Best and Fastest Ways to Burn Fat

The term ‘fat burning’ refers to the ability to oxidise (or burn) fat, and thus to use fat – instead of carbohydrate – as a fuel. Fat burning is often associated with weight loss, decreases in body fat and increases in lean body mass, all of which can be advantageous for an athlete.

It is known that well-trained endurance athletes have an increased capacity to oxidise fatty acids. This enables them to use fat as a fuel when their carbohydrate stores become limited.

Factors affecting fat oxidation
Exercise intensity – One of the most important factors that determines the rate of fat oxidation during exercise is the intensity. Although several studies have described the relationship between exercise intensity and fat oxidation, only recently was this relationship studied over a wide range of intensities.

In absolute terms, carbohydrate oxidation increases proportionally with exercise intensity, whereas the rate of fat oxidation initially increases, but decreases again at higher exercise intensities. So, although it is often claimed that you have to exercise at low intensities to oxidise fat, this is not necessarily true.

In a series of recent studies, we have defined the exercise intensity at which maximal fat oxidation is observed, called ‘Fatmax’. In a group of trained individuals it was found that exercise at moderate intensity (62-63% of VO2max or 70-75% of HRmax) was the optimal intensity for fat oxidation, whereas it was around 50% of VO2max for less trained individuals.

Other factors affecting Fat Burning include dietary effects, duration of exercise, mode of exercise, gender differences, nutritional supplements, and environment.