Burn More Fat With Aerobic Exercises

Aerobic excercises and strength excercises are the yin and yang of the exercise world. They are two fundamentally different concepts that meet in a "harmony of opposites."

To be clear, aerobics implies low intensity, long duration exercise that is intended to expend calories and burn fat. "Cardio" is something different; it refers to strengthening the heart muscle. Many people use "cardio" and "aerobics" interchangeably, but as is evident, that's incorrect.

Aerobic training low intensity. Strength training is high intensity. Combining the two into one effective, efficient training regimen can be greatly simplified by using rational training principles.

the biggest mistake

The biggest mistake guys make when trying to combine aerobic excercises with strength excercises is that they employ a progressive overload methodology to their aerobic training. For example, they start out by walking a few days per week, then they increase the intensity to jogging, then they mix intervals of jogging with running. Then they run hills, and so on.

That method increases intensity to the point where the body needs extended recovery time, which means more days off without training. In turn, fewer calories are burned and less fat is lost. The key to effective aerobic training that burns a maximal amount of fat is long-term consistency.

pop quiz

Which burns more calories?

A) Running 1 mile
B) Jogging 1 mile
C) Walking 1 mile

It's a trick question. They all burn exactly the same number of calories. And in that little fact lays some truly great news... If you go for a walk seven days a week, you will burn more calories than going for a run six days a week. (Technically, a runner will get an extra benefit because his metabolism will continue to operate more quickly after running... but there is another piece of information that trumps that.)

build muscle & burn fat 24/7

Muscle is called "active tissue" because it requires a lot of energy to maintain itself. In fact, every pound of new muscle you add to your body will burn about 60 calories per day. That can really add up. Look at the chart below:

The Fat Burning Effect of Muscle

Pounds of New Muscle Pounds of fat burned
per month Pounds of fat burned
per year
1 0.5 6
3 1.5 19
5 2.6 31
10 5.1 62
12 6.2 74
15 7.7 93
20 10.3 123

By adding just 10 pounds of muscle to your body, it will burn off 62 pounds of fat over the next year! And it will keep burning those extra calories year after year. That means that when you've lost the fat, you can eat a lot more and not gain back the fat. Also, with less fat and more muscle, your body will have the lean, toned, fit look that every man aspires to.

So by combining aerobics with strength training, you can transform your body in the shortest possible time, and keep it lean and muscular year round without starving yourself on a low-calorie diet.

opposite principles

The important characteristics of a sustainable aerobic training program are:

1- Low intensity muscular output
2- No progression of intensity from workout to workout
3- Fixed frequency

The important characteristics of a sustainable strength training program are:

1- High intensity muscular output
2- Progressive intensity from workout to workout
3- Variable frequency (to allow for full recovery as intensity increases)

So combining a high intensity strength training system such as Static Contraction Training (SCT) with a regular aerobic program might look like this for the first two months:

SCT/Aerobic Training Schedule

Day of Week Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Monday SCT Walk Walk Walk
Tuesday Walk SCT Walk Walk
Wednesday Walk Walk Walk SCT
Thursday SCT Walk SCT Walk
Friday Walk Walk Walk Walk
Saturday Walk SCT Walk Walk

SCT/Aerobic Training Schedule

Day of Week Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Monday Walk SCT SCT SCT
Tuesday SCT Walk Walk Walk
Wednesday Walk Walk Walk Walk
Thursday Walk Walk Walk Walk
Friday Walk Walk Walk Walk
Saturday Walk Walk Walk Walk

Notice how the days off between the SCT workouts increase? That's because each workout (if properly engineered) involves lifting heavier weights and creates extra demands on your body's recovery system.

You can fill in every other day with low intensity, longer duration aerobic excercises. So every day you are doing something to burn fat and keep it off long-term!

This combined aerobic/strength training program will maximize the transformation of your body in the shortest possible time.

Until next time, train smart!

Peter Sisco is the co-author of Power Factor Training, The Golfer's Two-Minute Workout, Static Contraction Training, and other books. He is also the editor of the five-book "Ironman's Ultimate Bodybuilding" series. The step by step workouts he recommends are also available in his new e-book.