Breaks during exercise help burn fat
Story By: Greg Boyce
Source: KOAA
If you work out and then work out some more to try and lose weight but don't seem to be having much luck, maybe you just need to take a break. As odd as it sounds, that seems to be the better thing to do if you want to burn off extra fat.
For years we've been telling everyone to get plenty of exercise if you want to stay healthy. That's still true, but how you get that exercise might be changing just a little bit. And the change we're talking about is taking a breather right in the middle of whatever you're doing.
Sounds a little odd, but research out of Japan is backing up this type of program. Researchers conducted what they are calling the first ever study comparing, head to head, a continuous exercise program with one that ended up having the same amount of exercise but with a break in between. Their goal was to find out which one ended up burning more fat.
Well, if you're like me, you probably thought the continuous one would do the job since you seem to keep you body in motion for a longer stretch. But that's not what they found. When participants exercised for two thirty minute bouts with a twenty minute rest period in between they ended up with more fat breakdown products in their blood than those who exercised for sixty straight minutes.
Although we're still not exactly sure why this happens, part of it has to do with your body burning fat during a recovery period as well as during an exercise routine. But of course the important point is whether you go for the long stretch or break it down into smaller pieces, you need to exercise to stay healthy.
