How to Pace Your Run for Maximum Fat Loss

How you work out is critical to weight loss. My experience as an Ironman triathlete taught me a great deal about pace and tapping into fat stores for energy, instead of glycogen (sugar/carbohydrate). Long distance athletes rely on energy from fat due to its ability to sustain you for a much greater duration than glycogen stores. This process is important for a recreational runner to understand, if they are primarily goal is to slim down.

Buying a heart rate monitor is certainly not required, but here's a quick read as to why people use them: A heart rate monitor tells you how hard you are working. If you know your max heart rate, something you can figure out without any special equipment, you want to stay between 35% to 40% below that to get in a fat burning zone. This is easy to accomplish with the assistance of a heart rate monitor.

Long and slow workouts burn fat. Sometimes I feel like my heart rate monitor is harnessing me from really running, but that's just the point. A fat burn pace is slower than the pace most people typically run. As an example, I can run 8 minute miles without much trouble for a long distance. However, when I focus on the heart rate monitor, my pace changes to 10 minute miles to stay in a fat burn zone.

Your body really starts to burn fat effectively after one half hour of sustained running. I realize that running for a half hour is plenty for most people. Just try to edge it up five minutes per week and get to 45 minutes. Alternatively, walk briskly for a half hour after running one half hour.

Running is so effective because it engages your entire body similar to swimming. Total body effort equals maximum fat burn. Running is uncomfortable to the newbie for this and other reasons. You can get your body accustomed to running, just keep at it.

If you have a nagging joint problem, and running is not an option for a while or permanently, you can either swim or bike for the same fat burn effect. A word of warning about spin classes. They typically have an insane pace and hyper body movements. If you are trying to lose fat, these classes are terrible. Your effort is more anaerobic and aerobic. You are burning through sugar in nearly all of these workouts. Further, recovery is much longer after a spastic spin class, which makes getting motivated for the next work out more difficult.