Fat Burn Notice

Fat burning & running

As a general rule, fat is burned ideally when running at a pace where you would be able to maintain a full conversation. According to experts, this should be a pace that you would theoretically be able to maintain for up to 8 hours- slow! Plus, you can benefit from fat burning even after your run as your body keeps burning fat for 2 to 3 hours after finishing a run. If you want to shed a few pounds, make sure you only ingest liquids and maybe a little protein during that time frame.

Training on an empty stomach

If you feel fit enough for a slow, pre-breakfast run to improve your fat metabolism, do it:

• In the morning, on an empty stomach – 40 minutes max.
• At a max. oxygen consumption (VO2 max) of 50-60%*

(* These values are estimates. Your can determine your individual, ideal workout intensity through a lactate test.)

High-intensity training

What’s better? A longer, yet slower “fat burning run” or a few sprints at a higher heart rate? On the one hand, during a slower run you’re in the ideal fat burning zone. On the other hand, intense interval training challenges your muscles even more. When we’re pushing our heart rate until reaching the anaerobic zone, our bodies resort to our carbohydrate reserves and burn more calories due to the hard muscle work – even AFTER the run. Then, you can benefit from post-workout fat burning (EPOC, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption).
During high-intensity, anaerobic training sessions the percentage of fat in the metabolic process is lower. However, due to the intense exercise the total calorie consumption is higher. Plus, the body needs more energy for recovery, thereby burning even more fat.
In my opinion, a possible solution would be to combine both slower, relaxed runs in the aerobic zone (where it’s easy to maintain a conversation while running) and short, intense interval runs (which should be done only about once per week anyways).
Whether your body burns fat efficiently or not depends on the right diet and on your sleep quality, too, as fat burning takes place 24/7, especially when you’re fast asleep.