Jogging Does Not Burn Fat Unless You do High Intensity Interval Training

You might think that expending the most calories during a cardio session is a no-brainer for weight loss.  But, how many people do you know who spend hours on the treadmill or elliptical and aren’t losing weight? What about those who spend hours a week doing Zumba or Spin for group exercise class? I’ve had many women tell me those group classes don’t work for them, so they try Small Group Personal Training and start to lose weight. The reason it works is because my boot camp class are not entirely cardio-based. While there is some truth to “calories in calories out” for weight loss, the real secret is burning calories from FAT during your workouts.  Properly executed High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) does just that! Jogging does not burn fat.

But… the longer the workout the better, right?  Not exactly. Now, before you think I’m another cardio hater, let me tell you that I’ve been an endurance runner for 5Ks, 10Ks, and even my first half marathon this year. It is not a bad activity but jogging does not burn fat as effectively as other methods.  Jogging is a healthy moderately paced exercise that can elevate your heart rate for an extended period of time. If done correctly, it is A-OK.  However, jogging does not burn fat but instead it burns most of your calories from carbohydrates (NOT fats) and can put added stress on your joints, so you might be increasing the release of cortisol (stress hormones) which prevents fat loss.

The truth is, you can burn more calories from fat by moving faster and getting your heart rate higher during short spurts, such as sprints. I recommend pushing yourself for 30-60 seconds at higher speed until you feel lactic acid build-up or muscle soreness during your activity.  You can switch to a slower pace (jog or walk) between each interval for 1-3 minutes but be sure to KEEP MOVING.  If you focus most of your energy on doing high intervals and push yourself to really go hard, you will burn fat fast. Because of this, it is possible that 30 minutes of HIIT is more effective than 60 minutes of jogging. Jogging does not burn fat in a steady state.

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