Need help changing my mindset-long question!

cardbucfan
cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
edited September 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Please bear with me, this is a long post. Here's my deal. I have been working out for a long time (years) with spinning being my preferred cardio activity. I burn a lot of calories, really get my heart rate up (the only other thing that does that for me is running but I have poor knees and they get really sore if I do too much of it) and it has greatly improved my cardiac fitness (stress tests and EKG's confirm this).

I started MFP in August because even though I exercised alot, I had steadily gained weight-that whole 80% nutrition, 20 % exercise thing, I'm a textbook example of it. I've lost close to 20 lbs. and want to lose probably another 5-7. (the holidays and my son having surgery threw a little glitch in there but I'm getting back on track) I still have jiggle and fat in my thigh, butt and stomach area and know I can't spot reduce but my face and chest are getting too thin and it's not gonna be pretty if I lose any more up there.

So I KNOW I need to change up my routine and do different things (I already do some strength training in the form of classes that incorporate pushups, planks, lunges, squats and light lifting and I do some lifting for upper body before my spin classes). But, when I try those different things and don't burn as many calories as I do spinning, I feel cheated and like a wasted my time especially when I do still want to lose some weight.

For example, this morning I did a 90 minute class that was a combination cardio/strength/yoga. It sounded really promising and the folks I saw lined up to take it looked pretty fit and lean. The class was just O.K. Other than the knee issue that limited some of the jumping things, I was perfectly capable of doing everything. I will be sore from all the pushups and squats but not unduly. But my heart rate only got close to 85% 2 times the whole class and I only burned 541 calories during that 90 minutes compared to 450 in 45 minutes of spinning. I recognize that this may not be the class for me but I think I need to change my emphasis from how many calories I burned (difficult with that whole needing to eat my exercise calories back) to how effective the workout is. And it's hard to do that!!! So, any suggestions on what I should do, how I change my focus?? Thanks for reading!

Replies

  • kate1398
    kate1398 Posts: 34
    I'm no fitness expert and haven't gotten into exercising on a regular basis but I have joined several different programs regarding fatloss and was told that in order to actually lose fat which I believe is really what you are talking about, you need to do more strength training along with the cardio because of the lean muscle you build with the strength training which will in turn help you to burn off the fat. I have read that doing cardio for an hour will not get the results that a combo of cardio and weights will get in a half hour if the goal is to burn the fat.
    Hope this helps and maybe someone else can help me with what I'm trying to say. The website fasttracktofatloss.com is one of the programs that I became familiar with and you can sign up as a silver member which won't cost anything but it will give you access to the exercise videos they have and explain more about what I'm talking about.
    Good luck!
  • glevin72
    glevin72 Posts: 4
    Sounds like you're doing great. The only thing I might suggest are longer workouts at lower heart rates. The combo class sounds pretty good actually. It's easy to get hung up on calories, because it's measurable quickly. What's less measurable is how your metabolism reacts to 90 minutes of lighter cardio versus 45 minutes of hard cardio. Longer exercise at lower heart rates actually burns more fat, and speeds your metabolism for longer, maybe as long as 12 hours. So, while you're burner fewer calories, you're actually burning more fat, plus the added muscle will help speed your metabolism in the longer run.

    It's true that at 85% of max heart rate you're at peak calorie burning, but that's not the only factor, it's what your burning. At 85% you're burning ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP contains calories, but ATP is also what burns when you're going into "Turbo" mode. At lower heart rates between 65-75% you burn more fat. The deal with lower intensity workouts is that the fat burning doesn't really start until about 30-45 minutes into the workout.

    If you're going into a gym, there should be trainers who can confirm what I'm saying . . . Just don't let them sell you supplements, powders or any crap like that. You likely don't need it. The only thing I might recommend for a longer workout is a GU packet or some heavily diluted Gatorade, but only if you start feeling weak after an hour or so.

    You can also try riding a bike (since you like spinning) at a slower pace for longer periods of time, keeping your heart rate in the 65-75% range. Talk to a trainer or a doctor, of course, but really, I think you should keep the 90 minute class, if for no other reason than to shake it up a little. Keep things interesting for yourself, but if you really love spinning, you should keep it too!

    Good luck,

    Greg
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    When you lose weight, you will also lose a bit of un-used muscle mass. If you are doing the bulk of your cardio using your legs it makes sense that you may have lost some of the un-used upper body muscle mass. I second the previous poster, shake things up, go for a longer slower burn and incorporate some upper body exercises to build the upper body back up a bit. Also the combo class will help you tone what is already there, and make you look leaner rather than just toned in the legs.
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
    Thanks everybody. Those are good ideas and I needed to hear Glevin72's answer about burning more after the fact. It's one of those I know it in my brain but making myself do it is hard! (gee, kinda like that eating healthy thing too!)
  • pamp1emousse
    pamp1emousse Posts: 282 Member
    Well the thing about this "fat burning zone" is that because you're working at a lower intensity, you're burning less calories. So in fact, whilst the proportion of calories burnt from fat is higher in the zone, you'll actually burn more calories from fat overall by working at a higher intensity. With strength training, the calorie burn isn't really that significant but it boosts your metabolism for hours after so it's definitely worth it.

    Have you considered the elliptical? I run and spin as well so I use it to mix everything up a bit. It's a killer! And really easy to get the heart-rate up on - just add in some intervals and make sure there's enough resistance and you'll get a great work out. I burn the same amount on it as with running and spinning - it's just harder because I'm not as used to it. I suppose if it's hard that's a good thing though :huh:
    Good luck :smile:
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
    Yes, I do the elliptical but I get really bored on it! The problem I have with that is in order to get my heart rate really up (see, there's that mindset again!), I have to up the resistance a lot and there go those darn knees again! I will usually combine the elliptical with intervals on the treadmill on days I don't spin or do run/walk intervals outside.
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