Muscles Are Trained Fat-Burners
The more time spent during aerobic and anaerobic activity, the more trained the muscles will become in fat metabolism. Trained muscles can burn fat more efficiently and require less glucose, even during strenuous exercise.
After physical activity has ceased, “fat-burning) may continue at an accelerated rate for some time. Some reports suggests that fat metabolism remains elevated for at least six hours after completion.
Another report suggests there is increased fat use 24 hours after an hour-long aerobics session. The body’s adaptation to strenuous and prolonged aerobic and anaerobic exercise burns more fat all day, not just during the exercise. In other words, consistent exercise for more than 30 minutes will most likely raise an individuals resting metabolic rate, which means you consistently burn more fat even while not exercising.
“How Intense is Intense?”
As well as duration, intensity plays an important role in the efficiency fat-metabolism during exercise. In general, the percentage of energy contributed by fat diminishes as the intensity of exercise increases.
Fat can only be broken down in the presence of oxygen. Oxygen serves as the catalyst that enables proteins and enzymes of the body to burn fat during an exercise metabolism.
The heart and lungs can provide only so much oxygen– so fast. When muscle exertion is so great that the demand for energy outstrips the oxygen supply, the body cannot process oxygen fast enough. Therefore, the body cannot burn fat. Instead, it reverts back to anaerobic metabolism and burns more glucose.
Resistance type training is the best way to boost active metabolism. If your goal is to ultimately burn off large amounts of fat. The key is to weight train. To lift weights takes up more energy than running for miles and miles. Aerobic exercise is important but you don’t have to kill yourself and damage your knees and hips and back from hours and hours of running, cycling, etc. During aerobic exercise your body is mixing oxygen and fat to help supply fuel to the muscles to help sustain the long periods of exercise. Once you stop the fat burning effect drops considerably. When you weight train you are burning sugar as the main source of fuel. This causes the muscles to heat up very quickly. This boost in active metabolism has a greater effect on the thermogenic effect of the muscle. Which means that depending on the intensity used the muscle can burn fat for 2-6 hours after weight training. Meaning you could be at your desk at work and still be burning a high concentration of fat. This is a great thing. In order to get this effect you have to train correctly. That is where I can help you. If you need help with an exercise program that will provide results I offer an inexpensive online personal training service. I would be more than happy to help you. The program is tailored to match your goals, whether it is fat burning, or body building.
Go to www.darylconant.com and click on training for more details.
Daryl Conant, M.Ed
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