Debunking the Myth of the "Fat-Burning-Zone" On Ellipticals, Treadmills, Stationary Bikes, Etc

Are you a treadmill user? Elliptical user? Stationary bike user? All of these types of machines typically have a "fat-burning-zone" setting, and many people click the setting...expect to see results...and end up progressively frustrated at the lack of results they ultimately experience. I can't count how many times I've heard about it. Why aren't these people actually burning the fat they want the most to burn, and getting in shape as desired? After all, it's a "fat-burning-zone" setting...so isn't that setting going to be the way to burn off the fat effectively and efficiently? In short...no. Not at all. It's essentially just a marketing tactic, and unfortunately it works and it sells. Here's a quick breakdown of the myth of the fat-burning-zone setting.

The phrase "fat burning zone" (sometimes called a "cardio zone," etc...something along those lines) is really just describing the intensity of a workout. The intensity of your workout determines the fuel source your body will use for energy needed to exercise. (See this post about exercise metabolism & energy to understand the three systems your body uses for energy - and for what types of exercise the different systems are or are not used.) Regardless of what we're doing, our bodies use fat and carbohydrate calories to power activity. The intensity of our workouts determines the RATIO of fat calories vs carbohydrate calories used (burned) to power activity. In the most basic sense...your body burns more fat calories RELATIVE to carb calories at lower intensities of exercise, and progressively burns more carbohydrate calories RELATIVE to fat calories as the intensity of your workout increases. As such, the "fat-burning-zone" setting on a treadmill, elliptical, etc is truly just a setting to promote a low intensity workout. (So...wouldn't that be right? Again, NO. ;) Let's continue...)

Although it is true that the body burns more FAT calories at lower intensities, you're talking about burning more fat calories RELATIVE to carbohydrate calories...overall, you'll still be burning far less calories altogether when compared with higher intensity exercise! And burning less calories overall will obviously NOT get you where you want to be. Yes, a higher intensity workout means your body will shift towards burning more carbohydrate calories relative to fat calories, but this is a ratio -- you will still be burning drastically MORE CALORIES OVERALL during a high intensity workout.

So what should you care more about? The whole "fat-burning-zone" term leads us to believe that's what's most important to weight loss/body composition change, so, is it?...or is burning more calories overall more important? Well, put simply, if the ratio was the most important thing (meaning burning more fat calories RELATIVE to carb calories)...then sitting still would be pretty darn effective since the body chooses fat calories for energy during low intensity activity. And we know that won't get the job done. ;) Case and point: the fat-burning-zone setting is a myth because it is referring ONLY to a relative ratio, and of course burning more calories overall is what is really going to start changing your body composition. You do still want to burn fat calories though, so how do you go about balancing out all this to make the MOST of the time invested in working out...getting the best results...sooner? High intensity INTERVAL training. (HIIT). And get yo' lift on - that too, obviously (hopefully obviously, anyway.) As the saying goes, what do you do for exercise? Lift. What do you do for "cardio?" Uhh, lift faster. ;) TBC on that front. In the meantime, hope that this clears up this treadmill setting myth, and you can be one less person to fall victim to it at the gym.


1.  Clark, Micheal, Scott Lucett, and Brian G. Sutton. NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. 4th ed.
     Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012.

Mapping Out The Mindset FIRST: EFFECTIVE Goal Setting & Anticipation of the Journey to Come

SMART: SPECIFIC. MEASURABLE. ATTAINABLE. REALISTIC. TIMELY.

Want to get fit, but don’t know where to start? It’s not just about following a physical exercise program and scribbling down a new diet, which may or may not yet make sense to you anyway. Before you even begin to dive into any of that, whether it be the working out component or the nutrition or both simultaneously – you need to mentally map out your route to success in a few less obvious, less publicized, but extremely important ways. Half (if not most of) the battle for the fit body you want, but (presumably, if you're reading this) have not had or had in some time...will be fought in your mind. So, it’s extremely important to form a mindset and mental plan that will help you reach and sustain success! DO NOT UNDERVALUE YOU THIS! It's not as cheesey as it appears, and I know people from your average Jane/Joe to elite athletes, Olympic athletes, powerlifting competitors - you name it, all of whom will tell you that at SOME point they did this. Most revisit it frequently. Men and women alike. SO, step 1? Get yo' mind right. :) Here's how:

#1: Effective Goal-Setting, S.M.A.R.T. & An Awareness of What's To Come
One of the most important factors that will determine your success is taking the initiative to set appropriate and attainable goals. The surest way to set yourself up for frustration or even quitting is to have unrealistic goals, an unrealistic plan, or both. Be aware from the start that anything worthwhile and sustainable will not be easy (it's usually  not completely linear, either, and will involve some amount of trial and error. Be open to that and remain flexible and aware.) Any workout or nutrition program that claims otherwise is giving you a run for your money – it’s fact. It’s also the reason those companies and so-called ‘programs’ stay in business…if they worked the way they claim to work (fast, easy, little-to-no lifestyle modification involved) they would go out of business. You should be aware that working out will feel GOOD, and rewarding – even more so as you go – BUT working out will also be HARD. Know in advance that on some days you will have more or less energy and drive than on others; overcoming that and working out anyway will only build your confidence and drive further – you’ll know of what you’re capable. It is always more than you'd have previously thought. You also need to balance that out with allowing yourself to be human, and forgiving yourself if from time to time you've slipped up here and there. Don't just quit. (If you scratch your phone, would you then say, "Oh, hell, now it's imperfect anyway so I think I'll go smash it to pieces with a hammer?") ;) Set yourself up for success by recognizing that very few people, if any, ever accomplish results in one, consistent line of progression: you will experience weight loss, potentially a bit of what may feel like a plateau or slowed progress (though that should not actually remain stagnant – another topic in and of itself), and you will likely experience some weight gain in the form of muscle – which particularly for girls, you MUST learn to be HAPPY about. You will LOOK better (aside from the fact that you will function better) with muscle. Men don’t typically fear this, but MANY women do. Women, get PAST any scale obsessions you may have BEFORE you begin a workout routine! Being fit (within reason) is NOT about a number. Many of the people you likely notice as being in supremely great shape, weigh more than those whose physique you would view as being less attractive or fit. Being healthy, toned, “smaller” all-around, and streamlined means building lean muscle while losing the bad fat. And because muscle burns fat, building muscle works double time for you, in that you’re burning fat while working out, and burning more fat/calories while at rest as you build more muscle to do it. 

A quick important aside: as far as anything related to forming this new fitness regimen, unless you are very well versed in exercise science and physiology, etc,  it will be VERY worth your while to at the very least – even if you decide to go it alone - simply CONSULT a credentialed professional first to help you establish healthy goals (and a plan for reaching them) in their most explicit forms. Then decide how you wish to proceed and/or what you can financially accommodate as far as personal training, etc. Personal trainers bring more to the table than simply being “slave-drivers.” And not all trainers are equal, just as not all certifications are equal. A good trainer will work with your body AND mind, train you holistically to prevent injuries and allow you to continue to workout, and help hold you accountable as you transition into a new phase of life. Change is hard! Knowledge is power. Your goals need to be short term AND long term, and you need to have physical and mental goals for which you learn to hold yourself accountable. START with long term goals. What do you want to have accomplished in 6 months…1 year…5 years? And so on. From there, you’ll create short-term goals to compliment the longer term ones already identified. This can get overwhelming, which is another reason professional assistance will be extremely helpful. Generally speaking, your goals need to be SMART. But this time, we’re talking S.M.A.R.T: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Then you’ll develop an action plan, which will be incredibly explicit and will detail target dates to complete various components of your goals, resources you may need to do so (this could potentially include money, time, equipment, people, etc), daily necessities to stay on track for goal completion…and so on. 

As far as the actual exercises you’ll perform at a gym or elsewhere, form, progressive difficulty, etc…those are all things that will be completely specific to you and will need to be designed within this framework, accordingly. And remember, you don’t just set goals and then never revisit them again. No way. You will reflect constantly and consistently as you go, and you will MAKE ANY NECESSARY CHANGES as you go. Your goals will remain the same, but the steps to reaching them may require adjustment as you go and that’s fine - remain flexible. It’s also normal, and common. What you don’t want to do is to continue any part of your action plan if it is no longer projecting you forward. If and when that happens, you’ll need to readjust and get back on a productive path.





#2: Know YOUR PERSONAL Motivation - Do it For YOUR Reasons & Know You CAN DO IT.

Just being interested in the idea of starting an exercise regimen is NOT enough to keep you going long enough to truly reach your goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle and body – especially on those mornings or evenings when you’re tired, “too busy,” or just otherwise want to revert to old habits. And EVERYONE has those mornings – fitness gurus included. The difference between those who stick it out and overcome those periodic mentality setbacks, etc, and those who don’t – is being CONSCIOUS of your reasons for working out. This means EXPLICITLY and SPECIFICALLY detailing the reasons YOU are making these CHANGES and determined to WORK HARD. Choosing significant reasons that will have a significant impact on your life, and reiterating those reasons to yourself as you go, will make the difference between giving in to the temptation of old ways, versus beating that temptation and continuing on your new route to reach your new you. Everyone has different motivation, and there isn’t usually a such thing as a “bad” or “wrong” motivation to get fit (unless you’re working out for someone else; it should ALWAYS be for YOU. Not a boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, parent…YOU.) Whether you want to begin training to be able to participate in a race, look good in a bathing suit to help build your own confidence and project it to others, be better equipped for sports you love, improve your general overall heart health (etc), simply be able to be more active with your kids without tiring out too quickly, or even try your luck in fitness modeling…the potential reasons YOU may want to workout are endless and will be specific to YOUR PERSONAL goals in your life. It can be easy to be influenced by other people’s reasons for getting fit, even when you don’t intend to do so. It’s great to have in common with someone that you want to be fit, but your reasons for doing so need to be your own. Not your friend’s goals, not your spouse’s goals. YOURS. You need to be clear on what those goals are BEFORE you begin, because those are the things that are going to KEEP you going, when it isn’t easy and you need to remember “why” you should keep sticking to it. No one can determine those goals but you, and once you do, you’ll be hard if not impossible to stop. ;)

#3: Imagery, Imagery, Imagery.
Appreciate positive imagery in a tangible form...

which means yes, you need to write down this stuff. Whether or not you feel cheesey, it will make a difference so don’t cut corners here. You don’t have to frame it and hang it on your wall; you can keep it to yourself somewhere, but the process of writing it down will benefit you – anyone. Even the most intense male powerlifters (and bodybuilders, but there is a major difference between the two domains and my focus in general/throughout this blog is NOT bodybuilding, but powerlifting/ers, which is also the category in which my friends and colleagues fall) who many would think are “too macho” for things like this, do it. And they’ll tell you they’ve done it, too. You need to constantly envision yourself where you want to be, and try to feel how it will feel to get there (AND YOU WILL GET THERE. There is no question about that, assuming you’ve reached out for the right assistance to set the right goals, and have mapped out an appropriate plan for reaching them.) It’s not just about thinking about the end result when you start…and then working working working until you suddenly reach it. It won’t work that way. It’s about imagining AS you go, throughout the ups AND downs of your lifestyle changes, all of the thoughts, feelings, sounds, tastes, sights, abilities, etc that will accompany reaching your goal. That will help make the difference between giving up and continuing to push yourself when the going gets tough, and here and there it will.  It’s supposed to. YOU are just supposed to get stronger too – mentally and physically. ;) You're as strong as you decide to be. It's in YOUR control. You need to constantly remind yourself of the positive feelings that will inherently accompany the goals you’re working towards – that light at the end of the tunnel.  And, remember that when it comes to sustaining fitness, the tunnel doesn’t end…it just might remain a little less intense in a lifelong capacity.

Now for Anticipating the so-called "Negative Imagery"

Brainstorm every possible excuse you can foresee yourself potentially making. Write down all of these excuses. Seriously – anything that comes to mind. Want to sleep in, want to go to bed early, want to do something else with a friend instead, don’t feel like getting sweaty, “too busy,” the weather, too tired……………you name it. Think of anything. AND THEN, think of how you’re going to get past those things. What goal-achieving thoughts are you immediately going put in place of those goal-defeating ones? How will you get yourself out of bed? Maybe just remembering that you “knew” that would happen at one point or another, will be enough to help you realize what’s happening & that you anticipated it, and get your butt up and moving anyway.  Maybe you need to tape a little picture of something that has to do with your goal, to your alarm clock. Maybe you need to tape something to the fridge to remind you not to totally blow it with your nutrition. (No matter how hard you workout, if you don’t prioritize nutrition your hard work WILL NOT show, end of story. There is NO way around that. That’s not to say you can’t enjoy certain things every so often, but it’s about what you do the MAJORITY of the time, and HOW you indulge, if and when you do.) All in all, setting yourself up for success is all about anticipating setbacks and preparing for them. You can’t begin working out, with a goal of truly changing your physique and your health, if you anticipate it being all fun and games. It will be fun! It will be super rewarding. It will also be hard, and at the end of the day you TRULY have to have motivation from within.

#4: Support Systems

This is KEY. Not every single one of your friends or family members needs to have the exact same or even similar goals as you, but the people in your life DO need to be supportive of the goals you set for yourself and the plan you create and implement to achieve them. If you find that you get grief from friends in any form as a result of prioritizing your workouts or your nutrition – GET BETTER FRIENDS. Those people aren’t your friends. Friends support you in working towards what matters to you. That doesn’t mean they have to follow in your footsteps (although they might!) but it DOES mean that they should NEVER hold YOU back. Make sure you have positive support systems. Extending on that, IF your friends and/or family members don’t share similar lifestyles to the one you wish to begin creating, and aren’t fitness oriented…you’ll do yourself a major favor to expand your circle of friends to include new faces who share common goals. There is nothing as difficult as “going it alone” without anyone who can relate – both to the ups, and to the downs! That doesn’t mean you can’t keep friends who don’t workout or don’t care about this stuff, but it does mean that you should ADD friends who do! They will ONLY help keep you on track, just by their presence. You’ll feed off each other in the best ways. ☺ Surround yourself with people who in some way, lift you higher and support what you want for yourself.
Note: Also, to reiterate, this is again where you will consider the informational and instrumental supports you'll need in place to succeed! Exercise science can be complex, confusing, and misleading if you don't have assistance from someone who can break it down and make it "YOU-specific." Exercise also can't occur if you have extraneous obligations that need to be but aren't considered and accommodated to allow you to workout. Eg: maybe you'll need to brainstorm childcare options, etc. Get those things sorted out. They matter! Don't put off those things until you are "starting" and then voice frustration that you don't have time, resources, and so on. Plan a way to work with what you've got. It might not be everything, but whatever you can do is a start and better than nothing.

Cool? Cool. Now, go be your badass self. XO.