Exercise Principles for Efficient Fat Loss

Fat is stored energy, like the energy that is stored in a gas tank in an automobile. For humans, eating and drinking is what fills our tank. Food is what puts energy into our system. Energy we do not use is stored as fat.

To get rid of fat, we have to burn more energy than we eat and drink. We have to drain the tank faster than we refill it. When losing fat, we want to be a ‘gas guzzler’ rather than an ‘economy car’.

Burning energy takes effort and time. Effort is hard and time is money. It is smart to get the best return on your time and effort, the most ‘bang for your buck’. 

Many of us can only exercise three or four times a week for a limited amount of time. If we can only exercise 3-4 times a week, how should we exercise so that we maximize fat loss in that time? How do we get the most bang for our buck?

Eating right is not the focus of this essay. This essay focuses on smarter exercise. However, eating right is critical. The results of exercise can almost always be wiped out by a less helpful diet. Get your eating straight and you are halfway there.

If you have limited exercise time, it makes the most sense to exercise efficiently. For fat loss harder exercise works better than easier exercise. It is that simple.

First, here is the formula. Figure out how many hours a week you can invest in yourself and then create your most efficient fat loss program:

More time available? Then add Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic TrainingExercise (training ) burns calories by increasing metabolism during and after exercise.

Certain types of exercise can increase muscle mass and muscle mass metabolism. In addition to the energy your burn during the training, adding muscle increases how many calories you burn while you are resting, or not exercising.

Other types of exercise increase your metabolic rate from several minutes to several hours after exercise.  For example: Light exercise (a walk around the block) might increase your metabolism for a few minutes afterward while intense intervals (wind sprints) will increase your metabolism for several hours after you are done.

The Training Priorities for Fat Loss Training

1. Resistance Training

Weights, muscle exertion, Pushing and pulling. Body weight training, barbells, weight machines, hard, heavy, physical work like digging, hauling, loading, sawing, etc. Lots of sweat and heavy breathing. You will probably be sore later.

Resistance training is the cornerstone of your efficient fat loss program. Resistance training increases muscle mass, increases post-exercise metabolism, and burns a lot of energy when you are doing it. The goal in resistance training is to work every muscle group hard, frequently, and with an intensity that creates an “afterburn” that leaves the metabolism elevated for several hours post-exercise.

2. High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training

Sprints & such. Heavy breathing, sweat, drains you and wears you out. Can’t keep it up for more than 10-30 seconds without a significant drop in output. If you ride bikes with friends who are faster than you or if you take a spin class, some of your time will be spent in this training zone. 

The second key type of exercise in a fat loss program is high intensity interval training (HIIT). It burns more calories than easier, slower activity and it elevates your metabolism significantly more than all other forms of cardio training. It has a long post-exercise metabolic effect. The downside is that High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training is incredibly hard to do and we cannot sustain it for very long. Bur, a little goes a long way. 

3. High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training

Pacing runs or rides, very brisk walks perhaps needing added weight to increase the intensity. Not out of breath but right at that edge. Usually corresponds to a heart rate of 75-85% of your maximum heart rate. 

High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training is something you can do for a fairly long time, especially after a few weeks of training. Long runs, long brisk walks, and long bike rides are possible. Lots of calories get burned, but the post-exercise burn is not that great. But, it can be a little fun and social, but most of the social interaction has to come afterward or during breaks, because you are at the edge of breathlessness during the training. 

4. Steady State High Intensity Aerobic Training

Runs or Rides. Just significant cardio work.  Usually around 65-75% of max heart rate. Calories do count. Burning calories adds up. Like the above, it can be fun and social, and we can do it a long time.

5. Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic Training

Walks or Easy Rides. This is just activity, going for a walk in the park, etc. It won’t burn a lot of calories; it won’t increase muscle or post-training metabolism.

Summary

You’ll notice that these exercise recommendations are the opposite of ideas that you might typically see in the media or hear from physicians. Unfortunately, the traditional advice is the exact opposite of the ideal sequence we should use when we have limited time. 

Traditional fat loss recommendations start with low intensity aerobics (just walk), then progress to higher intensity aerobics (jog or bike) then to intervals (run & bike faster adding some sprints). Finally, when you get “in shape” they recommend adding resistance training. 

For fat loss harder exercise works better than easier exercise. It is that simple.

*Several of the ideas for this article come from Alwyn Cosgrove’s great work. He is brilliant and clear. Highly recommended! I used his outline of ideas and wrote this for my private practice clients.