Cardio vs Fat burn calorie question

JeremySettles13

So when I do my cardio workout at the gym I am given the choice between Fat Burn and Cardio. I had read on this site that I should do fat burn because its better for burning fat off your body. When I did Fat Burn I burned about 230 calories in 30 minutes. But I wasn't really working that hard or sweating at all. So the next day I moved up to Cardio which is supposed to be more intense. I sweat way more but I burned about the same amount of calories.

If I was way more sweaty and worked out shouldn't I have burned more calories than on fat burn?

Which setting do you prefer and for what reason?

JeremySettles13

So when I do my cardio workout at the gym I am given the choice between Fat Burn and Cardio. I had read on this site that I should do fat burn because its better for burning fat off your body. When I did Fat Burn I burned about 230 calories in 30 minutes. But I wasn't really working that hard or sweating at all. So the next day I moved up to Cardio which is supposed to be more intense. I sweat way more but I burned about the same amount of calories.

If I was way more sweaty and worked out shouldn't I have burned more calories than on fat burn?

Which setting do you prefer and for what reason?

Poison5119

There is a scientific theory that of the calories that you burn while doing higher intensity workouts, a larger percentage of them are fat cals, so even though you are not seeing higher numbers of calories BURNED, a bigger percentage of them are the kinds of cals you want gone. So higher intensity workouts are desireable.

I stayed on the 'fat-burning' track until I was somewhat conditioned (1-2 +/- weeks) before I started doing higher intensity workouts. Once my body was a little MORE conditioned to what high intensity feels like, I was able to vary my workouts. On low energy days, I stay in fat-burning mode. On high energy days, I do what's called High Intensity Interval Training, which is a little of both, 2 minutes on HIGH, 3 minutes on LOW.

rheston

I don't believe there's a simple answer to your question.

What I've experienced since joining MFP, and taking serious note of how my progress has gone, is that what works for one does not necessarily work for others. The next important thing that I found is that the definitions used to calculate calorie burn on the exercise machines (as it does on the various internet sites) varies from machine to machine. The third thing that I've found is that it's important to vary your routine so that you keep your body from anticipating a routine event occuring and to work all the body's muscle groups throughout the whole week.

What I've had to do is experiment with my exercises to see what will work for me. I started out on a ski machine but after it broke I moved to a bike and an elliptical and added free weights. I chose these exercise machines because they're also what I'm able to find in hotels that I frequent on business travel.

I choose programs that make me sweat and I push myself a bit harder as the week goes on. In my days as a runner I would do what's called interval training where I would push myself to my upper limits a couple of days during the week to improve performance and endurance. Now that I can no longer run I've managed to work it back into my exercise routine again. When you get to the point where you're looking for more out of your workouts check out http://www.intervaltraining.net/ it may be of some use to you.

I know this is a long winded response and I probably didn't give you the definitive answer you were looking for but I think that it's best for each individual to experiment with workout styles to find ones that suite them and their goals. Mix up your routines and it will ensure complete muscle toning and heart fitness in the long run.

tamlom

Thanks rheston as I was wondering the same thing. I don't know the differences on the machine settings and your answer was very helpful. I would have never known that you have to mix up routines.