How to burn fat with cardio
People get in touch with me for various reasons but one of the most common reasons is to help them lose weight. In most cases, losing weight is more about reducing bodyfat and one of the ways to reduce it is by adding cardio training elements into weekly exercise. The best way to burn fat is scientifically so I’ve done a post about it;
The ultra short version of the post - what you need to know:
High intensity cardio burns fat the quickest
To burn fat at an optimum level your heart rate needs to be at 80% of your maximal heart rate…
…and you need a fitness tracker/watch to see what your heart rate is when you’re training (and ideally a way of tracking calories)
You should do lower intensity cardio with your high intensity workouts.
The longer (more detailed and more useful) post…
For “cardio” training to be effective and burn fat, we need to be a bit more scientific about it, so first up, the basics…
There are two main types of cardio
In a fat burning sense there are broadly two types of cardio:
Steady state cardio - continuous, low-intensity exercise where the heart rate remains at a relatively steady level for a sustained period e.g. moderate walking, running, cycling etc
High intensity cardio - activities where your heart rate operates at a considerably elevated rate for a short period of time e.g. HIIT workouts, boxing etc.
High intensity cardio burns fat the quickest
For people looking to reduce their bodyfat over a relatively short period of time, high intensity cardio training is the best way to achieve this. There are two main reasons why intensity cardio sessions work:
During HIIT sessions the heart rate increases to a high level (70-90% of maximal heart rate) and the body burns calories at a high rate to ‘fuel’ the exercise
After a HIIT session your body continues to burn calories at a high rate to recover and get the body back to a normal state (homeostasis). This is known as EPOC - Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption).
So how do you burn fat with cardio?
Identify (and track) your target Heart Rate
To burn fat the most effectively during cardio workouts, your heart rate needs to be at a specific level - between 70-90% of your Maximal Heart Rate, ideally around 80% (see below). This is the optimal zone for fat burning.
To make sure your cardio workouts are effective, you will also need a real-time way of seeing what your heart rate is so you can adjust your effort accordingly.
The best way to measure heart rate accurately in real time is by using a device that shows your current heart rate whilst you train. Smart/fitness watches such as the Apple Watch, Samsung smart watches and Garmin watches work well as do some FitBit/fitness trackers. I also recommend the wearable heart rate monitor from Polar which you wear on your chest under your clothes (and view data via the app).
To calculate the target heart rate you should be aiming to keep in your cardio sessions, use the below steps:
Minus your age from the number 220. This gives you your Maximal Heart Rate (as Beats Per Minute - BPM)
Divide the number by 100 and multiply by 80.
This will give you an 80% target BPM.
E.g. For a 40 year old, the Maximal Heart Rate is 180 BPM. 80% of the Maximal Heart Rate is 144 BPM so the 40yr should aim to keep their heart rate at an average of 144 BPM for the cardio session.
Perform high intensity cardio exercises
Once you’ve identified your target heart rate and have a live way of tracking it, you can add cardio elements into your workouts.
In my experience, the following exercises work well as fat-burning elements in a workout:
Bodyweight rows with TRX
Squat jumps / jumps
Punchbag workouts
Bike / rower sprints
Battle ropes
Sprinting on the spot / fast foot shuffle
Step-ups
Shadow boxing
Mountain climbers
Any kind of bodyweight tabata…
The most important thing is to keep close to the target heart rate for the duration of the exercise.
Mix up your cardio exercises & focus on heart rate
Performed correctly, HIIT training is a great way to burn calories in a short period of time. However, it is also very hard on the body (and mind) and, truth be told, can be a bit soul destroying if you’re doing it week after week with no variation.
In my experience it’s important to vary the exercises in the workouts and ensure there are bodyweight elements to build muscle. For example, whilst performing interval training on a bike may burn calories quickly, doing 8 rounds on a punchbag will work the major muscle groups (shoulders, legs, core, arms) in a way that no amount of cycling can achieve.
As your fitness improves, you may find it harder to hit the higher heart rate levels so it’s important to add in new exercises or training techniques. For example, if you perform SLOW-FAST intervals, try increasing the FAST duration e.g. 20 secs then 30, 40, 50, 60 etc and working back down to 10 seconds.
Example workouts:
I’m going to share some of the cardio / fat burning workouts I/my clients do so you can give them a go. More to follow…