cardio vs fat burning

Jillian

I've been going to the gym and using the treadmill and bike. I have 2 options, cardio or fat burning. I generally use the fat burning mode, however I have used the cardio mode too. Now I'm wondering what the difference is. Am I not burning fat if I'm in the cardio mode? Am I not burning the same "kind" of calories? Could this be a reason my scale hasn't moved? Any ideas? Thanks:ohwell:

spaul82478

I go for cardio, only because I am way out of shape and the doctor told me for now I need at least 30 min of cardio a day. I do fat burning elipical setting, however, my heartrate is in cardio mode, which is faster than the fat burning mode. I don't know the difference, but keeping a steady good cardio heartrate is good for weight loss, its worked so far for me and its only been two weeks. GOOD LUCK and keep on pushin :bigsmile:

Lyn_Matthews

According to the machines at my gym the fat burning setting keeps your heart at a lower rate or lower % than the cardio setting. I would think that as long as your heart rate is up both qualify as cardio. I would think you would burn MORE calories with the cardio setting since your working at a higher heart rate, but yes they are the same "kind" of calories.

dbg1

Fat burning is at a lower cardio (65% of target rate) - meant to help us go longer. Cardio is at the higher rate - always (85% of target rate). THe longer you go exercise at a higher heart rate (now be careful - no heart attacks) the more calories you will burn.

If you are just starting out, stick with the fat loss until you aren't being challenged then switch to Cardio.

Keep it going! :flowerforyou:

nolachick

don't be afraid to throw in some interval training on the elliptical/treadmills. I used to do fat burning and stopped feeling challenging then I played around with trying the different courses and boy!

Lisa0711

Fat burning is at a lower cardio (65% of target rate) - meant to help us go longer. Cardio is at the higher rate - always (85% of target rate). THe longer you go exercise at a higher heart rate (now be careful - no heart attacks) the more calories you will burn.

If you are just starting out, stick with the fat loss until you aren't being challenged then switch to Cardio.

Keep it going! :flowerforyou:

This is very true, and I have also read a lot of articles about this topic and even had a class that touched on it quite a bit. A few years ago, it was noted that more calories from fat were burned when you worked at a lower heart rate (like 65%) than a higher one. But scientists have found out that even though more calories from fat are burned at a lower rate (only in percentages of the whole), working at a higher intensity burns more calories overall (but a lower percentage of fat compared to the whole number.) However, since you are burning more calories at a higher intensity, you will also be burning more calories from fat. For instance, if you work in the lower intensity and burn 300 calories, 50% may be from fat (150 fat calories), but working at the higher intensity for the same amount of time you may burn 500 and 40% from fat (200 calories from fat). So if you're can do it, the higher intensity is better even though "fat burning zone" sounds more appealing.

I hope this helps!

freedomdancer

Jillian

Fat burning is at a lower cardio (65% of target rate) - meant to help us go longer. Cardio is at the higher rate - always (85% of target rate). THe longer you go exercise at a higher heart rate (now be careful - no heart attacks) the more calories you will burn.

If you are just starting out, stick with the fat loss until you aren't being challenged then switch to Cardio.

Keep it going!

She is right; however, i ride the stationary bike and always go for fat burning and have lost 16 pounds in 2 months using that setting; i always go for fat burning but increase the intensity as i've gotten stronger and it tends to put me in the cardio zone anyway...always take it slow and increase as you get stronger.

nancy :glasses:

spaul82478

don't be afraid to throw in some interval training on the elliptical/treadmills. I used to do fat burning and stopped feeling challenging then I played around with trying the different courses and boy!

I just started with the eleipticall and im still struggling to do the 33 min but Ido it everyday, once it gets to be too easy then i will try harder ones, thanks for the input :bigsmile:

candessb

I just read about this!!!

It doesn't matter 3500 calories=1 lb of fat...period.

The fat burn level just takes longer. :happy:

Mindful_Trent

I would recommend checking out this article - it's a very good exploration of the various heart rate ranges and types of exercise.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=80256

Both of the zones on most gym machines (cardio and fat burning) should fall within the aerobic exercise range - this is when you are exercising with a heart rate between 40% and 85% of your max heart rate. Here is what the article specifically says about the "fat burning vs cardio" on gym machines:

"Perhaps no other training "technique" is more gimmicky and misleading than the "fat burning" and "cardio" modes on the control panels of exercise equipment. They are based on the biology that at lower levels of exertion a higher percentage of fat is burned compared to carbohydrate. That's because:

1. Fat is denser fuel than carbohydrate (9 calories per gram vs. 4 calories).

2. It takes more oxygen to burn fat than carbohydrate because fat is denser.

3. At lower levels of exertion, you presumably breathe in and deliver more oxygen to the muscles to burn fat.

All of the above may be true given the right circumstances, but there are problems with it when it comes to real-world exercise scenarios. First off, lots of fat is burned at all intensities within the aerobic training zone. Secondly, the terminology "fat burning" and "cardio" can confuse individuals into thinking that fat is burned only during exercise in "fat burning" mode and that no fat is burned in "cardio" mode. The fact is that you burn fat during both modes. But the major problem is that the fat-burning mode is typically too slow a workout for many people to maximize benefits. In fact, at the end of a fat-burning workout, you could end up burning fewer calories and less total fat than during a cardio-mode workout."

In the end, you probably want to work at whatever level challenges you, but isn't impossible for you. If you're breathing super hard and couldn't carry on a conversation, then you probably want to let up a little. Over time, you'll find your endurance and what challenges you will change as your body gets more fit.

nolachick

don't be afraid to throw in some interval training on the elliptical/treadmills. I used to do fat burning and stopped feeling challenging then I played around with trying the different courses and boy!

I just started with the eleipticall and im still struggling to do the 33 min but Ido it everyday, once it gets to be too easy then i will try harder ones, thanks for the input :bigsmile:

It'll come to u don't worry. When I started working out - 20 mins on the elliptical felt like forever! Now I tend to get bored so I do intervals on teh treadmill like 1min jog and 1 min walk on and off until 20 mins are up and boy, feels like time flew by, but I am dripping in sweat after.

Jillian

Thanks for everyones help! I have decided I'm going to not pay attention to the setting, instead I will watch my heart rate. Keeping it up seems to be the key. Thanks again.