Aerobic Training for Fat Loss, By: Hugo Rivera

Aerobic training such as walking or running on a stationary bike is a
good way to accelerate the fat burning process as long as it is not
overdone and as long as it is used only in addition to a good weight
training program. It should never be used as a substitute for weight
training since it does not permanently increases your metabolism and
since it does not has the ability to re-shape your body. In order for
aerobic exercise to be effective, it needs to be performed within the
fat burning zone. The fat burning zone is the zone at which you are
doing enough work to burn fat. Your pulse (how fast your heart is
beating per minute) determines this zone.

The fat burning zone formula is the following:

Fat burning zone=220-(Your Age) x (.75)

The result of your formula will give you an approximate value of how
fast your heart should be beating per minute. For example, a
20-year-old would need to reach a pulse in the neighborhood of 150 beats
per minute in order to be in the fat burning zone. It is important to
remember that this is not an absolute figure, this is an approximation.
So as long as you are plus or minus 10 beats from the number that the
formula provides you with, then you can rest assured that you will be
burning fat.

Another important point that needs to be raised is that in order for
aerobic exercise to be an effective fat burner it needs to be performed
at the appropriate times. There are only two times that aerobic
exercise is effective in burning fat. The first time is first thing in
the morning on an empty stomach after drinking 16 to 24oz of water in
order to prevent dehydration. When performed at this time you burn 300%
more body fat that at any other time in the day because your body does
not has any glycogen (stored carbohydrates-sugar) in the system to burn.
Therefore, it has to go directly into the fat stores in order to get the
energy necessary to complete the activity. The other time where aerobic
exercise is effective is immediately after the weight training session.
The reason for this is that when exercise is not performed first thing
in the morning it takes your body approximately anywhere between 20 to
30 minutes to start burning fat. This is because that it how long it
takes the body to deplete its glycogen stores and switch to a fat
burning environment. Therefore, it would not be efficient to perform
aerobic exercise by itself at any other time during the day because you
would need to perform it for 20-30 minutes just to get to the fat
burning stage and for an additional 20 minutes just so that you burn
fat. This would give a grand total of 50 minutes a day and in my
opinion, I don't think that aerobic exercise should be performed for
more than 6 sessions a week of 30 minutes a day for males and 40 minutes
for females since this would put you at a risk of losing muscle mass.
Remember that more is not always better and this is especially true when
it comes to aerobic exercise.

Forms of Aerobic Exercise
Good forms of aerobic exercise are: stationary bike, jogging (this can
also be done on a treadmill), fast walking (also can be done on a
treadmill), stair stepper, fitness rider, rowing machine, sets of
sprinting, or any other form of cardiovascular activity that would raise
your heartbeat to the fat burning zone.

Frequency of Aerobic Exercise
As far as frequency is concerned, I feel comfortable recommending 2 to 3
sessions of 20-30 minutes each for male bodybuilders. If a contest is
approaching, then I would gradually increase the activity to no more
than 6 sessions of 30 minutes. Remember, it is those long hours in the
bike that cause bodybuilders to look like POWs in the stage the day of
the show.

For women, due to their higher concentrations of estrogen in the blood
and due to the fact that they have less muscle mass than a male, more
frequent aerobic activity is beneficial. Therefore, I recommend 4
sessions of 20-40 minutes and if a contest approaches, I would gradually
increase the activity to no more than 6 sessions of 40 minutes each.

Cycling of Aerobic Activity
During the off season, you may choose to cycle you aerobic activity in
the following manner in order to prevent your body from adjusting to a
specific pattern:
1) Change the type of aerobic activity.
2) Cycle the duration of the activity. For example, a male bodybuilder
that performs 3 sessions a week may do 20 minutes of aerobics on weeks
1& 2, 25 minutes on weeks 3 & 4, and finally 30 minutes on weeks 5 & 6.
A female bodybuilder can use the same pattern as well (e.g. 4 sessions
performed for 20 minutes on weeks 1&2, 30 minutes on weeks 3 & 4, and
finally 40 minutes on weeks 5 & 6). This form of cycling will not only
keep the workouts interesting but it will also prevent the body from
permanently adjusting to a given length of the activity. Remember, that
as soon as the body adapts, it will be tougher to reach the fat burning
zone and therefore it will be harder to use aerobic exercise as weapon
against fat.

So there you have it. Now whenever you think about aerobic exercise,
you no longer have to fear two hour sessions in a machine or losing
muscle mass provided you follow the basics of aerobic training.