80% Engine

docHumphreys

Anyone interested about how to effectively burn fat calories? Thought I would start blogging about it if anyone is interested.

Gosser

Have you found the secret?

infamousmk

Tell me more ...

yummy♥

yeah, tell us more, doc!

piperjon

+sitting back with some popcorn and a beer to watch the show+

grapenutSF

hmmm...exercise a little more and eat a little less?

no?

grapenutSF

+sitting back with some popcorn and a beer to watch the show+

oh no. i'm a little scared.

Qarol

I've got a blow torch...am I good?

engineman312

i'm 100% engine!!!

JDMPWR

+sitting back with some popcorn and a beer to watch the show+

oh no. i'm a little scared.

Way too many carbs

Contrarian

I'm not sure if this is the kind of site where people would be interested in that kind of information, but I guess it's worth a shot.

IronmanPanda

Are you related to Dr. Oz?

UponThisRock

piperjon

+sitting back with some popcorn and a beer to watch the show+

oh no. i'm a little scared.

Way too many carbs

Okay... protein shake and some carrot sticks.... siiiiigh... ;-)

Youth is wasted on the young.

Pj

WickedMouse

Finally, A Doctor with information I can rely on! Please do hurry and write that blog!

BarbWhite09

hmmm...exercise a little more and eat a little less?

no?

^

Beastette

Is spinning widdershins involved? Because if it isn't, count me out.

Unless we get to shoot fireworks at something and then run like hell. Then, count me back in.

killagb

Justjoshin

I am beyond excited.

Blog it up Sir.

mamitosami

Nope. Not interested.

docHumphreys

Alright! First a little background. As a person ages, their TZ or target zone will change. The way to calculate your own personal TZ is to subtract your age from 220. You then multiply 60% by that number. That is the low end of your target zone. Take the same number and multiply it times 80%. That is the high end of your TZ. If you are in really good shape, you can go to 65% and 85%.
Here is an example:
220 - 56 (my age) = 164
164 X .60 = 98 (my low TZ)
164 X .80 = 131 (my high TZ)
The TZ applies to your heartbeat
Now there are three types of exercise: Aerobic, Anabolic, and Canabolic
You guys can look up detailed explanations if you wish.
Briefly, they are:
Canabolic - The body actually starts to destroy muscle mass.
Anabolic - This is the phase that actually builds muscle
Aerobic - This is the phase that tones muscle and the one we will be concerned about.
Have you every noticed that you get that muscle burn if you start to push things? That is lactate acid build-up and means that your aerobic exercise has now become Anabolic, and you have stopped burning fat. If you are weight training you want that Anabolic burn to build muscle. Not to burn fat.
The way to use the 80% engine is to exercise in the bottom 10% range of your lower target zone. This does not allow the body to burn carbs, it will only burn fat. Lance Armstrong made this tactic popular several years ago. He called his fat "engine" his 80% engine and the carb engine his 20%. The neat thing about burning fat is that when you start doing this you will have much more stamina. The carb engine can be used for sprints, hills, etc.. As a weight loss tactic, the 80% engine works well for loosing the unwanted pounds and inches. As you start to do this, you may find it hard to keep your heartbeat down into the lower 10% of your TZ. Give it a try!

docHumphreys

Here is a few links that will tell you ,more details.....
http://telemole.net/AP-50/bike_club/using_fat_to_fuel_endurance.htm

http://www.marathonguide.com/training/articles/MandBFuelOnFat.cfm

lilojoke

Blarg!

KareninCanada

:huh:

I'm afraid that using that math, I would need to be walking at the same speed as my very senior dog who can't quite make it around the block... otherwise known as shuffling...

Gosser

When you say in the lower 10% does that mean you would only exercise at heart rate 98-101 ?

220-44= 176
176x0.6=106
176x0.8=141
so lower 10% is between 106 & 109
my resting heartrate is 64 a minute (approx)

docHumphreys

That's correct! I know it sounds low, but if you are trying to teach your body to burn only fat as fuel and not carbs, you need to start out in the lower 10 %. After you have gotten it used to using fat calories, you can then increase your heart rate gradually. You will learn to feel the difference when you switch from fat to carbs. Even with carb loading (eating high carb meals prior to a race) that fuel is minimal and will wear out quickly. It's like 2 drivers are driving in a city. One makes rackrabbit starts, accelerates to each stop, then brakes hard at the light. The second driver starts normally, accelerates slowly, then stop sensibly. Burning carbs, unless you are trying to build muscle, will not give you a lot of success at burning fat. I know it sounds backward, it seems the harder the workout, the more fat loss, but it doesn't work that way. Only thing I can say is to try it and see if it works for you. I've lost 65 lbs in about 6 months. I do 10 workout a week (AM every day and PM M,W,F) and I've never felt better.

killagb

That's correct! I know it sounds low, but if you are trying to teach your body to burn only fat as fuel and not carbs, you need to start out in the lower 10 %. After you have gotten it used to using fat calories, you can then increase your heart rate gradually. You will learn to feel the difference when you switch from fat to carbs. Even with carb loading (eating high carb meals prior to a race) that fuel is minimal and will wear out quickly. It's like 2 drivers are driving in a city. One makes rackrabbit starts, accelerates to each stop, then brakes hard at the light. The second driver starts normally, accelerates slowly, then stop sensibly. Burning carbs, unless you are trying to build muscle, will not give you a lot of success at burning fat. I know it sounds backward, it seems the harder the workout, the more fat loss, but it doesn't work that way. Only thing I can say is to try it and see if it works for you. I've lost 65 lbs in about 6 months. I do 10 workout a week (AM every day and PM M,W,F) and I've never felt better.

The fat-burning zone is nonsense. Sure, you burn higher percentages of fat at lower heart rates....but you burn MORE fat with a harder workout. The fact is, you're doing FAR more energy burning in a harder workout that might burn less fat as a result, PERCENTAGE-wise...but not in total sum of fat burned. Not to mention...you're doing very little for your cardio health as a result.

docHumphreys

Obviously, if what you are doing is working for you, why would you want to change that? This is written more towards those folks that are struggling to burn fat and are searching for a better way to burn it. Everyone's metabolism is going to be different and this will not work for everyone. Some may be able to start at 25% instead of 10%. The key is learning at what area of your TZ burns fat the best. I would never unilaterally dismiss something as not working when there might be a chance for someone else to be able to utilize it. If it works for professional bicyclists and runners, there has to be something to it. As far your cardio, as long as you are in your TZ, you are exercising your heart. And as I stated, once your body is trained at burning fat, you can go higher into your TZ. It sounds to me that you are doing that already. So, Killagb, since I'm new here, how much weight have you lost, how long have you been working out, your age, what area of your TZ do you work out in? Curious to see what is working for you.

docHumphreys

Gee, I have almost lost 100 lbs with this strategy. Wonder how everyone else did their way???

Lyadeia

Gee, I have almost lost 100 lbs with this strategy. Wonder how everyone else did their way???

Well my goodness, I guess the rest of us are all fat and lazy for not doing things YOUR way, huh? :huh:

BTW, it does NOT matter if you get your exercise fuel from carbs or fat. What does matter is burning calories...whether carbs or fat. And when you exercise more intensely for longer periods of time, you burn more total calories than when you try to stay in that "zone." Burn more calories = lose more fat.

CoachDreesTraining

Alright! First a little background. As a person ages, their TZ or target zone will change. The way to calculate your own personal TZ is to subtract your age from 220. You then multiply 60% by that number. That is the low end of your target zone. Take the same number and multiply it times 80%. That is the high end of your TZ. If you are in really good shape, you can go to 65% and 85%.
Here is an example:
220 - 56 (my age) = 164
164 X .60 = 98 (my low TZ)
164 X .80 = 131 (my high TZ)
The TZ applies to your heartbeat
Now there are three types of exercise: Aerobic, Anabolic, and Canabolic
You guys can look up detailed explanations if you wish.
Briefly, they are:
Canabolic - The body actually starts to destroy muscle mass.
Anabolic - This is the phase that actually builds muscle
Aerobic - This is the phase that tones muscle and the one we will be concerned about.
Have you every noticed that you get that muscle burn if you start to push things? That is lactate acid build-up and means that your aerobic exercise has now become Anabolic, and you have stopped burning fat. If you are weight training you want that Anabolic burn to build muscle. Not to burn fat.
The way to use the 80% engine is to exercise in the bottom 10% range of your lower target zone. This does not allow the body to burn carbs, it will only burn fat. Lance Armstrong made this tactic popular several years ago. He called his fat "engine" his 80% engine and the carb engine his 20%. The neat thing about burning fat is that when you start doing this you will have much more stamina. The carb engine can be used for sprints, hills, etc.. As a weight loss tactic, the 80% engine works well for loosing the unwanted pounds and inches. As you start to do this, you may find it hard to keep your heartbeat down into the lower 10% of your TZ. Give it a try!

Well first, intense exercise produces lactate not lactic acid. This lactate is a result of acidosis not the cause, and is actually beneficial for the cell as it helps slow cellular acidosis.

Anabolic and "canobolic" (catabolic) states are a result of diet/exercise, not types of exercise.

Anyone that uses the word "tone" should be slapped.

You're right, "the burn" is a sign that you're working primarily "anabolic" (anaerobically), but does not mean you've stopped "burning fat."

Go study your medically books again because your body is always using all three energy systems, regardless of what "zone" you're training in.