Which type of exercise burns more calories: intense, short-duration exercise or moderate, long-duration exercise?
Fitness enthusiasts often debate which exercise burns more calories: intense, short-duration exercise or moderate, long-duration exercise. So, what kind of workout regimen should those trying to lose weight adopt?
First, let's clarify the difference between high and low intensity exercise. So, instead of thinking like gym newbies, “I worked up a sweat, so I burned a lot of calories!” This issue needs to be taken seriously, as overdoing it in pursuit of quick results can, at a minimum, backfire and, at worst, be detrimental to your health.
During vigorous exercise, your heart rate should be 70% of your maximum. At this level, 33% of your energy comes from fat and 66% from glucose. On average, you burn about 600 kilocalories per hour (200 of which come from fat).
During low-impact exercise, your heart rate should be around 50-60% of your maximum heart rate. Your fat and glucose utilization rate at this level is 50/50. You burn about 350 kilocalories per hour (175 of which come from fat).
At rest, sitting (resting heart rate), 66% of your energy comes from fat and 33% from glucose. You burn about 90 kilocalories per hour (60 of which come from fat).
Calculating your heart rate is very simple. To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. If you're healthy, your optimal fat-burning range will be 60-80% of that number. For example, if I'm 19, 220 minus 19 equals 201. So, in my case, my fat-burning range will be 120-160 beats per minute, which is exactly 60-80% of 201. For convenience (if you don't have a heart rate monitor), count the number of beats in 10 seconds and multiply by 6.
The numbers suggest that low-intensity exercise burns more fat, but keep in mind that this only happens if the exercise lasts longer than an hour. High-intensity exercise burns less fat in the same amount of time, but again, time is a factor—who among you can sustain such a regimen for an hour or more?
Therefore, the conclusion is clear: during your workout, you need to vary the intensity and resistance of the load, play with the weight, and the number of repetitions—this approach will give you the best results, meaning more weight loss. Today, gyms have developed many programs designed specifically for varying the load. For example, by changing the speed every two minutes on a treadmill, you'll achieve a much greater effect than if you walked at a steady pace for the same amount of time. Or you can do high-intensity aerobics at home for five minutes, followed by two or three minutes of regular stepping aerobics without jumping. The options are endless. Whatever your preferred form of fitness, you can vary the intensity in any of them.