fat burn or manual

mom2my4boys
mom2my4boys Posts: 148 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
HI everyone,
I've been steadily losing weight since late last summer. This may sound like a silly question, should i be selecting fat burn mode or manual on the cardio equipment at the gym? I've tried both and the fat burn mode doesn't seem like I'm pushing myself enough. I don't feel the burn, lol. Maybe i'm just a control freak. I'm weighing in at 215lbs (down from 274lbs) so obviously, fat burning is still my goal. Thanks for your opinions and replies :)

Replies

  • greymane98
    greymane98 Posts: 29 Member
    I always use manual and adjust settings to get where I want to be for my heart rate. That way I have a much better idea on how many calories I burn (you can't trust any machine 's estimates of your calories burn for a workout). I agree that "most" of the "fat burning" settings are junk (my opinion of course).
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    While there is such a thing as getting good fat burn from low intensity steady state (LISS) cardio sessions, they need to be at least an hour long so if you're only doing 20 or 30 minutes in that fat burning zone you're not really going to get the result you need. This training is mostly used for body builders who are doing a "cut" to reduce fat so their muscles are more defined.

    As a matter of fact, you'll likely burn much more calorie, which is what is truly needed for weight loss, by working at a higher intensity. So go ahead and use that manual setting most of the time and push yourself!

    Here's a decent article with more info:

    http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/The-Truth-About-The-Fat-Burning-Zone.htm
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    It doesn't matter. Just pick something and push yourself. Don't worry about trying to get into any particular "zone."
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    The premise of the fat burning mode is that you keep your heart rate at about 65% of max. What happens at this pace is that your body is getting energy from fat (vs carbs). If you push faster, your carb to fat ratio goes up. At about 90% of max you're mostly burning carbs (and can bonk if you try to keep that pace up for too long).

    There are two schools of thought:
    - Go slow, focus on just burning fat. This helps preserve muscle (provided you're also lifting heavy to keep your growth homone and testosterone levels up) as you aren't creating any excess cortisol. The down side is that it takes more time.
    - Go hard. You'll burn more total calories in a shorter period of time and even if you're at a 40 - 60 fat to carb burn, you'll accomplish more in less time. The down side is that you risk creating excess cortisol, which is catabolic (eats muscle).

    I'm a pro-go slow for fat loss, mixing in a few HIIT sessions a week to help build cardio fitness.
  • mom2my4boys
    mom2my4boys Posts: 148 Member
    Thank you all for you replies-very informative! The longer i do this the more questions i have. I've changed gears from "it's simple, eat less and move more" mentality to why/how does it work. I think I'll keep pushing myself on the manual setting and keep lifting. Usually once a week, when im tired, i do the fatburn. (I have 4 boys aged 8-9-9-10 that tire me, lol) Yes, I have noticed I burn more calories "manually" and I feel better competing with myself. Also, I'm female so I'm not sure if your testosterone comment really applies to me :) Thanks again!

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