What is the best exercise for fat loss? should you lift weights, or use machines, how much cardio should you do? what about yoga or running? Do you need to go to the gym?
These are some common questions I get in my coaching practice so I’d like to shed some light in them for you.
First of all we need to get clear on your purpose for exercise. Many people have in mind that they would like to build muscle and lose body fat. I would suggest that one may become a by product of the other initially so focusing on one will yield the best result.
Next – the role that exercise plays in fat loss is actually one of recovery. The reason why fat stores in the first place is because glands/organs have become weak and are not functioning optimally. As a result your body will start to display many symptoms and following those are fat storage. Eating in a way to promote growth and recovery hormones will require the body to recover more efficiently at rest, and seen as you do your most quality resting when you sleep – this is the optimal time for fat burning.
Exercise’s job is to stimulate new cellular developments – this is a process of adding stress (not pain) and in easy terms – to break the body down so that while you sleep your body is required to produce higher levels of growth and recovery hormones.
That’s the first part of the puzzle. But the crucial element that will determine whether this process is optimised – is whether your body uses blood glucose (sugar) as its source of fuel to recover, or your stored fat as it’s source of fuel. This will depend entirely on how you have eaten during the day.
I hope you are following my point. How you eat determines which source of fuel your body will use to perform the necessary recovery, provided you have exercised in a way that has stimulated the right recovery hormones.
So now that we’ve established what the purpose of exercise is, lets look at the best exercise to do.
The key for you is progression. Your body must be put in a place of having to adapt. If you are not progressing then exercise will not stimulate new cellular developments, therefore extra recovery is not required.
Bearing this in mind, think about what you are currently doing. Are you already at a gym? Or are you at home? Neither one is better than the other it just depends on where you’re at and whether you’re increasing either in frequency, intensity, or duration. Side note – An increase in all of the above will likely become necessary as the healthier you become the better your body will get at recovering from exercise.
What you need to differentiate between is the type of exercise that you can sustain for a minimum of 15 mins with no rest – whether this is cardio or aerobic exercise.
Anaerobic exercise is defined by your heart rate being too high for you to be able to sustain a particular exercise for any great length of time, therefore rest in between is necessary. For example – alternating between high and low intensity exercise, or between high intensity exercise and a short period of rest.
If at home, this could be running up a flight of stairs and walking back down. Or a set of burpees followed by body weight squats. If at a gym, you could use equipment for variation. Or if you prefer to not be in a gym environment, there’s plenty of easy to use equipment that is safe for home use and available as you progress.
If all you do is aerobic exercise it will suffice as long as you are progressing either in duration, frequency or intensity, as aerobic will burn fat while you are doing it but only after the first 20-30mins. However you will not get as much bang for your buck as anaerobic exercise.
If you do anaerobic exercise, make sure that you never go into a session having not recovered. You must also alternate with cardio/aerobic exercise. This is a very important role in your recovery. Though it is not nearly as efficient in calories burnt vs time spent, or stimulating growth and recovery hormones, it is crucial for your nervous system to adequately recover from anaerobic training and aerobic training plays this role.
Key points
So what do you think? It can be tricky to fully grasp at first but totally enlightening when you get it. Let me know your main takeaway points in the comments below.
If you’d like my assistance in achieving your health goals, I’d love to hear from you. The best way to contact me is via the body type quiz. Or feel free use the free consult link on our home page.
As always, Yours in Health
Tarryn Thompson
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