A better way to burn fat faster... or is it?Most point to a lack of time as the main reason why they can't stick to a regular exercise routine. That's why programs such as 8 Minutes in the Morning or The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution have become so popular. They promise to help you get in shape in less time and with less effort. Recently, I've had a lot of questions about a technique called dual-rate exercise. The idea is that you burn more fat during your workout (and, in theory, lose fat faster) without exercising longer or harder. Let's take a closer look at the research to see what it means for you. Researchers from the College of New Jersey had college-age volunteers (eight men and four women) visit the lab on two occasions. They measured total calories and fat calories burned during 30 minutes of exercise on a stationary bike [2]. Visit #1 (low-to-high): Visit #2 (high-to-low): There wasn't much difference between the two workouts in terms of total calories burned (280 calories for workout one versus 272 calories for workout two). However, the volunteers burned roughly 23% more fat during the high-to-low workout. This is the finding that's caused all the interest in dual-rate exercise. So, should you use a high-to-low exercise sequence in your next workout? There's certainly no harm in trying it. But I'm not convinced that it'll make much difference to the amount of fat you lose. Why? Firstly, you burn more fat during the post-exercise period with high- rather than low-intensity exercise. I'm guessing that if the researchers had measured fat metabolism during and after exercise, there wouldn't have been much difference between the high-to-low and low-to-high workouts. What's more, this is just one study. And the results haven't been replicated in other trials. Researchers from Brunel University, for example, measured fat metabolism during two different workouts [1]. Workout one involved 15 minutes of high-intensity exercise at 75% VO2max, followed by 40 minutes at a low intensity (50% VO2max). Workout two comprised 40 minutes of low-intensity work, followed by 15 minutes of high-intensity work. Unlike the earlier study, the results show no significant difference in the number of fat calories burned during either session. The bottom lineThere's certainly nothing wrong with dual-rate exercise. In fact, the fat-burning program I use follows a "high-low-high-low-high" pattern (see How to fight fat and win in the Members-Only Area). But don't get distracted by every new "wonder" program that you read about. Most people who try chasing every rabbit that crosses their path end up suffering from paralysis by analysis. They get confused by all the different ideas and theories, and end up doing nothing. It's a lot more important to work hard and be consistent, than to waste your time and energy second-guessing whether the program you're using is "right" or "wrong."
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