Fat Burning exercises

[MickJim]

I enjoy working out on the Ergo (Rowing Machine).  I would like an exercise program that enables cardio and weight loss.  Has anyone in the fitbit world have such a program?

[Dominique]

There are two main factors in weight loss: exercise and diet. For most people, diet is more important (you will hear things like "you can’t out-exercise a poor diet").

Exercise doesn’t burn fat directly. Fat burning occurs if/when the combination of your diet and your overall activity (part of which is the format exercising you engage in) results in a net caloric deficit. Exercising can contribute to the deficit (and therefore the fat loss) via the energy expended because of it.

If you want to know what kind of energy expenditure is caused by different types of exercising, you can have a look at the Compendium of Physical Activities. The higher the MET, the more energy any given activity will expend per unit of time. Of course, you need to take into account the total amount of time you can sustain an activity, as this will determine the absolute amount of energy you will expend: high-intensity activities typically cannot be sustained for very long, so you may end up expending more energy performing lower-intensity activities, but for a longer period of time. Furthermore, high-intensity activities typically need more recovery, so you may not be able to perform them as frequently, whereas some low-intensity activities (e.g. walking) can be performed everyday without a need for recovery.

Rowing is certainly a good form of cardio training. You may want to combine it with some form of resistance training, which would help with preserving (or minimizing the loss of) existing lean mass. 

[MickJim]

Dominique, Thank you for your response to my request. Thank you for also directing me to to the CPA, I never knew it existed. My diet is very good, excellent in fact, consisting of mainly vegetables and fruit, the occasional steak, a lot of fish and heaps of pulses. I grow the majority of our vegetables and are mainly eaten raw. However years of consuming great Australian wines, I have found it difficult to burn the visceral fat, hence the Ergo workout and my seeking of a program someone has tried and has been successful with it.

Once again, thank you for the reply and keep up the great work.

MickJim

[lavabelle]

I have been  successful at losing weight by walking, hiking and now started a regular weight lifting routine. I have been losing steadily for the past 3 months and walk on average 2-3 hours a day.

I think the important thing is to find an activity you enjoy doing and do it consistently. I love nature and the outdoors so anything that takes me outside is a win for me 🙂 I also love feeling strong so weight lifting is extremely motivating for me.

Find something you enjoy and do it...forever 🙂

[lavabelle]

I just wan to add that losing weight happens mostly in the kitchen...but if you add exercise...you get to eat (or drink in your case) a whole lot more! 🙂

[Dominique · Accepted solution]

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@MickJim wrote:
However years of consuming great Australian wines, I have found it difficult to burn the visceral fat, hence the Ergo workout and my seeking of a program someone has tried and has been successful with it.

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@MickJim: I understand your concern with visceral fat from a health perspective. However, I don’t believe one can specifically target visceral fat vs. subcutaneous fat, whether via specific exercises or a specific diet, just like it’s impossible to "spot-reduce" subcutaneous fat from one area of your body (no matter how ladies would love to reduce fat from their thighs, and guys from their bellies). You just have to do what it takes to reduce fat overall. If/when you lose enough of the stuff, part of it is bound to be the dreaded visceral fat. So it’s better to focus on lifestyle changes that will get you closer to a healthy weight. These changes may involve curbing your consumption of Australian wines somewhat and increasing your activity level, but I don’t think it’s fair to blame solely Australian wines for the excessive visceral fat: they’re just one factor among many others. As to exercising with your Ergo, it will definitely be part of the solution, though it may not address  specifically visceral fat. There are no "magical" ways of eating or exercising that result in perfect health, it’s the overall lifestyle that matters.