Yesterday I promised to shed some light on how to put together a great fat loss exercise program, and to maximize an already solid program. The secret lies in the use of fuel.
In yesterday's post I mentioned that low intensity steady state cardio (walking, easy bike ride) uses mainly fat for fuel. I also mentioned that fat is NOT burned during strength training. Allow me to expand on this.
When you wake up, after a prolonged period of sleeping, and therefore not eating (the fasted state), your body has very little blood sugar kicking around. This makes it prime time for low intensity steady state cardio, as the inherent low intensity negates the need for blood sugar as fuel. A nice long walk with Dog first thing in the morning is just about perfect for most.
Compare this to Strength Training or Interval work, where blood sugar along with the sugar stored in your muscles & liver (glycogen) is the dominant fuel. Attempting these forms of exercise while fasted in the AM and you're asking for trouble. Most will fall flat, finding they don't have the energy to sustain any intensity. Even worse, if they do, they risk using muscle protein as a fuel source, and this is bad, Bad, BAD.
Strength Training, as I mentioned yesterday is ESSENTIAL on a diet, as it limits the amount of muscle breakdown, or ideal maintains the muscle you have forcing your body to use fat. Since strength training requires glycogen, blood sugar and protein, it makes sense to perform your strength routine 2-3 hours after a meal (the fed state) when you'll have these fuels readily available. This will ensure that you both have the fuel to support intense training, and to promote muscle repair following the workout. Interval work has nearly the same requirements as strength training.
At this point you may already see where I'm going with this. Fasted low intensity cardio before breakfast, paired with strength training in the fed state 2-3 times per week creates the perfect program to go along with a caloric deficit. Remember that I said diet is primarily responsible for fat loss in non-athletes, and those who can't commit to 3+ hours of exercise most days of the year.
Interval work can be added in conservatively, to increase the caloric expenditure side of the equation. 1-2 sessions per week if the exerciser feels they can recover from it. So how does one know how much is too much?
Next post I will speak about good intentions gone bad, and how to determine if you may be overtraining. I also plan to touch on how diet affects the potential for overtraining.
Until then take a walk before breakfast, and go move heavy things after dinner!
Matty
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