Fat Burning Zone Myth

If you're looking to get rid of stubborn pounds, the rule of the weight loss game is to increase the intensity of your workouts.

I say it all the time but I want you to be working out at 85 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR). However, you may have heard the "fat-burning zone" theory and working in that zone which encourages you to work out at just 60 to 65 percent of your MHR.

The outdated belief is that your body is drawing energy predominately from fat calories for energy - WRONG!

It's completely misleading and it's time to lay the "fat-burning zone" myth to rest.
During physical activity, your body has three possible sources of energy: carbs, fat, and protein. Protein is a last resort of energy, of the three energy sources, your body is the most reluctant to draw on your protein stores (muscles).
Whether your body takes energy from glucose, which it gets from the breakdown of carbs, or fat depends on the intensity of your workout.

Exercising at a high level of intensity forces your body to draw on carb calories for energy, they are a more efficient source of energy, and your body goes for its premium fuel when you're working hard. If you are working out at a low level of intensity, your body doesn't need to be as efficient, so it will draw on a higher percentage of fat calories for fuel.

This sounds like low-intensity exercise is way more effective when it comes to losing fat, right? WRONG!

These physiological facts are the ones that spawned the mistaken belief that low-intensity exercise is better than high-intensity exercise when it comes to burning fat and losing weight.

These days we know that even though the ratio of fat-to-carb calories might be higher during low-intensity exercise, fewer calories are used up overall. This is including post workout calorie burn or “what is know as after burn” the body using calories to recover and repair after exercise.

High-intensity exercise burns the biggest number of calories PERIOD!