Confused over which cardio equipment program is best for burning the most fat?
Gee, one says fat burn, but another says cardio, then another says hills, or steady pace, or this and that.
Do they ALL burn fat? Or does one cardio program cause more weight loss than another cardio machine program?
To lose weight, burn fat and get the best weight loss results, it doesn’t matter which cardio machine program a man or woman chooses.
I’m a certified personal trainer. What matters is what kind of workout people apply to whatever cardio equipment program they have selected.
The kind of workout a person should apply is called high intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT can be applied to the hill cardio program, the “cardio” program, the “fast” program, or any other program on the cardio machine.
Because no matter what the cardio program, men and women must do the following:
Spend 30 to 60 seconds putting YOUR ALL into whatever it is you’re doing, be it pedaling a bike, elliptical, revolving staircase, rowing machine or treadmill.
Do ten, 30 to 60 ULTIMATE EFFORT spikes, within your overall time with the cardio machine.
Between each burst spike is approximately a few minutes of recovery time. During this time, a person continues to move, but at a casual pace.
So if you’re running as fast as can be on a treadmill, recovery time would consist of either a very, very slow jog, or a slow to medium walk. Be sure to swing your arms at all times, however.
On an elliptical machine, the fat burning spike would consist of your fastest possible pedaling at a higher pedal tension that you would use for a casual pace.
What your fastest pedaling would be, and which tension you’d use, varies from one person to the next, depending on fitness level.
I’ve noted that some people wipe out after 30 seconds at level 7 and 170 RPMs.
Whereas, a much more fit person, who’d like to lose weight, would need 30 seconds of a level 10 and 250 RPMs to wipe out.
Every time I see people on a rowing machine, they are taking a row through the park. Add up to 10 high-tension, as-fast-as-you-can intervals within your overall time on a rowing machine.
This principle can be applied to all cardio machines, which is why no particular cardio “button” is the best for fat burning.
Actually, the best setting is the manual setting on the exercise machine. This means an individual must input setting changes every few minutes, then every 30 seconds, then every few minutes, every 30 seconds, and so on.
You’ll get used to this, and the hard-and-easy switching back and forth will actually make overall time go much faster.
HIIT burns more fat than traditional fixed-pace movement. This has been proven time and time again by science.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Improvisor
