Fact or Myth?

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Tilran
Tilran Posts: 626 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So from what I understand about weight loss from exercise, you need to keep your heart rate at a certain level for an extended period of time for your body to burn calories and start attacking your fat.

So assuming that part is correct, is it fact or myth that taking the stairs at work instead of an elevator will help you lose weight?

I always hear people say, "oh I park at the other end of the parking lot" or "I take the 2-3 flights of stairs to my desk rather then the elevator" and things like that.

The thing is, if I take the stairs or walk from the end of the lot, my heart rate isent really going up that high, and for sure I dont break a sweat. So what is the point? Is it really helping?

Replies

  • Saree1902
    Saree1902 Posts: 611 Member
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    I'm not sure about the heart-rate thing, but any activity ultimately burns calories as muscles are used and energy is expended. Sometimes not very much, but it takes more energy to walk up 2 flights of stairs than it does to press a button in the lift.

    Therefore, every little will help, especially when starting on the weight-loss journey.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Any exercise will help.

    You are thinking of your "training heart rate". That is where you're body is being the most efficient when burning energy. When doing your workouts, this is where you want to try to train (dependent of goals of course).
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
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    So from what I understand about weight loss from exercise, you need to keep your heart rate at a certain level for an extended period of time for your body to burn calories and start attacking your fat.

    If you laid in bed all day, you will still be burning calories. Exercise does not suddenly flip an on switch. The "training zones" are mostly for cardio health as opposed to fat burning (please ignore anything that says fat burning zone...just work out hard and you should be fine)

    One minute of moderate to intense exercise can burn about 10 calories. Walking burns about 5 calories per minute for me. So if you walk a bit further and take some stairs you normally wouldn't it could add up to 40 to 100 calories. Is this better than nothing? Yes. Is it going to make a drastic difference? No.

    One of my main work outs is taking walks with my dogs. One is older and the other one is training, so I walk sloooooow and hardly ever break a sweat, but I am still burning my 5 (or a bit less) calories per minute.

    In conclusion, while calories are being burned by parking further away and taking the stairs, they are not high calorie burners. No matter what work outs you are doing, losing weight is 80% diet.
  • charliebrooke08
    charliebrooke08 Posts: 82
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    Taking the stairs isn't cardio, and isn't going to make any significant change in your body, but ultimately all activity does burn *some* calories.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    The thing is, if I take the stairs or walk from the end of the lot, my heart rate isent really going up that high, and for sure I dont break a sweat. So what is the point? Is it really helping?

    By themselves little changes like that don't make much of a difference but a lot of small changes add up to big changes.
  • brandyk77
    brandyk77 Posts: 605 Member
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    "fat burning zone" is the biggest crock there is out there (besides those spendy scales that are supposed to tell you your body fat).

    At a certain heart rate, the % of calories burned from fat is highest. However, if you increase your effort, the total calories you burn is actually higher even though the % from fat is lower. Make sense? HR monitor business is a big one!

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