Is it true that “aerobic exercise is ineffective unless you do it for 20 minutes or more”?
You may have heard that “it takes 20 minutes for fat to start burning.”
But not many people understand it correctly.
As a result, there are some misunderstandings such as “aerobic exercise is meaningless unless you do it for 20 minutes or more” and “fat does not burn with muscle training”.
If you read this, you will understand the relationship between aerobic exercise and fat burning, and how to burn fat at the fastest speed.
【 table of contents 】
1. Why is aerobic exercise effective for fat burning?
2. What’s happening in 20 minutes?
3. How to burn fat fastest?
Why is aerobic exercise effective for fat burning?
WHY IS AEROBIC EXERCISE EFFECTIVE FOR FAT BURNING?
“Aerobic exercise is effective for fat burning, but fat does not burn unless you exercise for 20 minutes or more.” This is something that people who exercise should have heard many times, but it is not well understood.
To understand this correctly, knowledge of high school biology is essential.
Energy is produced by oxygen respiration in the mitochondria inside the cell.
The very basic chemical formula is
C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6H 2 O +. 6O 2 → 6CO 2 + 6CO 2 + 12H 2 O + 38ATP
Glucose + water + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water + energy
You don’t have to know this, but fatty acids are consumed in the process of this chemical reaction (TCA cycle / citric acid cycle).
By repeating the above oxygen breathing for a long time while consuming energy, the consumption of fatty acids increases.
For “performing a lot of oxygen breathing for a long time while consuming energy”, aerobic exercise that can be continued for a long time with a low load is more effective than muscle training with a high load for a short time .
This is why aerobic exercise is said to be effective in burning fat.
Fatty acids are also contained in muscle and blood, and the fatty acids are used at the start of exercise.
It’s a complete misconception that sugar is the source of energy at first, and fat turns into energy after 20 minutes.
- Fatty acids are used in the process of oxygen respiration
- The longer you continue to breathe oxygen, the more fatty acids are consumed.
- Fuel does not change from sugar to fat in 20 minutes
What’s happening in 20 minutes?
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN 20 MINUTES?
Let’s take a closer look at the process by which the triglycerides accumulated around the chest, abdomen, and buttocks are consumed by exercise.
Neutral fat accumulated around the chest, abdomen, and buttocks is not consumed as it is in the process of oxygen breathing. This is because the molecular weight of fat is so large that it cannot enter the mitochondria.
Triglycerides are broken down into fatty acids by growth hormone , dissolved in the blood, transported to cells throughout the body, enter the mitochondria, and consumed.
When you start exercising, a lot of growth hormone is secreted, so exercising makes it easier for you to consume fat.
In other words, the process of consuming triglycerides during exercise requires the following long steps. This is why it is said to take 20 minutes.
Exercise → Secretion of growth hormone → Decomposition of triglyceride into fatty acid → Fatty acid to cells of the whole body → To mitochondria in the cell → Consumed in the process of oxygen respiration in the mitochondria (TCA cycle / citric acid cycle)
- Growth hormone is secreted by exercise
- Growth hormone breaks down triglycerides into fatty acids
- It takes time for growth hormone to spread in the body
HOW TO BURN FAT IN A MINURET?
Once you understand this, you’ll find tips on how to save 20 minutes and burn fat the fastest.
The first step in the above process, the stage of growth hormone secretion, takes a particularly long time.
This means that if you can secrete a large amount of growth hormone in a short time, you can accelerate the start of fat burning.
High-load muscle training is effective for secreting a large amount of growth hormone in a short time.
Lactic acid accumulated in the muscles by muscle training promotes the secretion of growth hormone.
Since it is a high load, muscle training with a load that can be repeated only a few times is effective.
It would be nice to have barbells and dumbbells, but depending on your ingenuity, you can increase your strength even with your own weight training.
Effects of slow training and Kaatsu training
There is a method called storm training that moves slowly. For example, you can lower your push-ups for 10 seconds and then raise them for 10 seconds. As you can see, the flesh has no time to rest, so it becomes oxygen deficient and fatigue is accelerated.
Kaatsu training is training that is performed with blood flow restricted by tightening the base of the arm and thigh with a band. Due to the restricted blood flow, the oxygen supply is reduced even when the load is small, and the removal of lactic acid is delayed, which accelerates fatigue.
Even in these cases, it is expected that growth hormone will be secreted intensively in a short time.
In my case, I often use a method of exhausting muscles at once with a combination of high load, pressurization, and slow training.
- The key point is growth hormone
- High intensity exercise produces large amounts of growth hormone
- Accelerate further with slow training and Kaatsu training