How Steady State Cardio Can Help Keep You Fat

Although there are many benefits to aerobic training, including fat burning, improved recovery capabilities, and improved health of one’s cardiovascular system, it is not the only way one can burn fat. Despite popular opinion, the belief that only aerobic activity will burn fat is a myth.

This belief would seem to come from the fact that endurance activities primarily use the burning of fatty acids for energy, while anaerobic activities rely mainly on muscle glycogen. The so-called “fat-burning zone” is where the body uses primarily fatty acids for energy. Thus, conventional wisdom would have us believe that, because aerobic exercise uses fat as its main fuel, it is the most effective way to burn fat and keep it off.

However, there are a number of problems with relying solely on aerobic exercises. The approach used for aerobic training can reduce its effectiveness as the sole means to burn fat. Exercising at a steady state for a period of time (30-45 minutes, for example) is the most common recommendation for aerobic training. This type of training, though, violates at least two “Granddaddy” laws — the SAID principle and the overload principle.

The SAID principle also states that the body will adapt to the specific demands placed on it. With aerobic exercise, the body’s oxidative energy pathway will be developed and adapt to the stress placed on the energy system. The overload principle states that, in order to make gains from exercise, the resistance must be increased in order for more adaptation to occur.

These two principles work together to ensure that the body will adapt to aerobic exercise and its fat-burning capabilities will be reduced. The oxidative energy pathway will be used more efficiently as it is trained, according to the SAID principle, resulting in fewer calories burned as the body adapts. Also, aerobic exercise can lead to a violation of the overload principle by not increasing the resistance or number of reps (time spent exercising).

If aerobic training is increased in regards to the time spent exercising (via running, cycling, rowing, stair-climbing, etc.), there is a risk of overtraining. It is also difficult to imagine the average athlete wishing to burn fat being willing to keep increasing time spent exercising. As the body adapts to 30 minutes, more time will have to be added to overcome the specific adaptation and increased strength in order to keep making gains. In practical terms, not every athlete has the time or will to spend several hours a day engaged in steady state aerobics.

A final violation of the SAID principle with one relying only on exercises utilizing the fat-burning abilities of aerobic exercise is that, as the body becomes more efficient at burning fat for fuel, it will also become more efficient at storing fat for later use during aerobic exercise. If fatty acids become the primary source of fuel for exercise, the body adapts to that specific demand by becoming better at storing fat – not quite the goal people have when attempting to lose fat through steady state activities.

Therefore, relying solely on aerobic exercise to burn fat is not the most appropriate method to do so. Exercises using the anaerobic energy pathways of the body, such as interval or weight training, would be more effective for athletes.

For instance, interval training utilizing sprints or weight-lifting circuits would target more of the muscle. Whereas steady state aerobics uses many Type-I muscle fibers, anaerobic workouts can target the larger fast-twitch muscles as well. Another reason to consider intervals or weight training is that the athlete’s metabolism can stay elevated for hours after the workout is completed, a phenomenon referred to as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC).