Anerobic/Fitness vs. Aerobic/Fatburn

MsLadyVirgo

Hello Fitness Pals,

Background: I’m a 32 year old female at 225lbs who’s trying to lose fat, tone up, and get in shape. I just started back working out about 2-3 weeks ago. I would like to be at 175 (toned & thick). My workouts vary from: Treadmill, Wii Fit Plus, and work out Videos

Synopsis: While working out and measuring my Heart Rate (BPM); I find that I spend most of my workout in an Anaerobic/Fitness stage. In the past I was told that, “In order to lose weight, you have to remain in your target (aerobic/fat burn) heart rate (for me 114 to 132) for most of your work out.” When working w/Weights or at a High Intensity, I expect my heart rate to peak; however, this happens when I’m doing low impact cardio exercising like walking on the treadmill at a low intensity and speed.

Question: Does it really matter what range I’m in? Will I lose the same amount of fat in an anaerobic phase?

Please Help a Newbie,

erickirb

Hello Fitness Pals,

Background: I’m a 32 year old female at 225lbs who’s trying to lose fat, tone up, and get in shape. I just started back working out about 2-3 weeks ago. I would like to be at 175 (toned & thick). My workouts vary from: Treadmill, Wii Fit Plus, and work out Videos

Synopsis: While working out and measuring my Heart Rate (BPM); I find that I spend most of my workout in an Anaerobic/Fitness stage. In the past I was told that, “In order to lose weight, you have to remain in your target (aerobic/fat burn) heart rate (for me 114 to 132) for most of your work out.” When working w/Weights or at a High Intensity, I expect my heart rate to peak; however, this happens when I’m doing low impact cardio exercising like walking on the treadmill at a low intensity and speed.

Question: Does it really matter what range I’m in? Will I lose the same amount of fat in an anaerobic phase?

Please Help a Newbie,

Fat burn zone is a crock of S%&t. The harder you workout the more calories you burn, the more weight you lose. Keep it in the higher zone if you can and you will get faster results and improve your fitness more than if you are in the "fat burning zone" This only means you burn a higher % of calories from fat, but what it doesn't tell you is you burn so many less calories that you end up burning less fat calories in total than at the higher intensity.

jlewis2896

I don't know a WHOLE lot about this, but from what I gather, if you work out at a fitness/fat burning level, your body is processing glycogen with oxygen aerobically for energy. For every molecule broken down, your cells get 36 ATP molecules for energy.

When you go anaerobic, your body is using different stores for energy, and only converts at a 1 to 1 ratio, instead of 1 to 36, so it's a LOT less efficient, and you also build up lactic acid that results in muscle fatigue and soreness.

**I think you may want to check your heart rate zones, though, because typically you are not in anaerobic mode unless you are above something like 85% of your max heart rate** For me that's over 173 bpm.

ItsTerriC

bump - I've wondered about this too.

jlewis2896

Check this out, regarding fat burning vs. fitness:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/fat-burners

Sasha_Bear

Hello Fitness Pals,

Background: I’m a 32 year old female at 225lbs who’s trying to lose fat, tone up, and get in shape. I just started back working out about 2-3 weeks ago. I would like to be at 175 (toned & thick). My workouts vary from: Treadmill, Wii Fit Plus, and work out Videos

Synopsis: While working out and measuring my Heart Rate (BPM); I find that I spend most of my workout in an Anaerobic/Fitness stage. In the past I was told that, “In order to lose weight, you have to remain in your target (aerobic/fat burn) heart rate (for me 114 to 132) for most of your work out.” When working w/Weights or at a High Intensity, I expect my heart rate to peak; however, this happens when I’m doing low impact cardio exercising like walking on the treadmill at a low intensity and speed.

Question: Does it really matter what range I’m in? Will I lose the same amount of fat in an anaerobic phase?

Please Help a Newbie,

Fat burn zone is a crock of S%&t. The harder you workout the more calories you burn, the more weight you lose. Keep it in the higher zone if you can and you will get faster results and improve your fitness more than if you are in the "fat burning zone" This only means you burn a higher % of calories from fat, but what it doesn't tell you is you burn so many less calories that you end up burning less fat calories in total than at the higher intensity.

These makes a lot of sense to me!

mom23nuts

Check this out, regarding fat burning vs. fitness:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/fat-burners

see now I read this article and it makes total sense to mix it up with major intense bursts of cardio within the workout....maybe that is why I am stuck and I will try this.

I have been doing so much but maybe not enough of intense bursts to confuse my body and speed up my metabolism to see results

erickirb

Check this out, regarding fat burning vs. fitness:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/fat-burners

see now I read this article and it makes total sense to mix it up with major intense bursts of cardio within the workout....maybe that is why I am stuck and I will try this.

I have been doing so much but maybe not enough of intense bursts to confuse my body and speed up my metabolism to see results

Google HIIT as well, similar to this.

MsLadyVirgo

thx! FYI

here's an overview of the info on the website. i remember hearing hearing something similar by a fitness instructor....

Try this workout two or three times a week for maximum results:
1. Pick your cardio of choice (bike, elliptical, treadmill, pool, rowing machine, or running outdoors at a park or track), and then estimate your maximum heart rate using this easy formula: 220 - your age = max heart rate. (So if you're 28, your max heart rate would be roughly 192 beats per minute.)
2. Warm up for 10 minutes at a low intensity. Like we said, the old-school "fat-burning zone" can still fit into your workout.
3. Speed up until you're sprinting at 90 percent of your max heart rate; continue at that pace for 20 to 30 seconds.
4. Return to a low intensity until your heart rate drops to about 120 beats per minute, usually about two to four minutes, depending on your fitness level.
5. Do another 20-to 30-second sprint, followed by another round of active recovery. Continue until you have done a total of six to eight intervals.
6. Cool down at a very low intensity (such as walking on the treadmill) for at least five to 10 minutes before stopping exercise completely.

Check this out, regarding fat burning vs. fitness:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/fat-burners

hooma

Glad to see that I haven't been screwing myself by working too hard!