Some fat-stripping activities have the potential to off-load significant amounts of fat from the body’s fat stores. The most important part of physical activity is firstly to do it at the correct fat-stripping intensity. Secondly to give yourself some time to assess your progress. There are plenty of theories about the best way to exercise for fat loss. But in the end, there are only a few activities that actually work.
There is a difference between exercising the heart, and hence keeping it healthy, and exercising so that your body strips fat from its storage sites. Exercise for fat stripping is not rigorous, painful or extremely intense. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
You should be able to speak clearly while you jog. If you choose to cycle, then this also needs to be done so that you are puffing slightly, and just able to talk. The longer you do these activities the more fat you will strip. The graph below shows the relative amounts of fat and glucose used during different intensities of exercise. You can see that while sprinting uses the most energy, walking or other low-intensity exercise uses the most fat.
High-intensity Exercise
The body burns up roughly three times as much energy during strenuous exercise as it does during walking. High-intensity activities such as sprinting or weight lifting, which can be maintained for only ten to twenty seconds, use more energy (glucose) but much less fat. However, the body uses much more fat than glucose during low-intensity exercise such as walking.
At this pace the human body is very efficient at stripping and burning fat. So, although running burns more kilojoules, walking burns more fat. Low-intensity exercise can be maintained for much longer periods than sprinting or other flat-out exercise. Because the energy (glucose) stores are not depleted so quickly as during flat-out training. The aim is to find a pace that is somewhere between walking and running, such as power walking or light jogging. Remember, it is important to have variety in your exercise, so that it fits easily into your lifestyle.
For example, walk one day, rollerblade the next, and then maybe cycle to a friend’s house on the weekend.
PERCENTAGE OF FAT AND GLUCOSE USED AT DIFFERENT INTENSITIES
Low intensity Medium intensity High intensity
One of the most important questions that needs to be asked before you choose an exercise is "Will I burn fat while doing it?"
There are some general rules you should follow to optimize your fat-burning activities. If you keep these in mind whenever you exercise, then you will have a clear understanding of when your body is burning fat.
- If you are participating in an exercise and you become extremely short of breath, then you are using mainly glucose.
- Remember that whenever there is an explosive burst of energy, the use of large amounts of fat is highly unlikely.
- If you can do an activity continuously for a long period of time, and puff, but not too much, then you are most definitely using your fat store.
Low-Intensity Exercise
The question that you may ask is ‘Why is fat used more at this low level? Firstly, there is plenty of oxygen available for your body when exercising gently. This scenario is ideal for the body to use fat as a source of energy. We looked at the process of removing fat from the fat cells (lipolysis), and the burning of fat (oxidation). These vital functions can only happen when oxygen is present. The delivery of fat to exercising muscles takes some time, so you must be active for at least fifteen minutes before your body starts to use significant amounts of fat.
The body cannot deliver fat as a fuel to the exercising muscles in an urgent rush. If your body needs a sudden burst of energy, if you were sprinting for the train, for example, then glucose is called into action. The mobilization of glucose is much faster than that of fat. This means when exercising to strip fat from your fat stores you shouldn’t be puffed out, but able to maintain a good breathing rhythm.
You can monitor that you are exercising at the optimal fat-stripping level by checking that you are not too puffed as you exercise. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting your breath back when the activity is finished. Your legs shouldn’t be heavy, as they would be after a fast sprint. If your legs feel too heavy during or after exercise, then you are moving too fast, and using glucose instead of fat.
Benefits of Low-Intensity Exercise?
At this low intensity, fat is continuously removed from its cells and supplied to the exercising muscles. As there is plenty of oxygen available, lipolysis and oxidation can function at optimal levels. During low-intensity exercise the body can use fat to meet roughly 60-70 per cent of its energy needs. The remaining 30-40 per cent of energy is from glucose. An unfit person would initially use roughly 40-50 per cent fat as fuel. But with time this fat usage increases and could reach levels of 60-70 per cent. These are the main reasons why low-intensity exercise is highly recommended as being the most effective fat-stripping exercise.
Scientific evidence points to low-intensity activity as the” best way to strip fat. The most effective fat-stripping activities are walking at a good pace and very light jogging. Cycling is also beneficial. Walking at a good pace means at a pace that causes you to puff after only a very short time not a slow casual meander around the block, but a good, long-striding Power walk. It is important to lift your heart rate in order to burn significant amounts of fat. If you wanted to jog, then this too should be done at a pace that allows you to maintain a good breathing rhythm even though you are puffing slightly
