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This Question is from Jonathan in New Jersey… 

Hello all…

This is probably one of the most common questions I am asked.

  To begin it is important to understand what your Basal Metabolic Rate is (BMR).  Simply put, your BMR is the rate at which your body metabolizes, or breaks down, protein- , fat- and carbohydrates into energy blocks that your body can use.  This is called Kreb’s Cycle.
Your body is always metabolizing all three energy sources simultaneously to produce energy (ATP). It is the ratio between these three that changes, as the metabolic rate and your exercise intensity changes.

Typically your body will not want to use protein as its primary energy source, so that leaves fat and carbohydrates.   For resting function and low intensity exercise (walking, sitting, sleeping), your body uses fat as the primary source of energy; for high intensity exercise (running, swimming) your body uses carbohydrates as its primary source.This leaves the question…

Which is better?
Well, the short answer is that one needs to incorporate both modalities of training into ones program.  Low intensity exercise, at heart rate 60%, needs to be done for longer than 40 minutes to be effective, whereas high intensity exercise, at heart rate 80 % can be performed for 20 min periods. ( To calculate target heart rate… 220 – age, multiplied by 60% or 80 %)
Interestingly though, as you get fitter, your intensity for low level exercise will also increase!  This means it will take more work to reach your 60% heart rate.Here is something else to consider…
Resistance training actually raises your BMR! This is because as you grow muscle your body needs to burn more calories to support the new muscle, and studies show that your BMR stays elevated for longer after resistance training. What this means for you…It is vital that you do resistance training because it burns more fat! After that do 20 minutes of high intensity cardio training. Not before. You will burn far more calories. Also I recommend doing 3 separate Fat Burning brisk walking sessions per week.

Kind regards 

Jason Hough

Personal TrainerRenaissance Body Science Institute

Cape town

Cell:   ( 27) 763 970 284

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