"After spending many hours in my car driving for work and hunched over computers I suffered with ongoing neck and back ache. I felt I needed some direction and to be challenged in order to get the most of the short time I had available to exercise so I approached Gen for an initial chat...

Whereas the answer might seem relatively obvious, there is in reality much confusion regarding what exactly should be done in the gym in order to effectively burn body fat as fuel.

This article is here to help clear up any confusion and explain the science behind the process of fat burning.

Fats are what power the body for low intensity exercise – this is why we see ‘fat burning’ heart rate zone charts on machines in the gym.

Yes slow-paced and low intensity cardio does mean that the body is burning its fat for fuel which might sound great and what we want BUT it also means that it is going to hold onto it, storing it so it is available for the next work out.

This also means that your post workout meal will go straight to your depleted fat stores to help replenish them.

So what’s the answer? Nothing but a higher intensity workout!

Here’s the fat burning process explained in order to help you understand why.

Fat is stored as triglycerol in our fat cells - it cannot be burned here, it must be stimulated and broken down in order to be released into the bloodstream as free fatty acids or FFAs. It then travels to the muscle tissues (the mitochondria or fat burning furnaces) where energy is needed and utilised.

More is delivered when blood flow is increased from vigorous activity, meaning the harder and more intensely you work, the more fat you will burn.

Fat cells will shrink as a result of this in the same way that a balloon gets deflated when air is let out which is why we appear physically leaner when we have lost body fat.

So spending hours in the gym on various cardio equipment at a ‘fat burning’ intensity heart rate is far from the answer to losing and keeping off body fat. And quite frankly, who has the time?

So feel better by choosing intensity over duration when it comes to your workouts – and knowing you will be much more efficient by saving time and getting what you want out of them. As well as suddenly having more hours in the day. Good luck and happy training!

If you have found this article useful please feel free to pass it on to anyone else you feel might benefit from it.

‘Til next time, stay focused and keep up the good work!

Gen x