Exercise and recovery.

[thetrooper]

Interval training (30 second to 2 minute bursts of 95% Max heart rate, followed by cooldown, repeat 5-10 times) has a good fat burning effect. Total calorie loss can't rival 2 hour runs or cycles, but the fat burning effect is well documented (since high heart rate activity tends to suppress appetite, and evalates metabolism for a few hours afterwards).

Okay, if you say so. I've always believed that slow-and-long would be the best method of burning fat.

Weight training is the best though. Lean muscle mass decreases total fact and decreases injury risk.

I'm going to do weights when the climate becomes too harsh here for cycling. And that's just around the corner...

 

[Atlas14]

Warm ups losen muscles. Stretching does not. Stretching tends to put muscles in a relaxed state, leading to decreased performance.

(there is ONE exception, which is explosive activity like 100m dash. in that case having more relaxed muscles is preferably since the risk of injury is so great).

But my muscles never feel relaxed when I stretch them, perhaps a little. My experience is that if I do not stretch, my legs are so incredibly tight that it feels exactly how you feel when you first wake up in the morning. Stretching is necessary for most people I would say.

 

[thetrooper]

I don't stretch at all.

 

[Atlas14]

I don't stretch at all.

I guess it depends on the sport. I do not stretch for cross country because I know I can loosen up in the warm up miles, but for other sports you simply do not have the time or energy to be running miles for warm-ups, so stretching is the best alternative, and in some cases a superior alternative.

 

[Brighteye]

But my muscles never feel relaxed when I stretch them, perhaps a little. My experience is that if I do not stretch, my legs are so incredibly tight that it feels exactly how you feel when you first wake up in the morning. Stretching is necessary for most people I would say.

That tightness is good. Gives you more spring.

Not that I know what you mean about waking in the morning. I feel good if it's been a cold night and bad if it's been hot.

 

[Atlas14]

That tightness is good. Gives you more spring.

Not that I know what you mean about waking in the morning. I feel good if it's been a cold night and bad if it's been hot.

Well when I first wake up in the morning I can barely walk and I stumble everywhere due to my muscles feeling very weak. That is how they feel when I do not stretch, and do not have time to warm-up.

 

[newfangle]

Okay, if you say so. I've always believed that slow-and-long would be the best method of burning fat.

You are right...to an extent.

Slower activity tends to burn a higher percentage of energy in the form of fat than faster stuff (the principle behind this is that during intense training, glycogen is the only think that can metabolize fast enough for your muscles).

However, 60 minutes of slow stuff compared to 60 minutes of hard stuff- the latter will burn more total calories and typically more fat calories.

However, you can simply say,'yea but I can do slow stuff for like 3 hours,' and you'd be right. But, at this point the physiology of the body begins to change. You become a very efficient aerobic machine. You body will trigger hormonal reactions to retain fat because the immense stress you are putting on energy reserves. You will become deathly hungry a few hours after exercise. You will probably not feel like doing much the next day.

These things amount to the generally accepted notion that marathoning (and other endurance training) is an extremely poor way to lose weight. In fact, as most people peak in training, weight gain is the norm.