fat burning running pace

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evertongirl
evertongirl Posts: 120 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
i came across an article today about how running at a slow pace is the best thing for fat loss as it accesses and burns the fat cells rather than the glycogen /carb cells - does anyone know anymore on this -does it mean its better to just increase my distance running at a slow speed rather than trying to increase the speed/time i can run a shorter distance (5km)? Thoughts anyone??

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  • punkrawkcutie
    punkrawkcutie Posts: 439 Member
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    it's all related to your HR... 55%-70% of your max HR is the "fat buring zone" where as 65%-90% is considered to be the aerobic zone. one will burn fat the other will improve endurance and performance..... The more you train the more efficient your heart becomes so it will need different efforts to get it into the zones.... Best plan is to get a HRM if you don't already have one... it should tell you what target zone you're in.
  • debbiepa
    debbiepa Posts: 45
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    Long, consistant runs are great for fat burning. It's also good to shake up your running routine with interval training with spurts of sprinting alternating with jogging. Good luck!
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
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    Fat burning zone is a myth. It doesn't matter what heart rate is because the difference in fat burned is minimal. The big difference is calories.

    http://www.myfooddiary.com/resources/ask_the_expert/fat-burning_zone_myth.asp
  • adriangoddard
    adriangoddard Posts: 25
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    From what I have read you need to calculate your ideal fat burning heart range - both top and the bottom ranges. You need to keep your heart rate between the ranges while you work out in order to burn fat.

    This is the most common way I have found to calculate your ideal range. Note that rhr is RestingHeartRate:

    For Men:

    bottom range = (220-age-rhr)x80%+rhr = target heart rate
    top rate = (220-age-rhr)x85%+rhr = target heart rate

    e.g. (220-34-60)*80%+60 = 160 for bottom and

    (220-34-60)*85%+60 = 167 for the top

    For Women:

    Exactly the same formula, except it should be 226 and not 220.

    It doesnt matter what speed you run, but keeping your heart rate in YOUR correct zone.
  • mkrafick
    mkrafick Posts: 68
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    My trainer has been preaching that to me for a while.

    What I was doing was going hard and keeping my heart rate high (like 155+) and sweating my back end off. What he was expaining to me is at that point your body can't burn fat fast enough to keep up so it starts turning to muscle for a source of energy at the same time - so you burn both. Ideally we want fat gone, muscle to stay.

    So I increased my cardio workout some (like 10 minutes) and lowered my heart rate to between 122-128 which is the higher end of fat burn for me. What I found is that allthough easy at first, by the end I had a fine cover of sweat, was breathing harder than expected, and felt like I worked out. In the begining it doesn't feel like you are doing anything but by the end you realize you have.

    But then I noticed my body started to adjust and my weight loss plateaued, so I started doing Interval Training and always switching machines (Treadmill, Elliptical, Bike, Stepper, etc). There are some settings on the machines that say "weight loss" or "interval" which will ratched up incline or resistance for a brief time and bring it back down. This would cause my heart to be at fat burn for 5 minutes, then cardio rate for 2, and back again. This seems to be very effective for me.

    Of course I always worked in some strength training too, that makes a big difference for me too.
  • benitocereno
    benitocereno Posts: 101 Member
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    If you want to burn fat you should do HIIT (high-intensity-interval-training), if you are physically able to. It is the best way to maximize your time if you're limited.

    Outside of that, running and walking burn about the same amount of calories (for distance, not time... this doesn't mean 30 minutes running is equal to 30 minutes walking!). You'll get increased cardiovascular health from running and save a bit of time, but if you're looking for just calories burned, anything outside HIIT is pretty much equal in my opinion :smile:.

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