The Fat Burning Zone Explained | The Science of Carbohydrate vs. Fat Burning During Exercise 

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A fair comparison is probably a 2 hour zone 2 walk vs a 40 minute HIIT workout because they're comparable efforts. Effort isn't an unlimited resource which is why folk can walk every day and into old age but the same cannot be said for going to Orange Theory. At a certain age twice a week HIIT is more than the body can handle. But if you're young enough, combine the two and walk to your HIIT class and then to work and then home. But that just highlights the time efficiency of walking for exercise because it is embedded in the daily routine, every day, by those who live the longest lives on this planet.

Im actually more confused now

To every average person out there trying to loose fat: Do what is feasible for you. Is it more doable for you to do a low intensity workout twice a week and maybe actually feel good doing it? Or doing HIIT and feeling like you are destroying yourself? All the science isn't worth anything if you don't feel like working out because the last workout felt like torture. For the average person eating 160 kcal less is much easier then trying to burn it in a HIIT workout to save 20 minutes. Please be *honest* to yourself and keep grinding. :)

This is why diet and heavier calorie deficit are so important. If your diet already keeps you at a deficit (say 1800 per day), the cardio will always be a bonus. With NEAT and cardio in this situation, she would be burning around 2500 calories per day and that 700 cal deficit would mean it doesn't matter whether you do high intensity or medium heart rate.

I like the the fat burning zone more. You can walk 4mph and call your mom and get an issue resolve. You can call the IRS or listen to a book or watch this video. All of a sudden you dont have to call your mom anymore because you did it while walking. You will spent twice the time. Who is going to fall down walking 4 mph and die? can you fall down while running and die? maybe not but you can be seriously hurt. So.....walk yourself to a sixpack, dont run to it. And do something while you walk, even watch youtube!

So ummm 40 minutes of HIIT is pretty hard at 80% intensity. Is it just me or does that sound unlikely by the average human ? I can do like 10 minutes max 15 of HIIT

And this is where caveats matter! 1. High intensity cardio increases your chance of injury, which is particularly important for people with too much body fat and/or too little muscle mass. 2. High intensity cardio has a much greater recovery period. Most people shouldn’t be doing too many high intensity workouts back to back, but you can do several zone 2 cardio sessions. 2 days of low intensity cardio will burn more calories than one day of high intensity cardio followed by a rest day. 3. Too much high intensity cardio can be an oxidative stressor which can wreck energy levels, hormones, and muscle gains. So what’s the winner? Neither. Both have their place. Over a given lifespan, I think we should all be aspiring to train 25-45 minutes every day (3 hour minimum per week) and investing weekly training time in 40% zone 2 cardio, 25-45% mobility and proprioception, 15-35% resistance training, and 0-10% VO2max training. Zone 2 and mobility can be distributed across every day of the week, but the other types of training should be spaced out.

This was really well put together. Thank you. I would send this to a client for sure.

Absolutely love your videos, thanks for explaining this!

I retired 8 months ago at age 59.5 after falling off my exercise routine due to the pandemic. BMI was 25, lower muscle tone, muscle cramps on slow bicycle hill climbs, could only do 4 pull ups. Started training alternating days with HIIT hill repeat bicycling (zones 2, 3, and 4) and strength training (push ups and pull ups). Gradually over 7 months, I lost 12 lbs, BMI came down to 23.2, worked up to 40 pull ups in a row (amazing for my age), and now attack the hills out of the saddle (zone 4). However, I plateaued in weight loss. I recently replaced some hill repeat bike rides with 50-60 minute sessions on a KSports Tennis Rebounder alternating forehand backhand shots with power and footwork with ball feed frequency of every 2 seconds (faster than actual court play). This is pure sustained zone 2 aerobic training with higher breathing rate and sweating but not gasping for breath. In just two weeks, this change allowed me to break through and lose 2 stubborn additional pounds of fat, BMI now 22.9, below my lean high school/college weight yet at my personal best at 40 pull ups in one set at age 60. I believe zones 3 and 4 are best for mitochondrial biogenesis (power, athletic performance, and endurance), but alternating with sustained zone 2 training is good for fat burning weight loss. I recommend an alternating combination of HIIT and pure zone 2, as well as strength training. Basically, the HIIT type training I was doing is optimal for building the "engine" (could be done on a treadmill with incline sprinting), whereas pure zone 2 training (steady moderate pace jogging on a treadmill) is optimal for "running" the engine and burning through the "fuel" and losing weight. Combinations are good for strength gains, power, endurance, fat burning, and weight loss.

One thing I noticed while comparing HIIT vs LISS for fat loss is that I can eat way less when doing LISS for cardio. The times I did HIIT my hunger was through the roof after my workout was done.

This made a lot of sense to me and you did read my mind with epoc before i got to ask

Thank you for all your videos!

You're amazing! Thanks for this video. 💪

When I use to run, I knew the long slow runs were fat burners, nice to have the explanations...

Hello and greetings from Greece.Love your content!Can you make a video for strength training of everyday people with like a bodybuilding workout type vs a HIIT workout type? Im a little bit confused about whats better especially for women that want to get some muscles and look slimer. The basic workout that you do 3 set of 10 of squats and resting in between sets and then go to another exercise or something like a circular training that you do 3-4 exercise the one after the other(that gets a little bit more heart rate up) and at the end of the cycle rest and then go again? I would appriciate your thoughts on this topic.Thank you very much !

Thank you for this. I do a full body lifting routine Monday Wednesday and Friday mornings. I do high intensity interval training Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I walk 45 minutes in my fat burning zone every evening. I am considering dropping the interval training because it is so hard on my joints, specifically my knees. For that reason, i would choose fat burning zone workouts over interval training. MUCH easier on the body long term.

Excellent video!

It is worth mentioning that the amount of carbs used during workout is proportional to the cravings the person would have after the workout. The higher the carbs used, the higher the cravings. This is why, if your intention is weight loss and your have bad eating habits, it is often better to utilise a workout in the fat burning zone to reduce the cravings after the workout, thus preventing overindulgence.

Most of the heart attacks i see these days are after HIIT in gyms

Great information.

Thanks it’s clear now

The trade-off with "high-intensity" is presumably it's difficulty compared to a less intense workout. Realistically, the workout duration would probably have to decrease exponentially for increases in intensity.

There is one important extra hunger and increased cortisol after HIIT. 160 calories of deficit will be easily spent in the fridge later this day or night

Great video

I am literally Susan. 😂. Thanks

Another question you can easily do cardio 5-7 time a week everyday at lower intensity and recover completely each day but I dont think the same could be said about higher intensity

Very informative. Well presented! You should consider a teaching position ;) Thank you.

Thanks for explaining that the "fat burning zone" isn't really the fastest fat burning zone.:) People need to remember that FAT is the only long term storage for energy, and whether you build a daily deficit of 200 calories doing zone 3 exercise for longer or 200 calories doing zone 4 & 5 for shorter, at the end of the day it will be 200 calories of fat gone. It is just amazing how the "fat burning zone" got so misrepresented. It is so all over the internet now, it is almost a waste of time to convince someone that isn't how it works. If you are pushing some muscles hard and they are hogging the glucose, all of the other muscles and tissues are going to have to burn fat. In the end, fat has to make up the deficit. Assuming of course that your diet is balanced and you aren't burning too much protein (which is the other long term storage of energy, but only for extreme conditions).

But you can’t do HIIT as often during the week as you can do slow steady state. I doubt that anyone can do HIIT everyday. You will need some time to rebound whereas I could 60-90 minutes everyday doing steady state so overall I would burn more over a weeks time.

Trying to use exercise as a means to burn up excess macronutrients is probably counterproductive. The exercise typically stimulates an increase in the hunger drive, such that any calorie deficits created by the physical activity, are quickly wiped out by refeeding. If you want to lose bodyfat, lower the caloric density of the diet to around 300 calories per pound, while increasing the volume of food as much as possible with the addiction of non-starchy vegetables, and non-sweet fruits such as tomato, squash, cucumbers, and peppers. That way, you'll maintain a caloric deficit whether you're exercising or not. But do exercise for the physical conditioning;)

Hi. Great video. One question- does the body burn fat when it is not in ketosis ?

It doesn't matter what zone you use. I'm down 1st 2 lbs in 8 weeks. I only really train to stay between 120-140 BPM which at my age is high end fat burn/ low end cardio zone. I'm averaging 3000+ cals burnt and 1500 cals in per day. Yesterday I burnt 4600 cals and only ate 1500. That's just doing my job, no gym involved. You roughly need a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose 1lb of weight. I'm losing 2-3 pounds a week because I have a weekly deficit of 8,000-12,000 calories. I don't feel hungry, I'm eating mainly protein but you can eat anything. I lost 1 lb the morning after eating 5 chocolate bars, 2 sugar free Monster drinks, 3 lattes, and beans on toast for dinner (total 1541 cals in) but over 4000 cals out. Fat burning is not about exercise, it's all calorie deficit. Exercise helps because you gain a bigger margin and can eat more without consequences. I've lost 9lbs in the last 3 weeks so I know what I'm talking about. If you want to lose weight do a 15 minute high intensity workout in the evening, then maybe walk up and down stairs til you can't anymore, but the main goal is calorie deficit, get yourself a watch that measures heart rate zones like Fitbit versa series and log your food. I guarantee you lose weight but the first week will be up and down as you burn carbs and water fills your fat cells, that water retention needs to go before weight will drop. For instance if you start at 13 stone 12 lb you'll probably see a drop in weight to 13 11 or 13 10 within a day but you'll get stuck there for a few days as water takes the place of fat. Don't give up because a BIG drop is coming. Depending on your deficit you will then drop 1-3 lbs a week if you keep the deficit up. Eventually though, you'll need to work harder and harder to fight for those ounces but it'll be easier as your weight drops and cardio fitness improves. There's no magic pill, it will hurt, but it isn't about 6 hours in the gym, it's about 20 minutes a day CONSISTENTLY and maintaining a calorie deficit. It doesn't matter what you eat but bear in mind calorific density. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter has about the same calorific value as a Big Mac. Try and eat foods low in calories but that which you can eat a pile of. Protein calories are best as you can discount 1/3 of them as it takes those calories to digest the protein. Chicken breast for example, low fat, low calories, high protein.

The biggest problem is that, fat people don’t know any of this. The weight in their body makes workouts way more difficult due to the weight. Probably easier to say is increase your activity and in the future try to increase intensity with a mix of exercise you enjoy…

How did she do HIIT for 40 minutes? 😂

i would like to see data for both vs each other on a carnivore diet and also mixing MAFS with HIT or CrossFit in a week x 3 month study

One thing not considered is the amount of fatigue after the training session. If I go heavy on weights and try to go HIIT after, I wont be rested enough to go hard next time. This way of thinking doesnt consider someone that might want to do this 5 or 6 times per week. It might be more efficient to do that hiit from just calories perspective but from recovery perspective, HIIT is rarely a good way of thinking, maybe once or twice a week. You also didnt calculate in the amount of additional hunger after HIIT. Just wanted to give my 2 thoughts tho, not an expert, not a doc. Just a Gymbro trying to look out for others :)

What about training in the fat burning zone when you are in a fasted state? Will you burn more fat this way? And what about doing a HIIT workout followed by training in fat burning zone? For example doing a 30 min walk after a 30 min HIIT workout? Would this be more effective at burning fat?

High intensity also isn’t the best for people with high Blood pressure. Heads up to for those with high bp

Your explanation is solid but here is some feedback. 1. Use slides instead of plain paper filmed on a camera. why? it's impossible to see anything on a mobile phone. 2. Speak slower. Even though I personally got every word, it was hard to follow. Keep it up👍

what if Susan did either training scenario but continued to eat LOW CARB and not replenish her carb stores?

Hallo, thanks a lot. My Question is: I want to make as Zone 2 training for 1 h also a HIT for 1/2 h. Make it matter ? In which sequence is it matter? thanks

Do zone 2 cardio with food deficit is much better than hiit training because no one can do hiit daily

Never forget that high intensity training will give a much larger after burning effect, thus more calories burned all in all. Some of this may very well come from fat stores.

What if she is intermitting fasting added with walking? Im sure she would loose fat over a 1-3 month period.

If there is food in stomach, glucose in blood, and insulin the body won't begin fat burning until you are hungry.

what about the NEAT ( non exercise activity thermogenesis) it seems to lower after intens exercise. so the difference would be smaller.

Please compare 90 to 120 min of LISS to 40 min of the other intensity level. Because realistically many people can do 90 to 120min of liss, but not as motivated (or maybe even able) to do 40 min of the other.

How about if we do fat burning zone in a fasted state?

I'm on a strict keto diet and it has worked great for me. I've lost 70lbs in total but as the weight came off, I realized I don't have much muscle tone so now I train with weights twice daily. I work out first thing in the morning in a fasted state and I would have to think that there is not many carb to burn through so can we not assume my body would have to rely on stored fat for the energy I need?

What if you’re pre-diabetic, and don’t eat much carbs? What’s the better route? Longer low intensity bpm or shorter high intensity?

I'm already doing a calorie deficit diet, will the fat burning zone be better?

how about lifting heavy in a fasted state...will it increase testosterone or GH

Well if she eats 2660, she still will not achieve caloric deficit. Perhaps the only thing that she needs to do here is to eat as much as the daily expenditure and her fat burning zone will be significant. The only difference between low intensity and high intensity here is one is more comfortable and sustainable than the other. You can guess which one. As long as you eat as much as your daily expenditure, you won't feel too hungry.

That’s why I go on a 1k calorie diet and I do high intensity and than I slow down do the fat burning get some rest as in go slow so my health rate drops catch my breath and go hard again once there is no more sugar in you it’s gonna use ur fat the energy storage that’s why your body stored in the first place than you hit weights (1 hour min) after your cardio to either keep or increase muscle mass which in my case since I was 278 my muscle is increasing and using the fat to build plus even if I loose little muscle it’s more aesthetic you don’t wanna be too big I am at 218 in 96 days our body is smarter than what we think it is. I been consistent even after 12 hours work bad sleep I go yeah maybe not my best workout but still don’t worry there will be days where you can’t go or two back to back well let ur body rest but the next day go for sure max 3-4 days unless ur on vacation after so long just stay in calorie deficit cardio and lift I even eat whopper sometimes as long as u stay at ur calories it don’t matter I only take pre workout and protein ofc and cla with carnitine before workout you welcome drink a lot of water I generally try to consume 60 % protein 20 20 rest

You’re missing the point that because Susan on the right used nearly twice as many carbs. They will be more likely to eat twice as much to replenish them. So the total calories will likely be higher. That’s why the fat burning zone is better, you are not feeling the need to replenish those lost carbs.

Peer reviewed references for this information please

At 65yo I did a KORR vo2max test .. 48.6 .. the printout said my zone 2 fat burning is 76 to 116 … seems an awfully big range … Apple Watch says 120-130 … what are your thoughts ? Zone1: < 72 Zone 2: 72-116 Zone 3: 116-159 Zone 4: 159-163 Zone 5: 164 and higher Seems I can fat burn by watching MI.4 resting HR is 49

thanks. i love to run and job.. now i know why it was the most effective method for wieght loss .. and why the recovery period is important for weight loss.

Just train both zones and eat healthy. It does not need to be complicated. You will not our trained on a bad diet.

You never spoke about hormones…does Human Growth Hormones apply hear on HIIT.

I feel like there are two types of science: 1. You are burning 50/50 fat and carbs during a mid intense workout 2. You are burning fat mostly when you run out of glycogen So i dont know how to train. I could do cardio for an hour which would be 720kcal but only 360kcal of fat. What if after 20min I run out of glycogen so next 40mins will be 100% focused in fats. Do I understand it correctly?

What about mitochondrial health for longevity in life? No benefit to that from HIIT. Zone 2 can increase & save your life.

How would I know the fat from my belly is comprised of carbs vs fat?

Just playing around with numbers. Everyone can make a chart where your preference comes out best.

just do low intensity and eat fewer calories

Well explained. High intensity it is. So goal heart rate will be (220-age)x85% right?

Who did 40min hiit at 80% intensity?? Its nearly impossible for most peoples

🙏

I disagree. The glycogen reserve must be always replenished for the body since our body can store it very little, furthermore fat cannot be turned into glycogen by our body, therefore the calories burned from carbs must always be reintroduced with the diet (eating carbs or proteins). On the other side the calories burned from fat do not need to be reintroduced since we have plenty of fat in our body to survive for weeks, actually the whole goal is to reduce such a reserve. When you do HIT you are unavoidably hungrier because your body is telling you to refill the glycogen reserve. This means that the FBZ can have a diet with 420-160 = 260 calories less in carbs compared to the HIT training diet, which makes it 2340 vs 2500 calories in total. Therefore at the end of the day the FBZ strategy produces a 260 calorie deficit which is 100 calories better than the HIT strategy.

Can anyone maintain hr of 160 for an hour

need better visuals.

Well, this example is totally unfair and biased lmao. Like, if "Susan" consumed 160 kcal less, the "Fat Burning Zone" workout would be as effective, with more percentage fat lost, and of course more sustainable. Imagine doing a 40 min HIIT, if anyone can do that daily, they're already fit, and probably make a living of being fit.

Don't care about how many calories per zone - one potato chip will make up that difference. I just wan't to know ratio of how much time in each zone to improve performance most efficiently over time. What would be useful is something like this: 5% of my time at 90-100 percent of MHR, 15% of my time at 80-90 percent of MHR, 35% of my time at 70-80 percent of MHR, 45% of my time at 60-70 percent of MHR.

I thought u where not meant to do a HITT workout anymore than twice a week? Fat burning zone has other benefits roo.

🔥🔥🔥🔥

I'm Susan.

If you cannot impress them with brilliance then dazzle them with bullshit. This is comedy gold😂😂😂

so calories deficit is the key to weight loss and fat loss.

ATENTION! Please for the love of all weightloss read this. I've lost 70 lbs following a simple formula that is kindof a Frankensteinien combination of different mechanics. 1st I find low intensity is both easier to recover from/sustain and doesn't cause you to binge/feel like your starving after a workout on a calorie deficit. 2nd Your body burns energy stores in this order sugar then fat then protein (which is slightly touched on in this video). If you start your workout in keto (not necessarily for the sake of keto but because it means you have minimal glycerin in your blood to take the place of burning fat) and keep at a moderate steady pace (I find about 4mph optimal) you can keep your body from diving to deeply into your muscle tissue for energy while burning the maximum amount of fat. Side note - about 80% of your weight loss journey is going to be diet and bmr while the last 20% is going to be exercise. Unfortunately no matter how hard you work out the biggest bottleneck is your bodies ability to excrete fatty acid and burn it and that's why when you push beyond its ability it burns protein. Side note - side note - 🤣 your body keeps about three days worth of glycerin stored in your muscles/liver/bones to supliment the difficult proccess of burning fat. This is why intermittent fasting paired with LISS (basically low intensity prolonged exercise) and keto lead to the maximum amount of fat loss with the minimum amount of discomfort and muscle atrophy. Please hmu if I left any questions unanswered.

If your doing 40mins of Hiit training your not doing it right True Hiit training should have you exhausted and maxed out in less than 30 mins max You need to move at such an intensity that you struggle to breathe

Moral of the story is eat less.

This video is unfortunately doing more harm than good, in my opinion. The HIIT workout can only be done twice a week, while the other can be done everyday, which actually leads to much more calories and fat loss over the course of time. Also, this video doesn't take into account the hormonal shift that occurs due to HIIT, which is the increase of the fat storing cortisol/insulin. So HIIT increases cortisol, which in turn increases blood sugar and then insulin. Eating carbs while insulin is high, in a person who is insulin resistant, means the carbs get converted straight to fat. Low intensity workouts, like walking, prevent this rise in cortisol, and can be done everyday.

LIIT shows high fat loss in your graph.. what about that..

A normal person can’t do 40min HIT…10ish the most!

This makes no sense. A big piece is missing

In other words fast.

Everyone I know lost weight by walking

Yeah but: HIIT increases Cortisol. Excess cortisol leads to fat preservation.

If you want to reduce weight, you shouldn't be eating 2500 calorie diet. Just saying. It should be way less than 2000 calories on any day.

Did he sneak diss the keto people? lol

How about Susan will be totally wiped out and hate doing cardio at that HIIT intensity? Geez, is Susan weight training at all? If so, Susan will rapidly be overtrained. Why wouldn't Susan not encounter the same issues a bodybuilder would? Wow...just wow to this video. You're recommending clients train at that intensity six days a week.

But all the idea to lose fat is to be on calories deficit.. So even if you doing high intesity 1hr if you eat like a pig after that it`s no sens! So i can say better do fat burning zone and take care what you eat. Calculate properly your food and always make 400-600 daily gap of your calories then you are losing fat. Good luck! :)

Wat?

this some weird math

Pure crap! I can do zone 2 seven days a week while someone may only be able to do high intensity 3-4 days a week. No where is it discussed about nutrition and recovery.

your explanation is too complicated.

This is very bad science. As if aerobic and anaerobic isn't even considered. Do you know the difference?

This is beyond stupid lol just go lower intensity and stay in a deficit