Does low intensity exercise burn more fat than high intensity exercise? (muscles, fat loss)
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Lower intensity exercise actually uses more of the fat stores, and as your activity level increases in intensity, your muscles pull more glucose from the bloodstream and less fat from your fat cells.
Yes it does. That's why you want to do 'low' intensity exercise for longer periods of time to burn fat.
Why else do you think bodybuilders and fitness people do longer and slower cardio to help strip off the fat before competing in shows? If it didn't work, then they wouldn't do it.
very low intensity, keeping the heart rate around 140ish, burns fat.. moderate intensity, burns more muscle if you don't keep your glycogen stores replenished... interval training goes back to being fat burning, muscle preserving.
Lots of steady state cardio without weight training or in a deficit of dietary protein or sufficient glycogen won't do you any favors, though. I would mix it up.. everything in moderation. There's no magic pill to fat loss other than the kitchen.
The jury is out on whether low intensity workouts actually burn more fat.
If you are trying to lose weight you may want to focus on overall calorie burn. HIIT will torch calories and keep your metabolic rate up for a period of time after exercise.
If you are trying to maintain a certain weight and build muscle then low intensity may be a better choice.
I get bored to tears trying to maintain a low intensity. I love pushing myself and getting my heart rate up when doing cardio. I enjoy mixing up my workouts, weights, HIIT, spin.
The way I look at it is find an exercise you enjoy doing and not worry about it.
I've read that low intensity cardio burns fat. Yet in the same articles, Ive also read that in the long run higher intensity wins because it burns the most calories overall and ultimately that is what helps with fat loss and cardio health. That makes sense to me. My cardio exercise can be termed "vigorous". I sweat profusely and my heart is sufficiently pumping (not to the point of near death but quick enough where I can't watch videos and chat while working out). I don't have time to spend an hour or more on cardio, so I'd rather work a little harder and get more results in less time.
Low intensity cardio doesn't move my heart rate much, so basically I feel like it's doing absolutely nothing. If I am physically able to do so, then I should challenge my body. No different than lifting a ten pound dumbbell when you can lift heavier. On average I burn 500 calories during my workouts. It would take a far longer time to achieve that doing low intensity.
I weight train, so thankfully I am not losing muscle at all.
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