The fat burning. A term that has been used very inflationary in recent decades, especially in the fitness industry! For FITBOOK Prof. Dr. Stephan Geisler accepted the topic and explains what is really behind fat burning and which form of training burns the most fat.
What is fat burning anyway and are we actually burning anything in the body? So with fire and stuff? The answer is: no! Of course, we don’t actually have a fire in our bodies (although it might feel like it sometimes after eating chili peppers). Ergo, the correct physiological term would be fat metabolism – or the training of the same and the associated oxidative processes. However, I don’t want to bore you with biochemistry here, but rather explain to you how the body does it.
Losing weight is about energy balance
Many people think they have a few extra pounds on their ribs and want to shed them. How it works? Very easily. In principle, you only have to take in less energy from your food than your body actually requires. Or you turn the whole thing around and use up more energy (e.g. through sport) in order to get back to exactly this negative calorie balance. Calories are simply a physical measure of energy. Simply explained: A calorie (or kilocalorie) is the amount of energy required to heat one liter of water from around 15 to 16 degrees Celsius. And we consume this every day through our food.
So let’s start by saying that losing weight is primarily about energy or calories and not just about fat. Although fat is a potent source of energy (1 gram of fat contains 9.3 Kcal), there are other tasty nutrients such as carbohydrates and protein.
Also interesting: The fitter you are, the easier it is for your body to burn fat
What is fat burning all about?
It’s long been known that the body likes to attack its fat at low intensities, especially if the workout is long. This makes perfect sense, because as we know, most of the energy is in fat. Unfortunately, this also led to the prejudice that fat was only “burned” at all with low loads (e.g. slow running or walking) from 30 minutes upwards. This is incorrect. The body draws on fats as a source of energy in the first few minutes of exertion, only this percentage increases with longer training.
So it’s true that, as a percentage, you metabolize more fat during a light/long workout – but wrong that you don’t with other types of exercise.
Also interesting: Hardly any strenuous training reduces body fat best
Training in the fat metabolism area is not the decisive factor in losing weight
And to go back to the initial hypothesis of the negative calorie balance:
If you want to lose weight (i.e. lose fat), you don’t necessarily have to train in the fat metabolism area. The main thing is that the calorie balance is «slightly» negative and you move – preferably through sport. And if you ask me: strength training is best, because a large muscle burns a lot of calories (even at rest)!
Also interesting: These seven sports burn the most calories
About the person: Prof. Dr. Stephan Geisler is Professor of Fitness & Health Management at the IST University in Düsseldorf and lecturer in Olympic weightlifting at the German Sport University in Cologne. There he also did his doctorate in the field of molecular sports medicine. His focus in research and teaching is on strength training. He has been training students and fitness trainers for over 15 years and is the author of various international specialist publications. He gives tips and tricks for athletes and coaches on his YouTube channel Fitnessprofessor and on Facebook.