Best Cardio For Fat Loss

[Scabtree]

There is a division at the gym right now about two different methods of treadmill cardio. The first, is to keep you heart rate up to about 145 -150 for 45 steady mins or so. The second method involves sprinting for a minute, then brisk walking until you are fully recovered, then sprinting again for another minute. This continues for about 45 mins as well.

There is a name for this second method... I can't remember it right now but it's something like fart licks.. ( I just remember it has the word fart in it.)

So, my question is which is a better form of cardio for burning fat and maintaining muscle.

[spywizard]

depends really on if the person is in a fasted state..

the liver stores 300-400 cals... in a fasted state it is much less, once it's depleted guess what is getting burned for energy??? muscle, and organs if the condition continues..

best way to burn fat?? food..

[baseline_9]

There is a division at the gym right now about two different methods of treadmill cardio. The first, is to keep you heart rate up to about 145 -150 for 45 steady mins or so. The second method involves sprinting for a minute, then brisk walking until you are fully recovered, then sprinting again for another minute. This continues for about 45 mins as well.

There is a name for this second method... I can't remember it right now but it's something like fart licks.. ( I just remember it has the word fart in it.)

So, my question is which is a better form of cardio for burning fat and maintaining muscle.

It depends on the person... Stats (Bodyfat%) will play a big role...



IM going to make some big blanket statements here so just a quick warning...


The higher your bodyfat the less muscle you will burn during cardio...

If your bodyfat is anything over 14ish% then it does not matter what cardio you do.... The most important thing is total calorific deficit and burning energy.... In this case the interval training would be better as more total cals will be burned

Once you get below a cartian bodyfat percentage you may need to resort to more low intensity cardio for longer periods of time to protect LBM and proceed with fat loss...

Another thing to take into consideration is personal preference..... I dont mind doing 2 low intensity cardio sessions a day some times... It dials me in and gives me a good mindset...

The return on low intensity cardio at +14% BF will be much less than that of the interval training simply due to the number of calories burned (assuming equal periods of time on each)...

If however you are less than 14% BF you may find that you hit a wall with interval training and then there may be a benefit in doubling the duration (splitting sessions up) and lowering the intensity...

[swol_je]

This debate has been around for a very long time. Its nothing new. Steady-state VS. High Intensity. There are always people on each side of the fence. As well as studies to justify each one. Both work, but better than any form of cardio is DIET. Someone can do both everyday and eat like shit and still look like shit. Diet is where its at, cardio is secondary.

[Turkish Juicer]

It depends on the person... Stats (Bodyfat%) will play a big role...



IM going to make some big blanket statements here so just a quick warning...


The higher your bodyfat the less muscle you will burn during cardio...

If your bodyfat is anything over 14ish% then it does not matter what cardio you do.... The most important thing is total calorific deficit and burning energy.... In this case the interval training would be better as more total cals will be burned

Once you get below a cartian bodyfat percentage you may need to resort to more low intensity cardio for longer periods of time to protect LBM and proceed with fat loss...

Another thing to take into consideration is personal preference..... I dont mind doing 2 low intensity cardio sessions a day some times... It dials me in and gives me a good mindset...

The return on low intensity cardio at +14% BF will be much less than that of the interval training simply due to the number of calories burned (assuming equal periods of time on each)...

If however you are less than 14% BF you may find that you hit a wall with interval training and then there may be a benefit in doubling the duration (splitting sessions up) and lowering the intensity...

Makes sense to me!

[ironbeck]

Some days I cross train with my sets, and before i even get to cardio I'm dripping sweat. It really depends on the person, first your muscles need to be strong enough to allow you to change your hbp at will? then I usually mix it up between jump rope, stair master, eliptical, and treadmill....loike 10min on each, that usually completes the t-shirt soaking process :-)