The correct way to burn fat: the difference between slow exercise and anaerobic exercise, Ellie's weight loss journey (Part 1)

There was once a man who mistakenly believed that heart rate was a necessary indicator of exercise effectiveness. He discovered that his heart rate increased in a steam room, so he always sat there, with an electrocardiogram monitor attached to his chest, asking the steam room operator to adjust the steam temperature according to his heart rate. He thought that simply sitting in the steamy room, casually flipping through some magazines, would make him very healthy. We can't help but chuckle at such an idea, because we know that achieving good health is not as simple as just increasing heart rate. Our lungs, muscles, and indeed the entire body must be active. Otherwise, as I discussed in previous chapters, trying to cure a cold with antibiotics or lose weight by simply dieting are merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause, and cannot cure the imbalance in our physiological systems. Only by starting with the whole body and engaging in systemic, holistic exercise can we achieve fundamental change.

You can interpret your physical condition from your heart rate. It can tell you whether your health is improving or declining. It can also tell you whether your exercise is excessive or insufficient. However, it is ultimately just a tool. Treat this theory as one of the common-sense principles, not the only standard. Don't ignore the information sent by other parts of your body just because of your heart rate. The formula for calculating heart rate is indeed helpful, but it is by no means as perfect as we imagine.

Does it mean there's no reward without effort?

A woman once complained, "When I take fitness classes, the instructor always tells me to exercise vigorously because he says there's no such thing as a free lunch. But you advise us to take it slow and methodical. So who's right?" I think both sides are right! It all depends on your goals. If you just want to lose fat, then take it slow and methodical. If you want to build muscle, then do every movement with force and keep going!

Generally speaking, when we lift heavy objects using only local muscles, especially

After repeating this process multiple times, our muscles will feel sore. This soreness...

This is mainly caused by lactic acid production, which indicates that you are doing anaerobic exercise. When we lift weights, muscle tissue expands and compresses nearby blood vessels, reducing blood flow to the muscles and hindering oxygen supply. When muscles are oxygen-deficient, metabolic processes cease, leading to the production of lactic acid. Excessive lactic acid buildup causes muscle soreness, but this is only temporary; the pain will disappear once blood flow is restored to normal.

Take sit-ups as an example. It's an exercise that uses a small amount of abdominal muscle strength to support the weight of the entire upper body. Imagine: your left hand is lifting the weight of your abdominal muscles, and your right hand is lifting the weight of your upper body. Now do you understand what I mean by "lifting a heavy object with just a little bit of muscle"? Typical weightlifting works on the same principle. It uses a portion of muscles or muscle groups to lift a weight several times their own weight. After repeating this 10 to 12 times, it will inevitably cause soreness due to muscle fatigue or lactic acid buildup.

If you think about it carefully, you'll find that the principles of many bodybuilding exercises are essentially the same as weightlifting. Sit-ups use the weight of the upper body to replace the weight of the weight plate, while push-ups use the weight of the upper body to replace the weight of barbells and dumbbells. When I talk about different exercises, I emphasize the proportion of muscles worked by each type. Sit-ups use far fewer muscles than weightlifting, so muscles quickly become fatigued and sore. Men's chests and shoulders are more developed than women's, and their upper body weight is also heavier, so men find sit-ups more difficult than women. Push-ups are the opposite; compared to weightlifting, they work more muscles, so some people can do them for several hours straight. Standing leg raises work the external dorsiflexors of the leg, which are only a part of the leg muscles. People often mistakenly believe this exercise works the entire leg muscles, but the leg muscles are much larger than the external dorsiflexors. Raising the legs only causes the external dorsiflexors to rapidly accumulate lactic acid, achieving the effect of anaerobic exercise.

The general interpretation of "weightlifting" is: using a small portion of muscles to bear a heavy weight, resulting in rapid muscle fatigue or lactic acid secretion. However, lifting a 1 or 2 kilogram weight or carrying a 30-kilogram backpack without feeling soreness does not qualify as "weightlifting." A more precise definition of "weightlifting" should be: (1) bearing weight; (2) anaerobic exercise; (3) lactic acid stored in muscles increases muscle mass and hardness, but does not burn any fat.

Lactic acid is the main cause of muscle soreness, a process we call "oxidation," which is essential for muscle growth. In fact, fitness experts explain this process in detail because it not only helps with muscle growth but also strengthens muscles.

Let me reiterate: anaerobic exercise is the primary cause of muscle soreness, while aerobic exercise (fat burning) should not cause any pain. Therefore, the slogan for aerobic exercise should be "painless, fat-free." Those arguments that "no pain, no gain" likely refer to anaerobic exercise for muscle growth. Because muscles are oxygen-deficient, the content of muscle protein compounds will increase. So, when your soreness persists, your mindset should be, "What am I going to do? I'm getting bigger and bigger!"

The adage "no pain, no gain" doesn't apply to those wanting to lose weight, because muscle oxidation only burns glucose, not fat! So, if you're troubled by fat legs and force yourself to do 200 leg raises every day in the hope of losing leg fat, you're making a big mistake. This will only make your legs bigger and bulkier. Instead, you should try combining aerobic exercise to reduce leg fat and using anaerobic exercise, which produces lactic acid, to give your legs a more beautiful curve.

The correct way to burn fat: slow exercise

During my daily jog, I often encounter an overweight man. Whenever I see him, he's always panting heavily, his face flushed, and he's running at top speed. Finally, one day, I couldn't help but ask him, "Why are you running so fast?" He treated me like a fool, nonchalantly replying, "Of course, I want to burn more calories and lose weight!" But he doesn't realize that this is a huge mistake. He's incredibly stubborn and doesn't understand the importance of learning new things. If you have friends like this, please share the key points of this article with them.

While it's true that we burn more calories when we run faster, the problem is that "burning calories" doesn't mean "burning the same amount of fat." Fat and carbohydrates are the energy sources for muscles, but during intense exercise, the primary metabolic function is replaced by blood sugar, not fat. Moreover, the more intense the exercise, the more blood sugar and stored glucose are consumed, while very little fat is burned.

It is generally believed that the body converts fat into blood sugar to meet its needs when necessary. However, research indicates that the human body does not actually have this chemical reaction.

Fat does not have the function of being converted into glucose, nor can it be converted into anything else. Therefore, a harsh conclusion is that only moderate or light exercise can digest fat. When we engage in intense anaerobic exercise, we only consume more glucose, not fat.

Let's say you're too overweight to reach the standard jogging pace for most people. For example, your maximum aerobic speed without getting too out of breath might be 7-8 minutes per kilometer-your maximum exercise capacity, effectively burning fat. However, one day, while you're running at your most comfortable and efficient pace, another woman overtakes you at a rapid pace of about 5-6 minutes per kilometer. She appears heavier than you, and in fact, she is likely indeed heavier. If you conclude, "She's running too fast; she can't possibly burn any fat that way, she must not have read this article," your assumption might be correct. However, it's also possible that her subcutaneous muscle mass is stronger than yours. Her 5-6 minute per kilometer pace and your 7-8 minute per kilometer pace both achieve the same aerobic exercise standard. Alternatively, it's possible that she was once heavier than you, so even with stronger subcutaneous muscle mass, she still needs to lose most of her fat. If you imitate her and run at the same pace, you will definitely be out of breath and won't achieve any fat-burning effect.

I don't mean you shouldn't run fast or go all out during exercise. Athletes need to reach a state of anaerobic exercise for specific reasons, but even so, they need to jog or do long-distance training to reduce their subcutaneous fat. It sounds strange, but the only way to speed up fat burning is to spend more time exercising gently and easily. If you want to reach your weight loss goals faster, slow down your exercise pace!

Ellie's Weight Loss Diary

When Allie reached her prime, she was about 18 kilograms overweight. On her 40th birthday, her family and friends threw her a "farewell to youth" birthday party. Everyone in attendance wore black armbands, and the entire venue was filled with black balloons to commemorate her passing. But Allie was a cheerful person, and "middle age" didn't bother her. Besides, her family and friends had prepared a variety of delicious dishes-roasted ribs, fragrant fries, salad, and many exquisite honey desserts. That night, Allie went to bed feeling satisfied and happy, as usual. However, around 2 a.m. the next morning, she couldn't sleep due to vomiting and pain in her right abdomen. The following day, after a diagnosis, the doctor told the overweight, brown-haired Allie that she was "healthy but overweight, middle-aged," and seriously warned her that she had gallbladder problems. The doctor prescribed a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, low-calorie diet. Two years later, she finally lost 14 kilograms. After that experience, whenever she consumed too many sweets, such as chocolate chips or sandwich cookies, her "caretaker"-her gallbladder-would repeatedly warn her with pain.

Allie realized she should lose the extra 4 kilograms through exercise. Actually, she had already started exercising before starting the planned diet, but it was all beyond her limits. Now, with a brand new, slim figure, she should try some different exercises. Who was her best coach? Of course, her athletic husband David was the perfect choice! She initially decided to do aerobics, jumping jacks, push-ups, twists, and turns, but after a few minutes, Allie was practically breathless. In the last 20 minutes, while doing high leg raises, she twisted her ankle due to the force of the landing, forcing her to stop all exercise for a month.