How does Cardio Burn Fat

**bigt10** · 12-29-2007, 01:51 AM

Sorry guys ive done tons of reading up on the process of many hormons and AAS and how they work to build muscle and burn fat, etc.

I always keep hearing, cardio, cardio, cardio, how does cardio burn fat.

Sorry seems silly i understand how muscle helps to burn fat and other substances such as DNP , clen convert fat into heat as usage for the cells.

So what exaclty is cardio doing to help you lose fat?

Raising up temp (thermogenic) to burn fat or is just "burn" calroies. In that case a person with alot of muscle doesnt need to do cardio cause they need to eat less calories then their body consumes.

The science behind muscle makes clear sense to me but the science behind fat loss has always been a confusing one to me. People always say you need to eat less then you consume but they're is so many other things to take into account i dont think you could say that alone.

On the profile for testosterone it says blocks fat receptors

"Testosterone is also good at promoting fat loss. Having an anti-estrogenic effect it creates an ideal fat loss environment. Test binds to the A.R on fat cells resulting in fat break-down and also prevents new fat formation.(15) Another indirect action of fat loss that test produces is the nutrient portioning effect it has on muscle and fat. Since the body is building muscle at an accelerated rate more of the food you eat is shuttled to muscle tissue and away from fat."

So i understand how most AAS is helping to improve nitrogen balance in the muscles which therefore allows more protein retention and well the rest is self explanatory.

So when actually trying to cut down how do you take these other things into account and how the heck is "cardio" helping to lose the fat.
sorry just sick of hearing cardio everywhere with no justification to its means of justification getting rid of fat. thanks.

**bigt10** · 12-29-2007, 01:54 AM

Sorry just to make myself clear i plan on cutting soon but am doign some research. I am not necessarily looking to find an easy way out or something.

I fully understand how trainging and diet effect weight loss but im not understanding what cardio is doing to burn fat. It just seems to me that Option A is it aiding fat loss by increasing heat in the body which i think they're are many other ways to accomplish that and or cardio is helping to "burn calories" in which a body with sufficient lean muscle mass could essentialy diet they're way down without the need for cardio because of the high caloric needs of the muscle.

**tobetutz** · 12-29-2007, 01:56 AM

Are you kidding?

**dece870717** · 12-29-2007, 02:06 AM

Uh, cardio uses up energy, energy that can come from your fat cells.

**bigt10** · 12-29-2007, 02:36 AM

NO serious i even googled it up and it just lists tons of ways to do it.

So if what dece said is 100 % correct then why cant one with adequate muscle mass diet down to lose fat?

So if that is correct cardio doesnt burn fat via an increase in body temperature meaning that one could lose fat effectively via a increase in body temperature, calorie restriction resulting in the body taking those extra calories from fat?

sorry i am just sick of hearing and havent read alot of scientifical info to justify it.

**tobetutz** · 12-29-2007, 02:39 AM

Keep researching, you will find what you are looking for.

**J*U*icEd** · 12-29-2007, 02:49 AM

wow... um ok, when trying to loose weight you are consuming a deficit of calories... calories or calorie is a measurement unit for energy used by the body... when ur body uses up all the calories eatten during a deficit it starts to use fat reserves for energy... and cardio is used to eat up these fat reserves by using extra energy... come on man this shit is elementary

**Jay-Ace** · 12-29-2007, 05:53 AM

Cardio is exercise

Exercise is making your muscles work & move

Moving your muscles requires "energy" in the form of a compound called ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate)

ATP is made by the body by converting "food" or "fat".... If you don't have enough "food" in your body then your body starts to use "fat" instead.

Your body has a BMR... Basal Metabolic Rate... This is teh amount of calories your body will use just to "live" from day to day...

Lets say your BMR is 2000 calories and you burn a further 1000 calories exercising and doing stuff during the day...

Today you have eaten a nice healthy balanced diet of around 2500 calories so that means you have a calorie defecit... Your body has used up some of it's "energy stores" to supply the missing 500 calories!!

This could be in the form of stored glycogen (a type of "energy" store) or protein (from your muscles) or from adipose cells (body fat).

Your body will nearly always use the glycogen up first, then it will switch over to protein & fats .... Which one of these it uses depends on a lot of factors in your body, how you are exercising and loads of other factors, some of which you can control.

Ideally you want your body to be using fat instead of protein as we dont want to be "burning" muscle (catabolism).

So in answer to your question....

If you had not cardio exercised to burn off those 500 calories (say cardio made up 500 of those 1000 burned off in total) then you would be calorie neutral for the day... 2500 in & 2500 out so would stay at the same weight.

If you don't exercise the only way to lose weight is to seriously cut your calorie intake, say you cut it to 1500 a day so that you now have a 1000 calorie defecit....

Your body will think that you are not able to "find" food (afterall we're just animals!!) so it will start to go into a starvation response and your BMR will start to drop...

After a short period of time your calorie defecit will be less and less as you start to lose muscle due to your body burning up muscle tissue for the proteins energy... Less muscle means lower BMR .... Nasty cycle!!

You get me?!?!?

**green22** · 12-29-2007, 09:25 AM

holy crap, you cant be serious

**Atomini** · 12-29-2007, 09:34 AM

Wow I can't believe this question and the comments i'm seeing here.

Raising your body temperature DOES NOT BURN FAT! A rise in body temperature is most commonly a side effect of fat being burned.

Infact, fat isn't "burned". If you want to do that, try a blowtorch for starters. Fat is metabolized, not burned.

**magic32** · 12-29-2007, 12:03 PM

GREAT DESCRIPTION JAY!

Originally Posted by bigt10

NO serious i even googled it up and it just lists tons of ways to do it.

So if what dece said is 100 % correct then why cant one with adequate muscle mass diet down to lose fat?

YOUR PREMISE IS FAULTY...YOU'RE ASSUMING THAT METABOLIC RATE IS A CONSTANT. WHEN IN REALITY THE METABOLISM IS A VERY DELICATE/SENSITIVE MECHANISM, THAT'S FAR MORE COMPLICATED THAN MERE CALORIC REDUCTION. UNLESS SAID REDUCTION IS MINISCULE, IT WILL BEGIN TO RESET THE METABOLISM AT A LOWER RATE (LEVEL OF EFFICIENCY).

Originally Posted by Atomini

Wow I can't believe this question and the comments i'm seeing here.

Raising your body temperature DOES NOT BURN FAT! A rise in body temperature is most commonly a side effect of fat being burned.
TRUE!

BUT IT CONTRIBUTES HOMEOSTATICALLY. IF YOU STOOD (NO CARDIO) IN A 100 DEGREE BOILER ROOM, YOU’D ELICIT THE PERPIRATION RESPONSE AND IN SO DOING YOU’D ALSO LOSE A SMALL AMOUNT OF CALORIES AS YOUR BODY WORKS (HARDER THAN SITTING IN A BALMY 72 DEGREE ROOM) TO RESTORE NORMALCY, E.G. COMFORT. EVERY BODILY FUNCTION REQUIRES CALORIC OR SYNTHETIC (CNS STIMS) ENERGY. THUS, THE SAME COULD BE SAID FOR STANDING IN A 40 DEGREE FREEZER, THE HOMEOSTATIC RESPONSE (SHIVERING) NECESSITATES CALORIC ENERGY. AS STATED THIS AMOUNT IS RATHER SMALL, BUT AS ANY PRE-CONTEST BB'ER WILL ATTEST, EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS WHICH IS WHY CAYENNE PEPPER IS OFTEN FOUND IN FAT BURNING SUPPLEMENTS.

Infact, fat isn't "burned". If you want to do that, try a blowtorch for starters. Fat is metabolized, not burned.
THEY ARE USING THE VERY WELL ACCEPTED TERM “BURNED” IN PLACE OF THE MEDICAL TERM “METABOLIZED”, BECAUSE THE METABOLISM OF OXYGEN AND FOOD SUBSTRATES REQUIRES HEAT ENERGY WHICH IS MEASURED IN CALORIES. THUS THE METABOLISM CAN BE RIGHTFULLY, AND IS THEREFORE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS A FURNACE, REMINISCENT OF SHOVELING COAL INTO THE OLD TRAIN FURNACES FOR LOCOMOTION.

In summation and answer to why cardio is more valuable than caloric reduction in fat burning, is that if properly applied cardio provides a three-fold benefit in that it: 1) improves the BMR (the processing of foods, mobilization of fat stores, respiration and blood flow) discussed above by Jay; 2) serves as a direct consumer of caloric energy reducing the overall amount consumed, as described in Jay’s example; and 3) effectively which is integral to genuine (not yo-yo/rebound) loss, ACTIVELY solicits fat from the fat cells because they’re energy is being readily demanded.

Conversely the only benefit from dieting alone is the reduction of overall caloric intake. Dieting almost invariably and simultaneously impacts BMR in a negative manner causing it to slow and become less efficient as the body enters a protective often called “starvation mode”(indicated by Jay) in which it feels the need to preserve energy (fat stores) rather than release them. Also, dieting does not actively solicit fat release, instead affecting it in a coincidental almost swapping manner.

Thus diet w/o exercise is often ostracized for lacking true goal-orientation, and therefore being counter-productive…like taking steroids to lose weight.

NOTE: THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS PRIMARILY FOR OVERWIEGHT INDIVIDUALS AND VARIES GREATLY WHEN CONSIDERING THE OBESE AND MORBIDLY OBESE.

**bigt10** · 12-29-2007, 12:55 PM

Thanks Magic and Jay. Really good info, i respect its a "steroid " board but i find some of the users here are very smart and understand the science.

Well after reading those its obvious to me why cardio is key and how they all play an important role. How do you guys do it 60-65 % of max heart rate?

**magic32** · 12-29-2007, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by bigt10

Thanks Magic and Jay. Really good info, i respect its a "steroid " board but i find some of the users here are very smart and understand the science.

Well after reading those its obvious to me why cardio is key and how they all play an important role. How do you guys do it 60-65 % of max heart rate?

Don't buy into the low intensity myth. Yeah, it works, but not optimally. The BEST fat burning cardio regimen is high/interval intensity. See my post(s) here for details and an example of what I mean:

Fat burning (originally by Magic)

**Mazzive_T** · 12-29-2007, 02:37 PM

i did sport and physical education for a level and from what i can remember the bodys preferred source is glyuse from glycogen stored in the liver and pancreas.

after that it uses your fat

then your protein

as sources.

The thing which gets me and always has is that doing cardio first thing in the morning is the ultimate fat burning exercise, but seen as youll have no food inside you (and little or no glycogen from carbohydrate and food storage) yes it will eat into your fat stores, but wont it decrease muscle too?

**ducatibob** · 12-29-2007, 03:23 PM

The 60-65% max heart rate comes from a general population study of metabolic rates. The only acurate way to determine at what heart rate your body chooses to burn fat (minus food/ glucose stores) is with a BMR test (not the right term) usually done at a reasearch / university facility where you are put on a treadmill and your O2 and Co2 and heartrate are measured.

Even though our society has evolved dramatically in the last 300 years our genetics are thousands (if not tens of thousands) of years old. Your body still sees you as a forager and partial hunter. Heart rate is a good indicator of where your body will choose to take it's energy from because it is directly related to your bodys work load. Catabolic conditions in nature were designed to preserve you for the very long haul (starvation from a drought or famine) or during very short extreme exertions (running away from a lion). This is where your body chooses to use mucle tissue first because it is either assumed to be expendable (drought/famine) or more readily available (running from the lion) The use of fat in the 60-65% max heart rate matches more of a long march from one forage location to another.

**texasmk4** · 12-29-2007, 06:18 PM

Originally Posted by magic32

Don't buy into the low intensity myth. Yeah, it works, but not optimally. The BEST fat burning cardio regimen is high/interval intensity. See my post(s) here for details and an example of what I mean:

Fat burning (originally by Magic)

The best method of burning fat is to do interval cardio.. i find this very effective and stable.. I usually start with a 6 mins of warm up then up the speed to 10 on a trade mill run as much as i can then slowly take it down to 6.5 and run for about 3 to 4 mins then bump the speed to 10 i repeat that for 3 or 4 times depending on how my body feels and then do a 6 mins cool down..

**magic32** · 12-29-2007, 07:38 PM

Originally Posted by Mazzive_T

i did sport and physical education for a level and from what i can remember the bodys preferred source is glyuse from glycogen stored in the liver and pancreas.

after that it uses your fat

then your protein

as sources.

The thing which gets me and always has is that doing cardio first thing in the morning is the ultimate fat burning exercise, but seen as youll have no food inside you (and little or no glycogen from carbohydrate and food storage) yes it will eat into your fat stores, but wont it decrease muscle too?

Good stuff, you're right, but carbs and bloodstream fats make up that energy souce. Also empty stomach training is great...read the link above as cited by Texas, he asked this earlier.

**187Chor** · 12-31-2007, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by Jay-Ace

Moving your muscles requires "energy" in the form of a compound called ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate)

ATP is made by the body by converting "food" or "fat".... If you don't have enough "food" in your body then your body starts to use "fat" instead.

Your body has a BMR... Basal Metabolic Rate... This is teh amount of calories your body will use just to "live" from day to day.....

.........Your body will think that you are not able to "find" food (afterall we're just animals!!) so it will start to go into a starvation response and your BMR will start to drop...

After a short period of time your calorie defecit will be less and less as you start to lose muscle due to your body burning up muscle tissue for the proteins energy... Less muscle means lower BMR .... Nasty cycle!!

You get me?!?!?

i got a question...
in the past couple years i have not been working out all year long, and when i do work out my diet is different from when i am not working out...
i would assume that when i am eating less because im not working out as much my body has gone into "starve" mode.. and that is why even though i am not eating as much, i still seem to retain my fat, but my muscles seem to get smaller.....
is my assumption correct?
if so, isn't there a way to make my body just use up the fat for energy, and not the protein from muscles?

**juicenchris2989** · 12-31-2007, 11:41 AM

wish it was just that easy ^^^^

**bigt10** · 12-31-2007, 11:52 AM

Well 187chor im no expert but that is a primary reason to use AAS. Help keep a positive nitrogen balance in your muscle. AAS or alot of testosterone is going to try to prevent catabolism. SOme even believe Clen has an anti-catabolic effect on muscle.

So if you wanted to cut up maybee a AAS cycle would be good for you with the proper diet and nutrition. Wait to see what others have to say to maybee you should start a thread.

Again alot will also depend on your age, weight, stats, experience, lean mass, etc.

**187Chor** · 01-01-2008, 05:39 PM

bigt10
i have actually just started a cycle, im 3 days in..
i guess maybe i should start a thread or journal

**FillyMan85** · 01-02-2008, 10:50 AM

Jay's right. That's a good, simple, overview of the process. I don't know what kind of answer you're looking for, but one could go in depth and relay all the mechanisms and biological pathways involved in metabolizing fat, but that would require quite a bit of typing and not many people would understand it anyhow.