What's the "Fat Burning" Zone

As with many concepts related to exercise and it's benefits, the effects and the rate of change can be quite specific to each individual, especially when talking about weight loss or body fat changes. However, science does give us some suggestions that can be helpful when trying to maximize your ability to burn fat without jeopardizing your health or your endurance potential.

Specifically, related to the question "should I workout slower to optimize "fat burning?" Let me suggest that there is indeed a specific zone of intensity where you will burn the highest amount of fat calories per minute. Unfortunately, depending on the individual, those fat calories may not add up very quickly. For example, during metabolic exercise testing and through a method call indirect calorimetry, scientists can evaluate the concentration of fat and carbohydrates that are utilized for energy at different intensities. Usually, during rest and at the lower exercise intensities we see the highest percentage of fat utilized. Keep in mind though, at rest and low intensity the overall calorie burn is quite low. So, if you are exercising in zone 1 you may be burning mostly fat, but your calories expended will take a very long time to add up to weight lossed. Additionally, if you are not at a high fitness level you may be burning even less fat because you are doing even less work. For example, an elite level triathlete may be able to run an 8-minute mile pace and still maintain his or her heart rate in zone one (i.e., very low relative intensity). Running at that speed will require a very generous amount of calories to sustain and most of it will be derived from fat. Alternatively, If I were running an 8-minute mile pace my level of intensity would be much higher and closer to, if not exceeding, the lactate threshold. That would put me at a zone 3 or 4 intensity level (i.e., hard sustainable), which would require utilizing mostly carbohydrates since I'm already exceeding my fat burning zones.

NOW KEEP IN MIND if I weighed the same as the elite athlete we would be burning close to the same amount of total calories to run that 8-minute mile pace. If we both ran an hour the elite athlete will have burned most of his or her calories from fat while I will have depleted much of my carbohydrate stores and very little fat due to "harder training".

QUICK REVIEW: As exercise intensity goes up so does the overall calorie expenditure, however the fat burn will usually increase only to a limited expenditure rate as other energy systems need to take over. Often, as your intensity approaches and surpasses the lactate threshold, metabolic testing reveals little to no fat calories expended and energy is derived from nearly 100% carbohydrates.
So, according to the above analogy you might surmise that I need to slow down if I am going to burn fat and ultimately lose body fat. However, things are not always how they seem. In reality my goal should be to become fitter so that when I run in zone 1 or 2 I am not doing a shuffle step or walk to keep my heart rate down. I do this by training at levels that stimulate continued improvement in my lactate threshold (LT). Training to increase my LT or sometimes referred to as the anaerobic threshold has been shown to be most effective when combining a variety of training levels. Specifically, sometimes I should train at or slightly above the lactate threshold (zones 3-4) to stimulate LT overload adaptations and other times during longer bouts (zone 1-2)to enhance aerobic kinetics and fat burning adaptations. So there are different adaptations at different intensities (i.e., specificity of training).

Special Note: Recovery after the harder workouts is a key to seeing threshold improvements. As my threshold improves so does my sustainable pace and so does my ability to burn more fat calories and the total calories during exercise.

Also, keep in mind the fact that burning off the extra body fat is dependent on how many total calories you expend at the end of the day as compared to how many you take in from food. So the additive effect of all exercise and activity will promote body fat loss.

Let me introduce a couple more energy/training related concepts that might help you further understand the mechanisms involved with burning calories and losing body fat.

1. In the lab exercise scientists have discovered that exercise that is intense but sustainable (at or around your LT) for bouts up to an hour can have significant effects on how many calories you burn post exercise. There is a term for this called EPOC or excess post oxygen consumption. This concept suggests that you not only can burn calories during exercise but when sufficient work levels are sustained we can see additional calories, specifically fat, burned for several hours after exercise. However, usually individuals who are not very fit will have limited benefit from extra fat burned post exercise because they are generally not able to sustain work rates high enough to accumulate much of an additive effect from the fat burned. SPECIAL NOTE: hard sustained exercise creates higher EPOC which also requires a longer recovery period because of the stress on the system and depleted energy stores.

2. There are studies that show elite endurance athletes who burn well over 4,000 kcals per day often may only consume 2500-3000 kcals. These athletes continued to function and train for months on end and didn't necessarily continue to lose body fat (note: this low calorie intake is quite common among endurance athletes). Studies observed that the athlete’s metabolism adjusted to adapt to the limited energy intake by holding on to the stored fat. It was suggested that the training effect was also compromised due to the lower fuel intake. The point I am making here is that how much and when you fuel your body can have an effect on your ability to use and burn fat. High stress loads with limited fuel restoration and recovery can effect metabolism for the worse.

In summary, how to maximize your body fat burn is often a comprehensive and somewhat complicated approach, not usually accomplished by quick and easy methods. We've all heard that there are no good quick solutions like pills and starvation diets. Similarly, even the "fat burn zone" by itself is not as easy an answer as we might like.

Good luck and keep challenging your training - you will win in the end if you train smart and continue to learn as much as you can.

These exercises or lifestyle changes should not be attempted if you experience any discomfort, pain or dizziness. If you have a history of knee or back pain, high blood pressure or musculoskeletal injuries, you should seek medical advice and the expert services of a trained fitness professional.

Exercise of the Month (Oct. 08)

Exercise of the Month
Step-ups and Step-Downs
Both these are outstanding functional exercises for preparing your knees for greater challenges ahead. If you have not exercised in a while or suffer from knee instability problems than these exercises are for you. Be careful though - good form is imperative to preventing knee pain. Always try to keep you rear-end well behind your knee and don't let your knee travel forward beyond the toes of the active leg. You should lean forward slightly from the waist while performing the down motion with this exercise - but be sure to maintain a neutral spine (i.e., slight arch in the low back with chest out).

Step-ups
Place a sturdy box, bench, or step about 4-10 inches high in front of mirror and stand facing the step or to the side of the step. Keeping your hips and shoulders square, slowly step up on the bench as though you're going up stairs but in slow motion. Then step back down. Keep a neutral posture. Start with no weight and slowly progress with added resistance from dumbbells. Holding the weight while stepping requires a strong focus on core – so don’t forget to activate. Complete 10-15 reps for 2-3 sets, 3-4 x per week. Start at 4 inches and if knees are tolerating the motion and strain well (no knee pain) then add 1 inch per week until you reach 10 inches. Then move on to the more challenging step-down exercise below. You can add weight with dumbbells for a greater challenge.

Step-downs

Stand on top of the bench. Keep the foot of your non-dominant leg on the bench, with the toes slightly turned out (5-10 degrees). Keeping your hips and shoulders squared forward, and arms on hips or in front of you for counterbalance, slowly step forward off the bench as though you're going down stairs but in slow motion. Then step back up. Repeat w/out letting your knee turn in. Complete 6-15 reps for 2-3 sets, 3-4 x per week. Start at 4 inches and if knees are tolerating the motion and strain well (no knee pain) then add 1 inch per week until you reach 8-10 inches. Now you are ready to take on more challenging leg exercise like lunges and squats.
You can add weight with dumbbells for a greater challenge.

For a down-loadable list and description of additional core and functional exercise go to the following link.

http://www.fitstop-lab.com/pdf/Function+Core.pdf

These exercises should not be attempted if you experience any discomfort, pain or dizziness. If you have a history of knee or back pain, high blood pressure or musculoskeletal injuries, you should seek medical advice and the expert services of a trained fitness professional. .

HRV, EPOC & Training Effect

This post includes an article written by Don Hagan, PhD. about the "Training Effect" system and Suunto t series monitors. Don was a good friend and wrote this summary a few months before he passed away in 2007. He will be missed.

New technologies are emerging allowing the athlete to better monitor the effectiveness of their exercise training program. It is now common to use a chest belt with electrodes to measure exercise heart rate to determine if one is getting a sufficient training stimulus, and for computer systems to store this information for further evaluation. However, heart rate is only part of the story. New research suggests that heart rate variability (HRV) and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), which is the amount of oxygen consumed after exercise during recovery, can be used to monitor the effectiveness of exercise sessions and training programs, and monitor fatigue and recovery.

Suunto of Finland has taken these advances and incorporated them into small wrist-top computers, called the “Suunto t6" (and recently added are the t3 & t4 monitors). Information captured in the wrist-top computer can be downloaded into a personal computer for further storage. In the Suunto t6 system, the athlete wears a chest belt containing electrodes which record heart beats. The heart beat signals are then transmitted to the wrist-top computer, where the time intervals between respective heart beats are measured and analyzed for fluctuations in the time intervals. The information also can be downloading to a PC and exercise sessions can be analyzed using a specialized Training Manager software program or transfered into online platforms like the Training Peaks TM Platform.

The major innovation of the Suunto t6 system is its capacity to measure heart beat time intervals and determination of HRV. Understanding the mechanisms controlling heart rate allows one to better understand the utility of the Suunto t6 system. Heart rate is regulated by both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, which work in an inverse, interactive fashion. That is, when one system is in control, the other is quiescent, and vice versa.

During rest, heart rate is primarily controlled by the parasympathetic system, and HRV occurs due to increases and decreases in chest size associated with the inspiration and expiration of breathing, respectively. During inspiration, the time difference between heart beats becomes shorter, which causes heart rate to increase slightly. Likewise, when one breaths air out of the lungs, the time difference between heart beats becomes longer, and heart rate decreases slightly.

During rest, the influence of breathing on HRV will force heart rate to vary by several beats above and below its average rate. The effect of breathing on HRV also is evident during light exercise up to a heart rate of about 110 bpm. However, movement from rest to light exercise, and then to moderate and heavy exercise, is associated with a gradual decreases in both parasympathetic control and HRV, and to an increase in sympathetic control of heart rate. At maximum heart rate, sympathetic control is nearly complete, while the contribution from the parasympathetic system is negligible.

Aerobic capacity and exercise training influence HRV. Chronic exercise training produces a decrease in resting heart rate, or bradycardia, due to enhanced parasympathetic control. As a result, endurance athletes have greater HRV than do non-endurance athletes at rest and during low-levels of exercise up to the ventilatory threshold. A healthy heart has a large HRV, while individuals with heart disease have less HRV. Evidence shows that people with low HRV have an increase risk of heart attack.

An important feature of the Suunto t6 is the use of HRV to estimate the level of EPOC required for an exercise session. Recent research evidence suggests that EPOC can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of an exercise training session and monitor fatigue. EPOC is related to the intensity and duration of the exercise work bout, i.e., the greater the intensity and the longer the duration of a training session, the greater the EPOC. Thus, a high intensity exercise session will have high EPOC, while low intensity exercise will have low EPOC. This is why it is impossible to train every day at one’s maximal oxygen uptake capacity. The post-exercise oxygen consumption requirement is so high; one is not able to pay off the debt before starting the next high-intensity exercise session. This also means that a training program with an emphasis on low-intensity, long duration exercise will produce lower EPOC, because the energy requirement of the exercise work bout is paid using atmospheric oxygen and not stored energy sources. A high EPOC without adequate rest and restoration will contribute to an athlete becoming “over trained” and more susceptible to injury.

In addition to measurements of heart rate, HRV, and estimation of EPOC, the Suunto t6 system has the capacity to estimate and record breathing rate and the pulmonary ventilation, or volume of air moving into and out of the lungs. Both of these measures can be of use in understanding the stress of an exercise work bout. For example, exercise intensities above the lactate threshold are characterized by a higher breathing rate and pulmonary ventilation than exercise below the lactate threshold. You know you are in this zone when talking to your exercise partner is difficult.

It is well known that heart rate at any given work rate is reduced as a result of training, and that decreases in exercise heart rate are an indicator of an increase in aerobic and endurance capacity. The same response occurs for breathing rate and pulmonary ventilation, which transfers into a lower energy cost of breathing during exercise, and improved work efficiency.
In the Suunto t6 system, heart rate and HRV are used to determine the stress of the exercise session and training stimulus by estimating EPOC associated with the exercise session. By monitoring EPOC, an athlete can follow their adaptation to training, and determine when to increase the exercise stress level to repeat the adaptive cycle.

An important feature of the Suunto t6 system is the Training Effect function in the Calendar View of the Training Manager software program. The Training Effect function displays the performance and exertion level of the exercise session based EPOC value. With this function, the athlete can follow successive performances and see their rate of adaptation. The function also allows the athlete to determine whether or not an “overreaching” or personal-best performance leads to overtraining.

Advances in biosensor and wireless technologies, and data storage and analysis software programs are allowing scientists, coaches, and athletes to better measure the responses of athletes to training and to develop a greater understanding of the adaptive process associated with exercise training. These developments will likely lead to improved personal performances, racing strategies and training regimens. The Suunto t6 is one of the leaders in this new trend of combining science and technology into new tools for the benefit of today’s athlete.

Don Hagan, PhD. has 25 years of experience conducting exercise physiology research and has published 60 manuscripts on a wide range of exercise training topics. Dr. Hagan’s previous research experience includes working as a researcher at the Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research, Institute for Human Fitness, University of North Texas Health Science Center, and Naval Health Research Center in San Diego. He is currently working for the Space and Life Sciences Directorate at the NASA/Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The information and programs are for informational purposes only. They do not substitute for the advice of a qualified health care professional or physician.

We are all Athletes

I believe anyone can and should train like an athlete! …

As Dr. George Sheehan once said; "we are all athletes, the difference is that some of us are in training and some of us are not!"(1) Anyone who is serious about their health and fitness and has the willingness and patience to train smart can plan for optimal results, long term impact and peak performance. The point here is, if you are training to get results then you should be training like an athlete. The top athletes know that training hard is important but not "all important". There is a fine line between training hard and over-doing it. Knowing how much is too much can make the difference between optimal results and negative or no impact.

For example, NASA experts recognize that no matter how advanced the technology, their vehicles in space will always be in need of an adjustment. As a matter of fact, if left unto themselves, they won't stay on target. The most critical aspect is what these experts call the "attitude" of the vehicle (2). Peak performers are not any different. They consistently need to be willing to make adjustments to stay on target. It is the reality of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, and it is at work in all of us...we will breakdown and sometimes at an accelerated rate unless we can "tweak" the system a bit. Sophisticated cardio-metabolic and functional strength testing encourages exercisers to make those critical adjustments in the "attitude" of their training.

Below is a list of some common traits among elite endurance athletes:

•athletes have a long term vision that is in focus
•athletes train in systematic and periodized phases to ensure optimal recovery and energy management
•athletes are constantly training their technique
•athletes work toward a consistent overall healthier lifestyles (diet, stress,etc.)
•athletes get immediate intervention when injured
•athletes need a strong sense of commitment & teamwork
•athletes are constantly re-evaluating and testing outcomes from training

Note that most of these traits can actually be integrated into your program and they won't require extreme time commitments or over-whelming intensities. Find out how to train more like an athlete by scheduling a Fitness Evaluation today. You can reach us at (760) 634-5169 or email kjnico@fitstop-lab.com .

1. Former runner, MD, and author who was referred to as "the running guru"
2. Adapted from a quote by Tim Hansel in his book "Holy Sweat"

Challenge vs. Recovery

Although my field is exercise physiology I hope to use these posts to comment on the many similarities I've observed between the "smart training" concepts that enhance physical endurance and the broader concept of finishing strong in Life.

In his book Finishing Well Bob Buford interviewed Howard Hendrichs and they discussed what it meant to "finish well". Dr. Hendrichs commented that finishing well is described in the writings of Paul in the Epistles. He wrote, "Paul says you cross the finish line running and not staggering."

In that light I believe the key to finishing strong at health and fitness is to try and apply a measured dose of challenge integrated well with a healthy dose of regeneration. To train hard is occasionally necessary in order to improve. At the same time, there has to be time to regenerate during the struggle, or the stress may be too much. There is a thin red line between enough and too much exercise and that amount is specific to each person and should be thought of with a strong finish in mind.