Just what does it mean, anyway? "Fat burning workout!", or "A Workout That Blasts Away Belly Fat !" The lure of the "fat burning workout!" via emails and newsletters comes across my desk often, as you can imagine. And I know you see it a lot, too! Yet I've seen this phrase create a great deal of confusion among those who aspire to fitness and fat loss and the love without the handles. Yes, exercise is important when it comes to helping you "burn fat". It creates an extremely valuable fat burning effect. And I applaud my fitness pro colleagues for encouraging us to move as an important tool to reducing fat stores. But.... Which Brings Me To My Point...of Clarification The truth of the matter is, though exercise is important for reducing body fat, you really "burn off" relatively little "fat" during exercise. It is rather the overall consumption of calories and conditioning of the body ... Read More

Most people are aware that doing some form of exercise is beneficial, not only for losing unwanted body fat, but also for improving overall health. However, many are unaware of certain factors that can significantly increase the fat burning potential while performing exercise and during recovery (rest). Four of the most important factors to consider are: time interval from last meal, type of pre-exercise meal, intensity of aerobic exercise and type of exercise (aerobic versus resistance training). Time Interval from Last Meal to Exercise Performance How long should someone wait before performing exercise in order to maximize the amount of fat burned during exercise and while resting? There are a number of studies that address this very question and have shown that fat burning is greater when exercise is performed after an overnight fast or in the morning before having breakfast. One such study (1) looked at eleven overweight and untrained men over ... Read More

Chances are you have heard or read something about the "fat burning zone" or if you belong to a gym, there is probably at least one chart somewhere in the gym (probably near the cardio machines) telling you about different heart rate zones, including the fat burning zone. The fat burning zone is used to describe a specific physiological occurrence, but it is often used incorrectly. Misleading marketing and other incorrect information about this special training zone and its implications have caused many people to become confused about how to exercise for optimal fat loss. My goal today is to sort out any existing confusion you may have about the fat burning zone and explain what is most important when it comes to creating a workout for maximal fat loss. The natural place to start is by explaining what the fat burning zone actually is. The fat burning zone describes the ... Read More