How To Burn Fat With Cardio

Are you frustrated with the idea of how to burn fat? While there are lots of exercises and programs that I believe in and definitely work, I stand by one tried and true way to burn fat and maintain it.

With almost every client that signs up for my programs I see the same goal. Burn fat and tone up. So often I get asked, “How do I burn fat? How do I get it off fast? How can I make sure that it stays off?”

They want to feel confident, strong, slim, and toned, yet what I find the most is that people focus on just their food for the answers. While 70% of sustained weight loss is due to nutrition, 30% is exercise. And this 30% can make all the difference in your outcome!

I have studied fitness all my life and now have made it my mission to teach and train others to reach their goals.

So let’s get to it!

Maintaining Fat Loss

There are three ways to burn fat and maintain fat loss.

1. Cardio training – focus on low to moderate intensity by building cardio through walking, elliptical, cycling or using the stair master.
2. Strength training – know the correct type of strength training for your body type and how to reach your goals.
3. Proper nutrition – know the right amount of food and the kind of food to eat for your body type.

These three steps go hand in hand when you are looking to burn fat, but for the sake of this post, we will talk about how to burn fat with cardio…this is the most important step.

Step 1: Know How To Exercise

Your body creates energy through two avenues:

• Anaerobic – without oxygen
• Aerobic – with oxygen

When Your Body Creates Energy Through Anaerobic Exercise

When you are exercising through anaerobic training your body is burning carbohydrates in order to provide you with energy. This type of training requires you to work with a high heart rate that will take you to breathless in order to complete the training.

Types of training that are considered anaerobic are:

• Interval training – training through means of endurance, strength, and power.
• High intensity cardio – this could be running at a fast pace, sprinting, cycling through intervals of speed or hills, or even swimming.

When Your Body Creates Energy Through Aerobic Exercise

When you are exercising through aerobic training your body is burning stored fat, as well as some carbohydrates and protein. The good news is that all aerobic training gets to your fat first!

Types of training that are considered aerobic exercise:

• Low intensity cardio – an example is exercising at a steady heart rate when walking.
• Lean resistance training – training by lifting weights requires a steady heart rate in order to produce the energy needed to push or pull.

This is where you find your fat burning answers! Aerobic and low intensity cardio burns FAT! That tortoise in the race had it right…slow and steady wins the race.

Choosing the cardio that is right for your body or your preference is easy. Try them all out and see what interests you. Walking outdoors can be inspiring, but walking on a treadmill with Netflix can be entertaining.

Cycling at a steady pace or using the elliptical are good answers for those with knee or joint problems because its less impact. My favorite…the stair master because I can keep a steady pace, but it also works on toning your lower body.

Side Note About Running

Running burns a lot of calories, but running can also require your heart rate to creep up to the point of breathless. This is when your body switches to the anaerobic pathway and begins to burn carbohydrates rather than fat. If you can jog at a steady pace where you could still talk if needed, then you have found a low intensity exercise.

Step 2: Know Your Heart Rate

Finding your heart rate is simple math. Your heart rate can be broken up into “intensity percentages.” In order to find your aerobic threshold, the place where you are working to burn fat, you want to work at a 60-70% maximum heart rate. This is your aerobic fat burning zone. Here is how to find that:

220 – age x .60 or .70

When you find the numbers, then this is the range where you want your heart rate to stay. Here is an example:

My Heart Rate

• I am 38 years old. 220 – 38 = 182. My maximum heart rate is 182 beats per minute.
• 60 % maximum heart rate for me is 109.
• 70% maximum heart rate for is 127.
• My fat burning zone is in between 109 – 127 bmp.

Other Ways To Find Your Fat Burning Zone

The simplest way is to use some type of heart rate monitoring device. I wear an Apple Watch everyday for this reason and constantly monitor it to make sure I remain in this zone when I’m doing cardio.

If I find I go outside of this range I either speed up the pace or slow down. I prefer to work close to the 70% maximum rate so most of the time I have to make sure I don’t get my heart rate past this point.

Another way you can find your fat burning zone is by using the Talk Test. This is as simple as talking. If you are working at a pace that is fast enough to feel your heart rate increase yet still able to talk if needed, you have found your fat burning zone.

You want to make sure that you are not going breathless because you have then reached your anaerobic threshold (you are starting to burn carbohydrates instead of fat).

Step 3: Be Patient

Fat loss takes time. You can easily jump into a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program and lose weight, because whether in anaerobic or aerobic training you are burning calories. The benefit with aerobic training is that it is sustainable and tones you up without losing muscle because you are burning all your fat away.

How Often Should I Do Cardio?

• Daily. The time is up to you depending on your schedule, but my recommendation is to start with what you are capable of and set a goal. Make your goal the first day to walk to the end of the road and turn around. When you can do this easily, increase your goal. If you are on a machine, establish a time goal. When you’ve reached it, then increase it for a longer period of time.
• Split up the time. Obviously, the more you do, the more fat you burn. So if you can fit in a morning walk of 20 minutes and then an evening walk of 25 minutes this allows you to fit in 45 minutes to your entire day, which keeps your metabolism going and burns more fat.
• My recommendation. Fit in cardio 7 days a week for at least 30 minutes. By sustaining this amount of time with proper nutrition, you will easily begin to see fat loss take place.

Getting Your Results

The work is hard and long, but it is possible to get the results you want and to sustain them. We have talked a lot about cardio and now you know how to find your fat burning zone. It’s simple math so now get out there and do it.

You’ve got what it takes, now get your results!