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A frequent critique concerning exercise and fat loss is that
you don’t really burn a lot of calories during exercise.
Since a pound of bodyfat equals roughly 3,500 calories on
a superficial level it would appear that exercise is less
important than limiting caloric intake. Even an intense bodybuilding
workout that includes aerobic exercise will rarely if ever
come close to oxidizing 3,500 calories.
Nevertheless, it’s also undeniably true that exercise
does appear to help control bodyfat levels, especially when
used in conjunction with a decreased calorie intake. Most
experts say this effect comes from an increased metabolic
rate following exercise, and it’s true that replenishing
depleted energy stores, such as muscle glycogen, is an energy-intensive
activity that slightly raises metabolism. Even so, most people
are concerned with fat loss.
Does regular exercise allow you to burn more fat at rest?
Exercise physiologists frequently point out that more muscle
means more calories burned at rest for the simple reason that
muscle is active tissue. A new study, however, suggests that
an independent mechanism of increased fat burning at rest
occurs after exercise.
The study, reported in the American Journal of Physiology
(33:E1009-E1014; 2004), shows that such fat burning is independent
of energy, carbohydrate and fat balances. It’s also
unrelated to fat cell release or even body composition. The
researchers weren’t sure what mechanism explains this
increased post exercise fat burning.
One suggestion is that exercise may increase certain muscle
proteins that act as fat transporters. The increased activity
of the transporters helps to get fat into the portion of the
cell where fat is oxidized in a manner similar to the way
carnitine works. Unlike what happens with carnitine, these
special fat transporters are only activated by regular exercise.
The above explains why exercise is essential for effective
bodyfat loss. You burn more fat both during and after exercise.
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