What type of exercise is best for weight loss: endurance or intense?

The question of what type of exercise is best for your health is the subject of much debate. Here is the answer.

There is much debate about which type of exercise is best for your health: aerobic or anaerobic. Aerobic exercise, such as walking, cycling or running, means you move your body, breathe faster and increase your blood flow. This is a level of activity that you can maintain for an extended period of time.

Can you pass the “speaking test?”

If you can comfortably hold a conversation while exercising, without speaking as if you weren't exercising at all, but being able to speak while slightly out of breath, you are at an aerobic level.

Anaerobic exercise, such as sprinting or weightlifting, is a short, intense activity that works you to your maximum, and cannot be sustained for long.

What is best for losing weight?

Both aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise have benefits, and you should incorporate each into your routine. But if your primary concern is losing fat, anaerobic exercise is the best solution.

The science behind aerobics and anaerobics

The difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise comes down to oxygen levels. In aerobic, or “oxygenated,” exercise, your muscles have enough oxygen to produce the energy needed for performance.

Anaerobic, or “oxygen-free,” exercise means that the oxygen demand is greater than the oxygen supply and you cannot provide the energy your body demands. This leads to lactate production and ultimately cessation of exercise.

Why Anaerobic Exercise is Better for Fat Loss

Aerobic exercise, or steady-state cardio, is performed at a steady, low to moderate pace. This type of exercise, which uses slow-twitch muscle fibers, is ideal for cardiovascular conditioning and improving muscular endurance. While it is generally believed that this type of low-intensity cardio is optimal for fat loss, you should think again. Although it uses a higher percentage of fat for energy compared to muscle glycogen, the total amount of energy burned at this level is lower than during anaerobic exercise for a given period of time.

This means that for most people, prolonged periods of aerobic exercise are necessary to achieve significant fat loss. This often results in a plateau. Anaerobic exercise in the form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), where you alternate high-intensity intervals with recovery intervals, has been shown to be beneficial for several reasons.

Win time

First, you can complete an intense workout in a fraction of the time. If time is a constraint for you, a HIIT session is a great option. You'll exhaust your muscles and burn more calories than if you did continuous cardio in the same amount of time.

Burn more calories

Second, you'll burn more calories in that amount of time. Ultimately, the harder your workout, the more calories you burn. With HIIT, your calorie burn will be higher than if you just walked or cycled for the same amount of time.

Increase metabolism

Third, you will build muscle and increase your metabolism. HIIT requires your fast-twitch muscle fibers to engage in exercises like sprinting, plyometrics and weightlifting, which increase muscle size and strength. This means that you will activate the muscles to a greater degree, which in turn will speed up your metabolism, because muscle burns more calories than fat.

The afterburn effect

Fourth, you will feel the afterburn effect. The scientific name for the afterburn effect is excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). EPOC is the amount of oxygen needed to return the body to its resting state. HIIT sessions stimulate a higher EPOC because you consume more oxygen during these sessions, which creates a larger deficit to replace after training. This means that you will continue to burn calories even after your HIIT session is over.

The disadvantages of HIIT

Although HIIT as an anaerobic exercise is beneficial for fat loss, it does have some drawbacks. The main drawback is that it is not suitable for everyone. You must have a basic level of fitness before you can perform HIIT safely and effectively. If you're new to exercise, exercise may be too strenuous for your body, especially your heart.

If you're able to do HIIT, exercises like plyometrics, sprinting, and weightlifting increase your risk of injury because these explosive movements are fast and require a lot of strength.

Finally, HIIT can be painful during the session, due to the high intensity, or afterwards, due to soreness.

HIIT workout

If you feel fit enough to try intense anaerobic exercise, try these sample HIIT workouts to burn maximum calories.

Sprints

Sprint all out for 30 seconds, then cool down for 1 minute. Repeat the exercise for 15 to 20 minutes. Remember that it is always important to warm up properly before starting a HIIT workout.

Circuit training

Perform each exercise in the circuit for 30 seconds, with a 10-second break after each exercise if necessary. Repeat this circuit continuously for 10 minutes:

burpees

jump squats

crunch

sautéed lunges

pushups

jumping jacks

To remember

While both aerobic and anaerobic exercises have their place in a well-rounded fitness program, anaerobic exercises like HIIT may be more effective for fat loss. If you're integrating HIIT and strength training, remember that total weight loss is not an accurate indicator of your progress. With this type of exercise, your body will recompose itself, which usually means losing fat and gaining muscle. To track your progress, measure fat loss instead, because muscle is denser and takes up less space for a given weight. Consult your doctor before engaging in any high-intensity exercise.