How many of us have heard and abide by the rule that slow and steady is the best way to
burn fat when doing our cardio exercise? How often do we look at the program options on our favorite piece of cardio equipment and pick the “fat burner” or “weight loss” option which give us the longer duration, low intensity workout?
Don’t fall into the trap. While the percentage of calories that are burned from fat stores at lower intensities is greater than that at higher intensities, more fat calories and more total calories are burned when working at a higher intensity per unit time. Here are some rough numbers for a 30 minute workout:
Lower intensity: 300 total calories burned, 50% from fat = 150 fat calories
Higher intensity: 400 total calories burned, 40% from fat = 160 fat calories.