Occasional Exercise

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HIIT exercise sessions generally consist of a warm up period followed by repetitions of high-intensity exercises separated by medium intensity exercises for active recovery, then a cool down period. High-intensity interval training, also called high-intensity intermittent exercise or sprint interval training, is a form of interval training, a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods, until too exhausted to continue. Though there is no universal HIIT session duration, these intense workouts typically last under 30 minutes, with times varying based on a participant's current fitness level. The intensity of HIIT. The benefits extend beyond physical health too. Studies show that working out releases endorphins, which in turn make you feel less stressed and happier. You also sleep better with regular exercise. Altogether, these can lead to reduced cortisol (the stress hormone) production. Interval training was defined as cardiovascular exercise which involved repeated brief bursts of intense effort, interspersed with recovery periods. Cycling, swimming, running and boxing were. “Intermittent fasting” or “time-restricted eating” means eating all of your daily calories within a specified window. Michael Easter Michael Easter is a health and fitness writer and a.

Newswise — Regular exercise is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle and for the prevention of coronary heart disease, Type II diabetes and obesity. Classic recommendations for endurance exercise have been 20 to 60 minutes of continuous exercise at a vigorous intensity. New research from the University of Missouri-Columbia suggests intermittent exercise is more effective at lowering artery-blocking fat in the bloodstream than continuous exercise when exercising just 30 minutes.

MU researchers conducted the study to examine the effects of continuous versus intermittent exercise on triglyceride, a type of fat, levels in the bloodstream after subjects ate high-fat meals. The results show that people who engage in 30 minutes of exercise can achieve lower triglyceride levels after a high fat meal if they engage in short, separated bouts of exercise rather than one continuous bout. The research team included professor of nutritional sciences Tom Thomas, post-doctorate fellow Thomas Altena, assistant professor of nutritional sciences Stephen Ball, and graduate student Jody Michaelson, all in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Altena, who is now an assistant professor at Southwest Missouri State University, supervised the study.

'Most Americans who exercise are exercising around 30 minutes a day,' Thomas said. 'Based on the results of the research, the intermittent approach would probably be best for most Americans at lowering fat in the bloodstream.'

The researchers examined triglyceride levels following meals in inactive subjects. All subjects performed three different protocols on different days. On the control day, subjects ate a high-fat meal only. On a second visit, the subjects ate a high-fat meal following a session of continuous exercise. On another visit, the subjects ate a high-fat meal following a session of intermittent exercise in which the subjects exercised in 10-minute bouts separated by 20-minute rest periods.

Results indicated that peak triglyceride levels in the subjects who engaged in intermittent exercise before eating a high-fat meal were reduced by 27 percent. Those who engaged in continuous exercise reduced their triglyceride levels by 15 percent.

Thomas noted that exercising before eating was crucial for fat clearing, saying that the researchers believe muscle contraction during the exercise process stimulates a fat-clearing enzyme in the muscle. According to previous research, the enzyme activity seems to peak about 12 hours after the session of exercise. In addition to showing what type of exercise is best, this information also could help someone determine what time is best for exercise. Since it's best to exercise 12 hours before eating a large or high-fat meal, those who eat large breakfasts could benefit more from exercise in the evening, while those who eat large dinners could benefit more from exercise in the morning. However, Thomas said, the exercise effect on fat clearing does not last more than 24 hours, which suggests the need for daily physical activity to continuously stimulate the fat clearing system.

The research is published in the August issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

When it comes to losing weight, people often want know the best way to shed excess pounds – and there’s no shortage of fad diets or fitness crazes claiming to have the “secret” to fat loss. One theory even suggests that exercising at around 60% of your maximum heart rate will bring our bodies into a so-called “fat burning zone”, optimal for losing weight.

But does this “fat burning zone” even exist?

First, it’s important to understand a little about our metabolism. Even if we were to sit at our desk all day, our body still needs “fuel” to meet energy demands. This energy comes from carbohydrates, proteins, fats and phosphates. However, the rate at which we use them, and how much we have available, varies between people. It depends on a number of factors, such as dietary intake, age, sex and how hard or often we exercise.

Generally, exercising at lower intensities – such as sustained walking or light jogging – doesn’t require as much effort by our muscles as sprinting, for example. This means the amount of energy needed by the body is lower, so energy supply predominantly comes from fats.

But as exercise intensity increases, fat can’t be metabolised fast enough to meet increased energy demand. So the body will use carbohydrates, as these can be metabolised more rapidly. This means there is indeed an exercise intensity where fat is the predominant energy source.

At the lower end of this spectrum is our resting state. Here, the number of calories our body needs to function is considerably low, so the body primarily metabolises fat to use for energy. This means the potential “zone” for metabolising fat is between the rested state and the level of exercise intensity where carbohydrates become the dominant energy source (in terms of percent contribution to energy demand).

But this is a wide range, which lies between a resting heart rate of around 70 beats per minute to around 160 beats per minute during moderate effort exercise (such as cycling at a constant speed where holding a conversation becomes challenging), where the crossover from using fat to carbohydrates for energy occurs.

The issue with such a wide zone is that the person exercising wouldn’t necessarily be optimising their ability to metabolise fat, because as the exercise intensity increases there’s a gradual change in the balance of fat and carbohydrates your body uses for energy.

Fat burning zone

So how can we know at which point our body will switch from using fat to other fuels for energy? One approach researchers take is assessing how much fat is being used for energy during different exercise intensities.

By measuring how much air a person expels during an exercise test which gets progressively harder, physiologists have been able to calculate the relative contributions of fat and carbohydrates to meet the exercise demand at different intensities. The highest amount of fat burned is called the “maximal fat oxidation rate” (or MFO), and the intensity this occurs at is termed “FATmax”.

Since this method was first used by researchers, studies have shown that as the intensity rises from around 40-70% of a person’s VO₂ max – which is the maximum amount of oxygen a person can use during exercise – there’s an increase in the rate of carbohydrates and fats being used. The rate of fat being burned starts to decline at higher intensities as the body requires energy more rapidly.

The so-called “fat burning zone” has been shown to occur anywhere between about 50-72% of a person’s VO₂ max. However, the ability to burn fat is also based on genetics, with studies showing that this fat burning zone is likely to be lower in overweight or obese people – around 24-46% of their VO₂ max – and higher in endurance athletes.

Another point to consider is how much fat we actually burn during exercise (if we express it in grams per minute). The answer is: surprisingly little. Even in studies with athletes, at FATmax, participants only burned on average a mere 0.5 grams of fat per minute. This would equate to around 30 grams of fat per hour.

In the average person, this appears to be even lower, ranging between 0.1 and 0.4 grams of fat per minute. To put it in perspective, one pound of fat weighs around 454 grams. So, though training in this fat burning zone will help with fat loss, this might also help explain why it takes some people longer to lose fat through exercise.

But there is evidence that following certain diets (such as intermittent fasting or a ketogenic, high fat diet) and longer exercise can increase the actual amount of fat we burn.