Carbohydrates
are broken down into glucose and glycogen, which are also known as
sugars. Glucose maintains blood sugar levels and is used by the brain as
well as the heart for energy. Glycogen is stored in the liver and
muscles. Any extra glycogen is transformed into fat. Glucose and
glycogen can be broken down into energy without the need of oxygen. This
is known as anaerobic metabolism which is utilized during anaerobic
activities. The anaerobic system allows us to perform high-intensity,
short duration activities like jumping, sprints or the dreaded burpie. This
means that mostly sugars are used during short intense periods of exercise.
Fat cells
are basically energy storage areas for the body. Believe it or not, your
body needs fat to survive. However, too much fat (or obesity) is
dangerous because it can inhibit normal functions of the body or it causes the
body a great deal of stress. The problem with this stored energy is that
it cannot be broken down very quickly. Therefore, fat stores can only be
broken down through aerobic activity (e.g., running, swimming or biking) for
long periods of time.
In order to
see the most body at reduction from your exercise program it is essential that
you exercise in the “fat burning zone.” This means you must exercise
between 60% and 70% of your predicted heart rate based on your age, and resting
heart rate. Any intensity greater than 70% will cause your body to burn a
greater percentage of sugars and fewer carbohydrates (which isn’t a bad thing
but more on that another time). When one is between 60-70% of his/her
target heart rate, he/she is burning the maximum amount of fat that the body is
capable of burning. Therefore he/she is in the “fat burning zone.”
However,
in order to get to the fat burning zone, the body must use a great deal of
the sugars stored in the muscles before it can start breaking down the fat for
energy. This is a process that generally takes about 20-30 minutes.
This means a 30 minute activity, even an aerobic activity like running or
walking, doesn’t start tapping into the fat stores until the end of the
workout! While 30 minute workouts have their function and can help
achieve better levels of fitness, it isn’t something that is going to help
reduce levels of body fat. Only those aerobic activities that last longer
than 30 minutes, approaching closer to an hour or more, are going to help
reduce the amount of fat stored in the body.
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