How to burn fat faster
2007-08-01 09:47
New York - Breaking up an exercise
session, by adding a rest period in between, may boost a
workout's fat-burning efficiency, a team of Japanese and Danish researchers reports.
When men exercised for two 30-minute stretches, taking a
20-minute rest break in between, they burned more fat than when
they exercised for a single 60-minute session, and then rested
afterward, Dr Kazushige Goto of the University of Tokyo and
colleagues found.
Current recommendations on exercise for preventing or
treating obesity emphasise longer exercise sessions, Goto and
his team note in the Journal of Applied Physiology. But there
is evidence that following one exercise session with another
workout may increase fat metabolism, they add.
To investigate, the researchers had seven healthy men
complete one long workout and then two shorter workouts on
exercise bicycles, measuring several different indicators of
fat metabolism. All exercised at 60% of their maximum
level of exertion.
When the men performed the two shorter exercise sessions,
their blood levels of free fatty acids and other substances
rose during the rest period, indicating greater fat metabolism.
Levels of these substances also were higher during an hour-long
rest period after the two-part exercise session.
Greater fat metabolism was recorded during each of the rest
periods in the two-part session than during the rest period
following the single, longer workout.
The men also showed lower levels of insulin and blood
glucose during the second phase of the two-part exercise
session.
While the proportion of total calories burned did not
differ between the two workouts, fat represented nearly 77%
of the calories burned in the recovery period after the
two-part exercise session, compared with about 56% of
calories burned in the recovery period after the single long
exercise session.
Although a single bout of prolonged exercise is often
performed in response to a physician's advice to exercise more,
exercising for the same amount of time but with rest periods in
between may be more effective, especially for sedentary or
overweight individuals, the researchers conclude.