your own intervals based on your experience level. You can do faster patterns of 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off, or longer intervals of rest if needed.
Longer Workouts
The IDEA Health and Fitness Association suggests increasing the duration of your workouts to prompt the body to use fat as fuel. The recommendation is a training heart rate level of 65 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. When you exercise for almost two hours, you are threatening your body with carbohydrate depletion. Your muscles do not like that state and will switch to using fat as a fuel in an effort to conserve your glucose levels. Over time, this longer training increases your body's ability to burn fat, as you are training your aerobic system to work more efficiently.
Losing Weight
Your goal in losing weight is to create an imbalance between the food you eat and the calories you burn off. Exercise will use calories, so weight loss will be achieved, if you are not overeating. Aerobic exercise uses fat as its primary fuel source. Weight training also uses fat, but uses more carbohydrates for fuel. A successful weight loss routine will combine both types of exercise. Seek your doctor's permission before beginning an exercise program.
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