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HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BODY SO IT BURNS FAT ALL DAY
By Ivon Dahl
WHATEVER FUEL YOU BURN WHILE EXERCISING,
YOU ARE TRAINING YOUR BODY TO BURN THAT FUEL ALL THE TIME. IF YOU BURN
FAT WHILE EXERCISING, YOU WILL BURN FAT ALL THE TIME. IF YOU BURN SUGAR
WHILE EXERCISING, YOU WILL BURN SUGAR ALL THE TIME.
BURNING FAT SPARES YOUR BLOOD SUGAR,
SO YOUR BLOOD SUGAR DOESN’T BOTTOM OUT. YOU FEEL BETTER, YOU CAN CONCENTRATE,
AND YOU LOWER YOUR RISK FOR MAJOR DISEASES.
THE MORE YOU DEPEND ON SUGAR BURNING
FOR ENERGY, THE HIGHER YOUR RISK FOR HEART DISEASE, STROKE, DIABETES AND
OBESITY. EVEN THE RISK OF BREAST CANCER IS INCREASED IF YOU RELY ON SUGAR
AS YOUR PRIMARY ENERGY SOURCE.
YOU ARE INVESTING ENERGY, EFFORT, TIME
AND MONEY IN YOUR EXERCISE STRATEGY. BE SURE YOUR INVESTMENT PAYS OFF
BY FOLLOWING AN EXERCISE STRATEGY THAT HELPS YOU GET FIT AND GET HEALTHY.
YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT. OTHERWISE
YOU’LL GET FIT AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS YOURSELF INTO
THE GROUND.
SIGNS YOUR EXERCISE IS UNHEALTHY
• FAILURE TO PROGRESS (WIND, STRENGTH, ENDURANCE, FAT LOSS)
• INJURIES OR EXCESSIVE SORENESS
• FATIGUE
• DEPRESSION
• BLOOD SUGAR PROBLEMS (CRAVING SWEETS)
• PMS
• ALLERGIES
• HEADACHES, POOR CONCENTRATION
• INABILITY TO RECOVER FROM SURGERY OR BIRTH
YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO
BUT TO GET THERE, YOU HAVE TO RESPECT YOUR LIMITS FIRST, BUILD A STRONG
AEROBIC BASE. THEN, IF YOU LIKE, YOU CAN PUSH YOURSELF BY ADDING WEIGHTS
AND OTHER ANAEROBIC WORK THAT PUSHES YOUR FITNESS TO NEW LEVELS.
AEROBIC VERSUS ANAEROBIC
[ MEANS ]
FAT BURNING VERSUS SUGAR BURNING
| AEROBIC MUSCLES |
ANAEROBIC MUSCLES |
| BURN FAT |
BURN SUGAR (LOW BLOOD SUGAR) |
| HIGH ENERGY |
FATIGUE EASILY = CRAVE COFFEE |
| MORE PROTEIN = POWER |
EACH FIBER BIGGER = MORE MUSCLE
BULK |
| PROTECT YOUR POSTURE |
NON-POSTURAL (easy injury) |
| KEEP YOU HEALTHY |
SUGAR BURN = FIGHT/FLIGHT
MODE, SO YOU FEEL STRESSED HIGHER RISK FOR DISEASE |
For the first three months of
training, do only aerobic work to build an aerobic base. Then you can
add weights or other anaerobic work (anything where your heart rate is
over your maximum aerobic pace, which we will talk about in a minute).
Alternate three months of pure aerobic with three months of mixed training,
back and forth.
For lifters who prefer to work with
weights all the time, you must do enough aerobic work to keep your aerobic
base intact, else you will increase your disease risk as discussed above.
This might mean as many as four aerobic workouts per week to offset the
effect of three or four anaerobic workouts. These must be done away from
each other in time, not stacked on top of one another. In addition, your
lifting will likely hit a plateau that can only be resolved by going into
aerobic training. After a period of aerobic work, you will be able to
push through the plateau without difficulty.
HOW TO DISABLE YOUR FAT BURNING SYSTEM
1. Not enough movement turns muscles
into sugar burners.
2. Depriving the muscles of oxygen by exercising at too high a heart rate
forces them to burn sugar for energy.
3. Using anaerobic muscle fiber types too much by weight lifting without
also doing aerobic training, turns your muscles into sugar burners.
4. If you maintain an extreme high stress level, you turn your muscles
into sugar burners. This could be general life stress, or could also be
organ stress from abrupt starting or stopping of exercise (failure to
warm up/warm down).
5. Many foods and other things we ingest block the body’s ability to burn
fat. If your body can’t burn fat, it burns sugar.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR FAT BURNING SYSTEM
1. Movement
2. Exercise at a moderate heart rate, below your maximum fat-burning rate.
3. Build an aerobic base before doing any lifting. Three months aerobic
only, then three months aerobic and anaerobic, then repeat that cycle.
4. Relax if you are stressed. Warm up at least ten minutes and warm down
at least ten minutes before and after exercise. This means taking ten
minutes to get up to your aerobic fat-burning range, and ten minutes at
the end to get back down.
5. Avoid foods that block fat burning (next page).
EAT THE GOOD FATS
There are three kinds of fat: From fish, from meat and from vegetables
(vegetables have fat; we just think of it as oil. Fats and oils are the
same thing, but one is solid at room temperature). Fats from meat (beef,
pork, chicken, turkey, etc.) increase inflammation and increase the risk
of disease. It is better to eat fish and vegetables. The best is deep-water
fish like salmon and tuna. If you eat meat, eat lean meat. The proportion
of food intake that works best for most people is 20%-40% of calories
from carbohydrates and the rest split evenly between protein and fat.
As we discussed at the beginning, these ideas are generalizations that
may apply differently to different people. As questions come up, be sure
to ask your trainer so we can help you stay oriented toward your goals
of fitness and health.
FOODS THAT BLOCK FAT BURNING
The following foods interfere with your body’s ability to burn fat for
energy. If your body can’t burn fat for energy, it burns sugar.
1. Margarine
2. Deep fried foods.
3. Aspirin, ibuprofen, Tylenol, etc.
4. Any food you’re allergic to.
5. Copper excess or deficiency.
6. Fluoride excess.
7. Nutrient deficiencies: Copper, iron carnitine, vitamin C, sodium and
others... Almost all of these nutrients exist in a balance with each other,
so it’s important that you don’t simply go out and start dosing yourself
with them randomly. You can push yourself in the wrong direction just
as easily as the right direction.
8. Arginine. In some individuals, this is a problem. Arginine raises insulin
levels, which promotes sugar burning and blocks fat burning.
9. Hi-carb diets. High carbohydrate diets raise insulin levels. Insulin
blocks fat burning.
10. Low fat intake. Low fat intake will wind your metabolism down to nothing.
The immune system needs fats.
TRAIN YOUR BODY TO BURN FAT
Your breathing and heart rate are indicators of the intensity levels at
which you are working. There are many ways to measure exercise intensity.
The Karvonen Formula is one method used to determine your heart rate,
a simple heart monitor is another. Perceived Exertion Rate and Talk Test
methods are measurements that can be used in determining your aerobic
levels.
Remember; the body will burn fats that are present in the bloodstream
when performing aerobic activity. Therefore, if you don’t add more fat
to your diet the body will mobilize it from storage;
1st the fats found within the muscles being used
2nd the subcutaneous [under the skin] fat storage
3rd the inter-organ fat
The body needs blood sugars to burn fats, rather like stoking a fire with
kindling. When attempting fat loss, it is important not to restrict all
fats from your diet. A healthy immune system uses fats to protect cells
from virus and bacteria, like a defense shield.
40% body fat is obesity, a disease causing heart problems, diabetes and
joint compression
21% fat is considered normal for women
17% fat body composition is considered normal for men
9% women loose their menstrual cycle
7% is considered excellent for men
4% > 0% a woman will die
1% > -% elite male athletes have been measured as low as this and still
function well
As women of 40>50 years, begin to loose estrogen their bodies store
fat to balance the hormone levels. Fat retention increases the estrogen
levels in men and women
Anaerobic activity burns blood sugars
The body can only save 2,000 units of glucose in the blood, muscles and
liver. The brain needs sugar to function effectively however; the body
can operate off fats. This is why; inactive people who work their brain
all day at the office are tiered and hungry. A solution might be to have
quantities of fruit juice diluted with half water [it is absorbed faster]
throughout the workday.
Aerobic training burns fat in the
bloodstream
Mobilizes fats from storage areas [hips & abdomens]
Teaches the body to burn fat as an energy
source more readily
Increases metabolic rate for extended
periods after activity
Strengthens cardio-pulmonary Increase
the volume of oxygen
Cleans the lymphatic system
Increases energy levels
Makes us feel great by releasing endorphins
thus reducing anxiety and the amount of time it takes to begin the fat
burning process varies based on fitness levels. A fit person will take
as little as 3 min. a person who is out of shape may take as long as 10
min. to get into the fat burning zone. One can easily determine at which
point the body starts to burn fat from their perceived exertion rate.
At the beginning of a cardio workout you may feel as if your wearing lead
boots. As you achieve your zone you will feel more comfortable.
Exercise Physiologists believe the
fat burning affects of aerobic workouts are extended expediential
15min of training within your zone…Burns
4Xs the calories for the next 1 hour. 20min of training within your zone…Burns
3Xs the calories for the next 2 hours. 30min of training within your zone…Burns
2Xs the calories for the next 4 hours. 60min of training within your zone…Burns
1Xs the calories for the next 5 hours.
Therefore if you intend to do cardio
workouts for one hour; it would behoove you to breakup the workout into
30min @ with at least a 4 hour interval, which will speed your metabolism
for 8 hours.
THE BORG TECHNIQUE
This is a subjective method that allows
you to rate how hard you feel that you’re working. The Borg Technique
can be the primary means of measuring exercise intensity if you do not
have a typical heart rate response to graded exercise; People on beta
blocking medications, some cardiac and diabetic patients, pregnancy and
others who may have an altered heart rate response, such as a very low
resting heart rate or extremely high resting heart rate. A normal resting
heart falls within a 65 – 75 b.p.m.
During cardio exercises, count out loud [one thousand one, one thousand
two, one thousand three, etc.] When you feel it necessary, stop counting
and take a breath.
If you took a breath at 1-2-3, you are working too hard and burning glucose
at a high rate.
If you took a breath at 4-5-6, you are working within your fat burning
zone.
If you took a breath at 7-8-9-10 you working too easily and burning blood
sugars.
How you feel mentally and physically after your cardio workout is also
a way of determining whether you were within your fat burning zone. If
you feel dull or tiered post workout, you were probably burning sugar.
If you feel energized afterwards, you probably were and for some time
after burning fat.
THE KARVONEN FORMULA
220 – AGE = MAXIMUM HEART RATE
MAX H.R.– RESTING H.R. X INTENSITY + REATING HEART RATE = TRAINING HEART
RATE
This heart rate formula is an effective method used to calculate training
intensity. The formula factors in your resting heart rate; therefore,
you’ll need to determine your resting heart rate by doing the following;
- Before getting out of bed in the morning, take your radial pulse or
carotid pulse
- Count the number of beats per minute or for 6 seconds and multiply by
10 To work within your fat burning zone you can choose between 50% >
85% of your max heart rate reserve. This gives you the choice to work
according to your fitness level.
50% - 60% … for beginners or those with a low fitness level
60% - 70% … for a person with moderate or average fitness level
75% - 85% … for those with a high fitness level
For example; Julie is beginning a cardio program Julie’s maximum heart
rate;
220 – 33 [age] = 187
187 – 75 [rest. HR] = 112
112 X 50 [min. intensity] + 75 [ret. HR] = 131 beats per min.
Julie’s maximum training heart rate; 220 – 33 [age] = 187
187 – 75 [rest. HR] = 112
112 X 60 [max. intensity for beginners] + 75 [rest. HR] = 142 beats per
min.
THE TALK – TEST METHOD
The talk-test method is quite
useful in determining your comfort zone of aerobic intensity, especially
if you are just beginning an exercise program. If you are able to talk
during your workout, without a great deal of strain, you’re most likely
in your comfort zone. Work at an intensity that allows you to breathe
rhythmically throughout all phases of your workout. This will ensure a
safe and comfortable level of exercise.
PERCEIVED EXERTION RATE
[ P. E. R. ]
The heart rate has traditionally been
used to estimate exercise intensity. However, evidence shows that a person’s
own perception of the intensity of his exercise can often be just as accurate
as the heart rate in gauging his exercise intensity. To judge perceived
exertion, estimate how difficult it feels to do the exercise. Do not be
concerned with any one single factor such as shortness of breath or work
intensity. Instead, try to concentrate on the total inner feeling of exertion.
If a person has good awareness, the accuracy of P.E.R. can be very close
to a heart monitor reading. To find a geuss-timation of your heart rate
simply multiply the intensity rating by ten, which equals the beats per
minute.
NUMERICAL RATING VERBAL RATING
APPROXIMATE HEART RATE
1-7
resting
45-75bpm
8-10
active
80-100bpm
11-12
fairly light
110-120bpm
13-16
challenging
130-160bpm
17-20
very difficult
170-200bpm
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