
The Low-Intensity Fat-Burning Myth
For years, exercisers have been fed a misleading message regarding the best exercise intensity for burning fat. In a nutshell, it goes like this: if you want to burn more fat, you need to work out at a lower, more aerobic intensity, as opposed to higher intensities where you breathe more heavily. Exercisers are reminded of these recommendations every time they step onto a treadmill, elliptical trainer, exercise bike, or stair stepper, as there is usually a chart on the console display indicating the ideal fat-burning zone, typically expressed as a percentage of maximum heart rate or VO2 max, a popular and widely-accepted measure of aerobic fitness. Let’s face it