Is duration key for fat burning?

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yocherries
yocherries Posts: 34
in Fitness and Exercise
I have recently strayed away from my usual 30-40 min long cardio workout and begun my beginner's version of HIIT, which I do for 18 minutes total (I know a lot of people will tell me proper HIIT should not last this long, that's where "my beginner's version" comes in).

My question is in regards to fat burning. Don't get me wrong, I get worn out from my 30-40 minutes, but I feel like I am putting in WAY more exertion and I get worn out really quick when I do my 18 min of HIIT. Still, am I getting less fat burning out of my workout because I am not going at it for very long?

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  • Ainar
    Ainar Posts: 858 Member
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    Fat burning happens when you are in calorie deficit, what kind of workout you do does not matter. Exercises are a good way how to increase deficit so you would burn more fat. But exercise itself does not burn any fat, it burns glycogen. Of course unless you are ketogenic and ate zero carbs, in which case it's about total calories anyways.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Fat burning happens when you are in calorie deficit, what kind of workout you do does not matter. Exercises are a good way how to increase deficit so you would burn more fat. But exercise itself does not burn any fat, it burns glycogen. Of course unless you are ketogenic and ate zero carbs, in which case it's about total calories anyways.

    /thread.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Fat burning happens when you are in calorie deficit, what kind of workout you do does not matter. Exercises are a good way how to increase deficit so you would burn more fat. But exercise itself does not burn any fat, it burns glycogen. Of course unless you are ketogenic and ate zero carbs, in which case it's about total calories anyways.

    Somebody should tell science that no fat metabolizes during exercise. After all ... MFP forums trump experimentation and observation ... right?

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/72/2/558s.full
  • rezrighter
    rezrighter Posts: 18
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    HIIT is great for afterburn, you dont get as much of a calorie burn during HIIT training then a standard cardio session due to shorter duration, well you can but... Anyway HIIT keeps your metabolism up for up to 24 hours after the workout, during the recovery period. Standard cardio has relativly little afterburn by comparason due to a minimal recovery period.

    The real key to weight loss is your metabolism, the highter it is, the more calories you are burining. Cardio raises your metabolism during the workout but not much after. HIIT raises your metabolism more during recovery. Incresses in musscle mass will raise your metabolism for as long as you maintain those muscles.

    All an increased hart rate tells you is that you are raising your metabolism in certain ways.

    Sorry to disqualify a quote, fat burning does not happen when when you are calorie deficient, weight loss happens because of the calorie defeciency. an increase in metabolism of fats is what causes a greater long term loss of body fat.

    Kinda went all over with that, hope it was helpful.
  • sjaplo
    sjaplo Posts: 974 Member
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    Fat burning happens when you are in calorie deficit, what kind of workout you do does not matter. Exercises are a good way how to increase deficit so you would burn more fat. But exercise itself does not burn any fat, it burns glycogen. Of course unless you are ketogenic and ate zero carbs, in which case it's about total calories anyways.

    I think this is a little over simplified. Just sitting and breathing burns glycogen, which is why you need to eat to replace it. However different types of exercise raise the metabolic rate in different ways causing the body to search for fuel;

    1. Endurance running will deplete your glycogen stores (depending on fitness) in about an hour which is why you need to replenish with gels etc on runs longer than an hour.
    2. Interval training - will boost your metabolism for 2-3 hours (again depending on fitness) and therefore continue to chew through fuel - if you are eating at a deficit then this "fuel" has to come from within.
    3. Heavy lifting can, apparently, raise your metabolic rate for 1 or 2 days. (I say apparently because I've just started lifting and have no direct experience of this.) again if you are eating at a defecit the fuel has to come from within, but this would be why protein becomes important.

    In the past I have found that I really don't start to lose weight until I start doing either long distances or interval work. I'm no longer into long distances so I choose interval work. I'm interested to see how the lifting impacts.

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