An ISSA answer in regards to aerobic verses anaerobic training

[Guest guest]

I thought I woul post this since is so awesome an goes into great detail....... It's probably more than a lot of you wanted to know, but thought I woul post it anyway

_____

Hi ,

Awhile back you had answered a question in regards to fat burning and

the differences between aerobic and anaerobic training. In that post,

you even had figures showing examples of how many calories burned came

from fat or carbs if you were to perform a workout in same amount of

time, but different intensities. I have

tried searching the messages and am not having any luck. Could you

possibly point me in the right direction? I am guessing, your

organization skills are a bit better than mine and you could hopefully

do this w/out too much problem. Thank you in advance!

Darcy

Darcy, good morning

again. With regard to your question, consider the following. While low

intensity work will burn a higher percentage of calories from fat,

higher intensity work will burn MORE overall calories. The goal is to

create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories below your weekly caloric

intake to facilitate a 1 pound reduction in bodyfat per week.

Consider the following. If you walk at 3 MPH it will take you 20

minutes to complete a mile burnning approximately 4 calories per minute

or 80 overall calories (at an average weight of 150 lbs). At the same

weight, if you trained at a higher intensity at 8 MPH you would

complete the mile 7.5 minutes burining approximately 16 calories per

minute or 120 calories.

During the same 20 minute period walking at 3 MPH where you would burn

only 80 calories if you ran for 20 minutes at 8 MPH you would burn 320

calories during the same 20 minute period.

At the lower intensity (3 MPH) you would burn about 80% fat/20%

carbohydrates in general or 64 calories from fat and 16 calories from

carbohydrates at 3MPH for 20 minutes.

At the higher intensity (8 MPH) you would burn about 80%

carbohydrates/20% fat in general or 256 calories from carbohydrates and

64 calories from fat.

As you can see you will burn an equal amount of calories from fat given the same 20 minute period.

If your goal is bodyfat reduction, then we recommend that you do your

aerobics directly after your resistance training at less than 60% of

your VO2 max. If you are doing caridovasular work on your off days,

then we recommend that you train at 75% to 85% of your VO2 max for the

first 30 minutes and drop the intensity the remaining 20 to 30 minutes

to less than 60% of your VO2 max. Always begin with a warm up. Warming

up for five minutes is necessary because, during exercise, blood flow

patterns change. Through the action of the sympathetic nervous system,

blood is redirected away from areas where it is not essential to those

areas that are active during exercise. Only 15 to 20% of resting

cardiac output go to muscle, but during exhaustive exercise, the

muscles receive 80 to 85% of the cardiac output. This shift is

accomplished by reducing blood flow to the kidneys, liver, stomach and

intestines. The warm-up allows for this transition to occur. Keep in

mind that the major factor that determines the role of fat as a

substrate during exercise is its availability to the muscle cell. In

order to be metabolized, bodyfat (triglycerides) must be degraded into

three molecules of free fatty acids and one molecule of glycerol. This

splitting allows the free fatty acids to be converted to acetyl-CoA and

enter the Krebs cycle. Hence, if fat is not available to the muscle

cell then it can not be metabolized.

Fat can only be metabolized via Krebs cycle oxidation. It is essential

to recognize that a reduction in Krebs cycle intermediates: whether it

is the result of (1) low carbohydrate diets, (2) no carbohydrate diets,

or (3) excessive prolonged aerobic sessions, resulting in a diminished

rate of ATP production from fat metabolism. When carbohydrate stores

are depleted in the body, the rate at which fat is metabolized is

reduced. Therefore carbohydrates are essential in the ability to

metabolize fat. It is only the free fatty acids that are metabolized

via the Krebs cycle that are used in ATP production that go toward

reducing bodyfat levels.

Therefore, when designing an exercise program to reduce bodyfat stores,

it is vital to consider both (1) the total rate of energy expenditure

and (2) the percentage of energy that is derived from fat metabolism.

You must optimize the availability of fat to the muscle cells through

selection of appropriate intensity and duration of exercise sessions.

Since it takes approximately 20 minutes for lipolysis to occur, the

session should exceed 20 minutes in duration for fat to be made

available to muscle cells. At approximately 70% of VO2 max the

availability of fat to the muscle cells diminish due to an increase in

lactate production, which inhibits fat metabolism. Although engaging in

activity at 20% of VO2 max will burn 60% of calories from fat as

compared to working at 50% of VO2 max which would derive 40% of energy

from fat, the total rate of energy expenditure is 2.5 times greater at

50% VO2 max. The absolute amount of fat metabolized is 33% higher

during exercise at 50% of VO2 max. The ideal rate of work would be at

50% of VO2 max for duration of 60 minutes. Unfortunately, this

physiological actuality has led many individuals to mistakenly believe

that because the body utilizes a greater percentage of fat as fuel

during aerobic exercise at a relatively low level of intensity, such

exercise is more effective for fat loss than high intensity exercise.

These individuals ignore two very important facts. First, the absolute

amount of fat calories burned during high intensity exercise tends to

be equal to or greater than the number burned during low intensity

exercise, even though the percentage of calories burned from fat is

higher during low intensity exercise. Second, when you eat, you

replenish both carbohydrates and fats. As soon as an excess of calories

(from either fats or carbohydrates) exists, your body will begin to

store them as fat. Once you eat after exercising (including those

activities which burn more fat than carbohydrates), you will rapidly

replenish any of your carbohydrate stores you may have used up. Once

they are replenished, your body will begin to store the rest of your

caloric intake as fat. The net result is that your body's fat stores

will be virtually unchanged—if at all. The critical point is that

low-intensity aerobic exercise does not (by itself) cause you to alter

your body's overall energy balance. Keep in mind that you lose weight

and body fat when you expend more calories than you consume, not

because you burn fat (or anything else) when you exercise. By the same

token, all other factors considered, the most positive feature of

low-intensity aerobic exercise is that it is relatively well-tolerated

(orthopedically) by most individuals.

Larger mitochondria in greater numbers, increased levels of aerobic

enzymes, coupled with increased blood flow all boosts the fat burning

capabilities of the muscle fibers. Aerobics can lead to more routes for

blood to reach working muscles and more oxygen, which is needed for

oxidation of nutrients within the mitochondria. The more massive a

bodybuilder becomes the more routes in the form of blood vessels are

needed to supply these working muscles. From fat burning to improved

cardiovascular health to improved recovery abilities, aerobic work

should be an integral part of all training programs.

I hope this helps.

[Guest guest]

thanks for posting...very interesting even though it was a bit over

my head

The one thing I found a bit confusing is that I've read to do cardio

training before doing resistance training because the metabolism is

already fired up and you'll burn more calories doing the actual

resistance workout than if you did resistance w/ no cardio. I'm not

sure I understand this, so even though you might be burning more

calories doing cardio first then weights, you're burning more carb

calories rather than bodyfat stores?

so bottomline, even though I hate sweating, I need to up the

intensity and sweat to burn my stored butt fat:)

>

> I thought I woul post this since is so awesome an goes into

great

> detail....... It's probably more than a lot of you wanted to know,

but

> thought I woul post it anyway

> _____

>

> Hi ,

>

> Awhile back you had answered a question in regards to fat burning

and the

> differences between aerobic and anaerobic training. In that post,

you even

> had figures showing examples of how many calories burned came from

fat or

> carbs if you were to perform a workout in same amount of time, but

different

> intensities. I have tried searching the messages and am not having

any

> luck. Could you possibly point me in the right direction? I am

guessing,

> your organization skills are a bit better than mine and you could

hopefully

> do this w/out too much problem. Thank you in advance!

>

> Darcy

>

> Darcy, good morning again. With regard to your question, consider

the

> following. While low intensity work will burn a higher percentage of

> calories from fat, higher intensity work will burn MORE overall

calories.

> The goal is to create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories below

your weekly

> caloric intake to facilitate a 1 pound reduction in bodyfat per

week.

>

> Consider the following. If you walk at 3 MPH it will take you 20

minutes to

> complete a mile burnning approximately 4 calories per minute or 80

overall

> calories (at an average weight of 150 lbs). At the same weight, if

you

> trained at a higher intensity at 8 MPH you would complete the mile

7.5

> minutes burining approximately 16 calories per minute or 120

calories.

>

> During the same 20 minute period walking at 3 MPH where you would

burn only

> 80 calories if you ran for 20 minutes at 8 MPH you would burn 320

calories

> during the same 20 minute period.

>

> At the lower intensity (3 MPH) you would burn about 80% fat/20%

> carbohydrates in general or 64 calories from fat and 16 calories

from

> carbohydrates at 3MPH for 20 minutes.

>

> At the higher intensity (8 MPH) you would burn about 80%

carbohydrates/20%

> fat in general or 256 calories from carbohydrates and 64 calories

from fat.

>

> As you can see you will burn an equal amount of calories from fat

given the

> same 20 minute period.

>

> If your goal is bodyfat reduction, then we recommend that you do

your

> aerobics directly after your resistance training at less than 60%

of your

> VO2 max. If you are doing caridovasular work on your off days, then

we

> recommend that you train at 75% to 85% of your VO2 max for the

first 30

> minutes and drop the intensity the remaining 20 to 30 minutes to

less than

> 60% of your VO2 max. Always begin with a warm up. Warming up for

five

> minutes is necessary because, during exercise, blood flow patterns

change.

> Through the action of the sympathetic nervous system, blood is

redirected

> away from areas where it is not essential to those areas that are

active

> during exercise. Only 15 to 20% of resting cardiac output go to

muscle, but

> during exhaustive exercise, the muscles receive 80 to 85% of the

cardiac

> output. This shift is accomplished by reducing blood flow to the

kidneys,

> liver, stomach and intestines. The warm-up allows for this

transition to

> occur. Keep in mind that the major factor that determines the role

of fat as

> a substrate during exercise is its availability to the muscle cell.

In order

> to be metabolized, bodyfat (triglycerides) must be degraded into

three

> molecules of free fatty acids and one molecule of glycerol. This

splitting

> allows the free fatty acids to be converted to acetyl-CoA and enter

the

> Krebs cycle. Hence, if fat is not available to the muscle cell then

it can

> not be metabolized.

>

> Fat can only be metabolized via Krebs cycle oxidation. It is

essential to

> recognize that a reduction in Krebs cycle intermediates: whether it

is the

> result of (1) low carbohydrate diets, (2) no carbohydrate diets, or

(3)

> excessive prolonged aerobic sessions, resulting in a diminished

rate of ATP

> production from fat metabolism. When carbohydrate stores are

depleted in the

> body, the rate at which fat is metabolized is reduced. Therefore

> carbohydrates are essential in the ability to metabolize fat. It is

only the

> free fatty acids that are metabolized via the Krebs cycle that are

used in

> ATP production that go toward reducing bodyfat levels.

>

> Therefore, when designing an exercise program to reduce bodyfat

stores, it

> is vital to consider both (1) the total rate of energy expenditure

and (2)

> the percentage of energy that is derived from fat metabolism. You

must

> optimize the availability of fat to the muscle cells through

selection of

> appropriate intensity and duration of exercise sessions. Since it

takes

> approximately 20 minutes for lipolysis to occur, the session should

exceed

> 20 minutes in duration for fat to be made available to muscle

cells. At

> approximately 70% of VO2 max the availability of fat to the muscle

cells

> diminish due to an increase in lactate production, which inhibits

fat

> metabolism. Although engaging in activity at 20% of VO2 max will

burn 60% of

> calories from fat as compared to working at 50% of VO2 max which

would

> derive 40% of energy from fat, the total rate of energy expenditure

is 2.5

> times greater at 50% VO2 max. The absolute amount of fat

metabolized is 33%

> higher during exercise at 50% of VO2 max. The ideal rate of work

would be at

> 50% of VO2 max for duration of 60 minutes. Unfortunately, this

physiological

> actuality has led many individuals to mistakenly believe that

because the

> body utilizes a greater percentage of fat as fuel during aerobic

exercise at

> a relatively low level of intensity, such exercise is more

effective for fat

> loss than high intensity exercise. These individuals ignore two very

> important facts. First, the absolute amount of fat calories burned

during

> high intensity exercise tends to be equal to or greater than the

number

> burned during low intensity exercise, even though the percentage of

calories

> burned from fat is higher during low intensity exercise. Second,

when you

> eat, you replenish both carbohydrates and fats. As soon as an

excess of

> calories (from either fats or carbohydrates) exists, your body will

begin to

> store them as fat. Once you eat after exercising (including those

activities

> which burn more fat than carbohydrates), you will rapidly replenish

any of

> your carbohydrate stores you may have used up. Once they are

replenished,

> your body will begin to store the rest of your caloric intake as

fat. The

> net result is that your body's fat stores will be virtually

unchanged—if at

> all. The critical point is that low-intensity aerobic exercise does

not (by

> itself) cause you to alter your body's overall energy balance. Keep

in mind

> that you lose weight and body fat when you expend more calories

than you

> consume, not because you burn fat (or anything else) when you

exercise. By

> the same token, all other factors considered, the most positive

feature of

> low-intensity aerobic exercise is that it is relatively well-

tolerated

> (orthopedically) by most individuals.

>

> Larger mitochondria in greater numbers, increased levels of aerobic

enzymes,

> coupled with increased blood flow all boosts the fat burning

capabilities of

> the muscle fibers. Aerobics can lead to more routes for blood to

reach

> working muscles and more oxygen, which is needed for oxidation of

nutrients

> within the mitochondria. The more massive a bodybuilder becomes the

more

> routes in the form of blood vessels are needed to supply these

working

> muscles. From fat burning to improved cardiovascular health to

improved

> recovery abilities, aerobic work should be an integral part of all

training

> programs.

>

> I hope this helps.

>

[Guest guest]

I'm not Darcy, (appreciate the article very much!) but I've always been advised and read to do resistance training *before* cardio. The reasoning being is that cardio burns up the glycogen in your muscles, which you need to do anaerobic work like weight training. You can't give the weights your best effort if you've pre-exhausted their fuel supply.

Also, by burning up that glycogen with the weights first, when you do your cardio next, you're skipping straight to the energy-production process that uses body fat for fuel. (Normally, the body prefers to burn glucose, then glycogen, THEN fat.)

Working out first thing in the morning in a fasted state: No appreciable glucose in the blood.

Weights first: burn out the glycogen in the muscles.

Cardio last: dig into the fat stores for fuel.

Refeed within 20- 30 mins. with a mix of quick-acting simple carbs and protein to feed muscle repair and replenish glycogen supplies: 8 oz of low-fat chocolate milk works great. (One of the blessings of the world, imho! ;-) )

That's the way I've been taught-- I hope those more educated than I here will correct me if I'm wrong.

Tess

thanks for posting...very interesting even though it was a bit overmy headThe one thing I found a bit confusing is that I've read to do cardio

training before doing resistance training because the metabolism isalready fired up and you'll burn more calories doing the actualresistance workout than if you did resistance w/ no cardio.

[Guest guest]

This is interesting, thanks for the info. I know I've either read

or saw on tv, probably the news, because it is either on noggin

kiddie shows or the news, that says you get more calorie burn doing

cardio first, but until now I've never seen a breakdown of where the

calories/fuel source comes from.

>

> > thanks for posting...very interesting even though it was a bit

over

> > my head

> >

> > The one thing I found a bit confusing is that I've read to do

cardio

> > training before doing resistance training because the metabolism

is

> > already fired up and you'll burn more calories doing the actual

> > resistance workout than if you did resistance w/ no cardio.

>

[Guest guest]

Darcy, this is a GREAT explanation from - thanks!

If you have a moment, can you do me a favor and put this into a .doc

format and place it in our files section? It would be super to have

as a future reference!

[Guest guest]

HI Cheryl,Yes, a lot of it is STILL over my head and I am pretty-much done with the course..UGH.. A lot of it is just very soooo hard to understand. I have always heard strength training first. However, I have recently heard to do whatever first that you want to improve on more. If you are wanting to improve your cardiovascular endurance, then do aerobics first. If strength is your focus, do strength first.

Glad his post helped! Darcy

thanks for posting...very interesting even though it was a bit over

my head

The one thing I found a bit confusing is that I've read to do cardio

training before doing resistance training because the metabolism is

already fired up and you'll burn more calories doing the actual

resistance workout than if you did resistance w/ no cardio. I'm not

sure I understand this, so even though you might be burning more

calories doing cardio first then weights, you're burning more carb

calories rather than bodyfat stores?

so bottomline, even though I hate sweating, I need to up the

intensity and sweat to burn my stored butt fat:)

>

> I thought I woul post this since is so awesome an goes into

great

> detail....... It's probably more than a lot of you wanted to know,

but

> thought I woul post it anyway

> _____

>

> Hi ,

>

> Awhile back you had answered a question in regards to fat burning

and the

> differences between aerobic and anaerobic training. In that post,

you even

> had figures showing examples of how many calories burned came from

fat or

> carbs if you were to perform a workout in same amount of time, but

different

> intensities. I have tried searching the messages and am not having

any

> luck. Could you possibly point me in the right direction? I am

guessing,

> your organization skills are a bit better than mine and you could

hopefully

> do this w/out too much problem. Thank you in advance!

>

> Darcy

>

> Darcy, good morning again. With regard to your question, consider

the

> following. While low intensity work will burn a higher percentage of

> calories from fat, higher intensity work will burn MORE overall

calories.

> The goal is to create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories below

your weekly

> caloric intake to facilitate a 1 pound reduction in bodyfat per

week.

>

> Consider the following. If you walk at 3 MPH it will take you 20

minutes to

> complete a mile burnning approximately 4 calories per minute or 80

overall

> calories (at an average weight of 150 lbs). At the same weight, if

you

> trained at a higher intensity at 8 MPH you would complete the mile

7.5

> minutes burining approximately 16 calories per minute or 120

calories.

>

> During the same 20 minute period walking at 3 MPH where you would

burn only

> 80 calories if you ran for 20 minutes at 8 MPH you would burn 320

calories

> during the same 20 minute period.

>

> At the lower intensity (3 MPH) you would burn about 80% fat/20%

> carbohydrates in general or 64 calories from fat and 16 calories

from

> carbohydrates at 3MPH for 20 minutes.

>

> At the higher intensity (8 MPH) you would burn about 80%

carbohydrates/20%

> fat in general or 256 calories from carbohydrates and 64 calories

from fat.

>

> As you can see you will burn an equal amount of calories from fat

given the

> same 20 minute period.

>

> If your goal is bodyfat reduction, then we recommend that you do

your

> aerobics directly after your resistance training at less than 60%

of your

> VO2 max. If you are doing caridovasular work on your off days, then

we

> recommend that you train at 75% to 85% of your VO2 max for the

first 30

> minutes and drop the intensity the remaining 20 to 30 minutes to

less than

> 60% of your VO2 max. Always begin with a warm up. Warming up for

five

> minutes is necessary because, during exercise, blood flow patterns

change.

> Through the action of the sympathetic nervous system, blood is

redirected

> away from areas where it is not essential to those areas that are

active

> during exercise. Only 15 to 20% of resting cardiac output go to

muscle, but

> during exhaustive exercise, the muscles receive 80 to 85% of the

cardiac

> output. This shift is accomplished by reducing blood flow to the

kidneys,

> liver, stomach and intestines. The warm-up allows for this

transition to

> occur. Keep in mind that the major factor that determines the role

of fat as

> a substrate during exercise is its availability to the muscle cell.

In order

> to be metabolized, bodyfat (triglycerides) must be degraded into

three

> molecules of free fatty acids and one molecule of glycerol. This

splitting

> allows the free fatty acids to be converted to acetyl-CoA and enter

the

> Krebs cycle. Hence, if fat is not available to the muscle cell then

it can

> not be metabolized.

>

> Fat can only be metabolized via Krebs cycle oxidation. It is

essential to

> recognize that a reduction in Krebs cycle intermediates: whether it

is the

> result of (1) low carbohydrate diets, (2) no carbohydrate diets, or

(3)

> excessive prolonged aerobic sessions, resulting in a diminished

rate of ATP

> production from fat metabolism. When carbohydrate stores are

depleted in the

> body, the rate at which fat is metabolized is reduced. Therefore

> carbohydrates are essential in the ability to metabolize fat. It is

only the

> free fatty acids that are metabolized via the Krebs cycle that are

used in

> ATP production that go toward reducing bodyfat levels.

>

> Therefore, when designing an exercise program to reduce bodyfat

stores, it

> is vital to consider both (1) the total rate of energy expenditure

and (2)

> the percentage of energy that is derived from fat metabolism. You

must

> optimize the availability of fat to the muscle cells through

selection of

> appropriate intensity and duration of exercise sessions. Since it

takes

> approximately 20 minutes for lipolysis to occur, the session should

exceed

> 20 minutes in duration for fat to be made available to muscle

cells. At

> approximately 70% of VO2 max the availability of fat to the muscle

cells

> diminish due to an increase in lactate production, which inhibits

fat

> metabolism. Although engaging in activity at 20% of VO2 max will

burn 60% of

> calories from fat as compared to working at 50% of VO2 max which

would

> derive 40% of energy from fat, the total rate of energy expenditure

is 2.5

> times greater at 50% VO2 max. The absolute amount of fat

metabolized is 33%

> higher during exercise at 50% of VO2 max. The ideal rate of work

would be at

> 50% of VO2 max for duration of 60 minutes. Unfortunately, this

physiological

> actuality has led many individuals to mistakenly believe that

because the

> body utilizes a greater percentage of fat as fuel during aerobic

exercise at

> a relatively low level of intensity, such exercise is more

effective for fat

> loss than high intensity exercise. These individuals ignore two very

> important facts. First, the absolute amount of fat calories burned

during

> high intensity exercise tends to be equal to or greater than the

number

> burned during low intensity exercise, even though the percentage of

calories

> burned from fat is higher during low intensity exercise. Second,

when you

> eat, you replenish both carbohydrates and fats. As soon as an

excess of

> calories (from either fats or carbohydrates) exists, your body will

begin to

> store them as fat. Once you eat after exercising (including those

activities

> which burn more fat than carbohydrates), you will rapidly replenish

any of

> your carbohydrate stores you may have used up. Once they are

replenished,

> your body will begin to store the rest of your caloric intake as

fat. The

> net result is that your body's fat stores will be virtually

unchanged—if at

> all. The critical point is that low-intensity aerobic exercise does

not (by

> itself) cause you to alter your body's overall energy balance. Keep

in mind

> that you lose weight and body fat when you expend more calories

than you

> consume, not because you burn fat (or anything else) when you

exercise. By

> the same token, all other factors considered, the most positive

feature of

> low-intensity aerobic exercise is that it is relatively well-

tolerated

> (orthopedically) by most individuals.

>

> Larger mitochondria in greater numbers, increased levels of aerobic

enzymes,

> coupled with increased blood flow all boosts the fat burning

capabilities of

> the muscle fibers. Aerobics can lead to more routes for blood to

reach

> working muscles and more oxygen, which is needed for oxidation of

nutrients

> within the mitochondria. The more massive a bodybuilder becomes the

more

> routes in the form of blood vessels are needed to supply these

working

> muscles. From fat burning to improved cardiovascular health to

improved

> recovery abilities, aerobic work should be an integral part of all

training

> programs.

>

> I hope this helps.

>