In

How Your Body Burns Fat at AFAC Gym

Graphic comparing calories and fat burned during light walking and moderate cycling at the gym

Every day, members step into AFAC gym with a common goal in mind – to shed unwanted pounds and trim their waistlines.

In pursuit of this objective, many gravitate towards cardio workouts, believing that sweating it out in the so-called “fat-burning zone” is the quickest path to torching those calories. However, as we’ll discover in this blog, the fat-burning zone notion has misled countless fitness enthusiasts, leaving them disappointed when their efforts don’t move the needle on the scale.

So, what is the fat-burning zone, and why is it a myth? Let’s dissect this popular belief and uncover the truth about how to effectively burn fat during your workouts. It’s time to set the record straight and revolutionize the way you approach your workout routines at AFAC gym in Thornton, Colorado.

The Myth of the Fat-Burning Zone at the Gym

The myth of the fat-burning zone starts with a discussion about heart rate and what percentage of your maximum heart rate (MHR) you should supposedly maintain to burn the utmost fat.

What Is My Maximum Heart Rate?

Your maximum heart rate is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during exercise. You can ballpark your maximum heart rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220.

So, for example, if you’re 35 years old, your approximate MHR would be 220 – 35 = 185 heartbeats per minute (bpm).

This method is simple and convenient, but it provides a rough guess and may not be entirely accurate for everyone. It’s important to note that individual variations in MHR exist, and factors like fitness level, genetics, and overall health can influence your actual MHR. For a more accurate estimate, especially if you’re an athlete or have specific health considerations, you may want to consider other methods like a medically supervised exercise stress test or a heart rate monitor.

According to guidelines from the American Heart Association, moderate-intensity exercise is defined as maintaining between 50% and 70% of your maximum heart rate. For vigorous exercise, the intensity level corresponds to a heart rate range of 70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate.

There are several ways to track your heart rate including smart watches, the MyZone activity tracker at AFAC gym, or by simply finding your pulse in your wrist or neck and counting your heart’s beats per minute.

What Is the “Fat-Burning Zone”?

The traditional advice for entering the fat-burning zone during your gym session suggests working out at approximately 60% of your maximum heart rate.

This level of exertion is relatively low intensity, allowing most people to maintain conversations during their workouts. The idea is that by exercising within this zone, you’ll burn a higher proportion of fat, ultimately leading to more substantial, long-term weight loss when compared to exercising at higher intensities.

To some extent, there is merit to this claim. Your body primarily derives its energy from a combination of stored fat and carbohydrates. The less strenuous your physical activity, the higher the percentage of your energy comes from fat. For instance, when at rest, fat accounts for as much as 85% of calories burned. This percentage drops to around 70% when you engage in easy-paced walking. If you transition to a moderate effort run, the energy mix shifts to approximately 50% fat and 50% carbohydrates, leaning increasingly towards carbohydrates as your exercise intensity rises.

It is indeed accurate that at certain workout intensities, you burn a greater percentage of fat compared to other intensities. However, this biological process alone does not hold the key to weight loss through exercise. Why? Because it doesn’t consider the total calories burned during your workout.

What’s Wrong With The Fat-Burning Zone Theory?

It all boils down to math.

To begin, while the idea of burning a higher percentage of fat during workouts may appear tempting, its real-world impact on your body composition is minimal at best. Those who believe that reaching this elusive “fat-burning zone” will magically melt fat away are oversimplifying the complex process of weight management. It overlooks the fundamental principle that weight loss or maintenance hinges primarily on the balance between the calories you consume and the calories you expend.

If the percentage of fat burned was the ultimate determinant of weight loss, the logical choice would be to remain totally still, as this is when the highest proportion of calories burned comes from fat rather than carbohydrates. However, the total number of calories burned is the pivotal factor. This brings us to the second major flaw in the fat-burning zone concept.

When you engage in exercise at a lower intensity, you burn fewer calories per minute. Consider this: the average person walking for an hour at the gym may only expend a couple of hundred calories. In the same timeframe, you could easily double, or even triple, that calorie expenditure by running, cycling, rowing, climbing stairs, or using an elliptical machine at the right intensity.

Let’s be honest; when you plan a workout, you likely think in terms of the time you have available rather than the number of calories burned. If you have just 30-45 minutes to hit the gym before or after work, spending that time in the supposed fat-burning zone won’t result in a significant calorie deficit. The truth is, most gym-goers who consistently allocate their time to lower-intensity exercise won’t achieve meaningful weight-loss due to their workouts unless they plan to spend many hours at the gym.

Furthermore, if we delve into the mathematical aspect of the equation, it becomes clear that the fat-burning zone doesn’t hold up. For instance:

  • Walking two miles in an hour burns approximately 200 calories, with about 140 of those calories originating from fat.
  • Cycling at a higher intensity for an hour burns around 500 calories, with roughly 250 of them coming from fat.

This demonstrates that higher-intensity exercise not only burns more calories but also a greater amount of fat. In the end, the key factor at play is the calories used, and the fat burn that naturally follows suit.

What’s more, vigorous workouts offer an additional advantage: the post-exercise “after-burn” effect. Following high-intensity exercise, your metabolic rate remains elevated as your body undergoes repairs due to the increased physical stress. This means that even after your workout ends, you continue to burn calories at a higher rate.

None of this implies that low-intensity exercise lacks merit. In fact, even elite athletes incorporate light-effort recovery workouts into their training regimens. A leisurely jog or an easy cycling session can help clear your mind, boost your energy levels, enhance your overall health, provide quality time with loved ones, and yes, contribute to calorie burning.

Variety is the key. Mix things up by incorporating more taxing, high-intensity days with easier, low-intensity recovery days. Aim for workouts of different durations as well. When you have the luxury of time, engage in longer, comfortable-paced sessions. When time is limited, push yourself a little harder to maximize your workout benefits.

Cardio Workouts You Can Do at AFAC Gym to Burn Fat

Cardiovascular exercise, often referred to as aerobic or endurance exercise, boasts a plethora of health advantages. Consistently engaging in moderate-to-vigorous cardio workouts can cumulatively enhance your heart health. To optimize these benefits, experts recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week or at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity. You can also achieve the same benefits through a combination of both moderate and vigorous activities.

Aerobic exercises encompass a wide range of activities, many of which you can experience at AFAC gym, such as:

Beyond calorie burning, cardiovascular exercise significantly enhances overall fitness and longevity. It holds particular importance in promoting the health of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system. One of its pivotal health benefits is the reduction of your susceptibility to conditions like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Strength Training Workouts at the Gym Burn Fat, too

Certainly, strength training is renowned for its muscle-building capabilities, but a growing body of research has unveiled its potential to diminish fat as well. One comprehensive review encompassing 58 studies and published in the journal Sports Medicine established that engaging in resistance training for a minimum of four weeks resulted in an average reduction of 1.46% in body fat. Additionally, in a 2021 study, researchers from the University of Kentucky pinpointed molecular-level changes induced by resistance training that stimulate fat-burning processes.

The U.S. government recommends that people strength train every major muscle group 2-3 times a week. It’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily entail lifting heavy weights. Harnessing your own body weight or using a resistance band can be quite effective.

The effect of strength training is two-fold, as it not only expends calories during the workout itself but also continues to do so during the recovery of the muscle groups you’ve targeted.

In addition, Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) is the process of your body regulating itself back to a state of equilibrium following an intense workout. In essence, you continue to burn calories as your body gradually cools down during the recovery period after strength training.

And finally, strength training possesses the unique ability to transform your body’s composition. For individuals striving for fat loss, building more lean muscle can be an invaluable asset in this endeavor.

That’s because an uptick in lean muscle equates to a heightened resting metabolic rate (RMR). Your RMR represents the total number of calories your body consumes while at rest. Muscle is metabolically active, meaning it continuously burns calories — even at rest. Although the effect may appear modest, it accumulates over time. According to research, a pound of muscle burns approximately 6 calories daily at rest, while a pound of fat burns around 2 calories a day. While this may not allow you to indulge in nightly servings of cookie dough ice cream without gaining weight, it does serve as a countermeasure to the natural decline in metabolism and muscle mass that accompanies aging, which can contribute to middle-age weight gain.

The Final Verdict on the “Fat-Burning Zone” at the Gym

As you’re sitting and reading this blog, your body is mainly using fat for energy, more than if you were sprinting for a short distance. Sounds surprising, right?

Sometimes, an activity might seem to burn a higher proportion of fat, but because it doesn’t burn many total calories compared to more intense activities, the actual fat burned is less. Higher-intensity exercises boost your metabolism and burn more calories. They also can help your body use calories more efficiently, making it less likely for your body to store them as fat after your workout.

In addition to all this, you need to think about the number of calories you eat and how many you burn through exercise.

So, the idea of a “Fat Burning Zone” is partly true. There is a zone where your body primarily uses fat for energy. But the belief that you must exercise in this zone to lose weight and fat is a myth.

If you’d like to learn more about how to burn calories and improve your fitness level through exercise, the personal trainers at AFAC gym are here to assist you. They can design a customized fitness program for you that will help you reach your goals. The personal trainers at AFAC gym are committed to supporting your efforts so you’ll see the results you’re working so hard for. That’s why we’re the best gym in Thornton, Colorado.

If you’d like to learn more about our top-rated gym and our incredible array of strength training and cardio equipment — as well as our unique offerings like daily group classes, cryotherapy, hydro massage, and our rock climbing wall and cave — we hope you will visit us for a personalized tour. Our team will be happy to help you. For more information and assistance, you can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.

Related Articles