During the 30-minute walking exercise at 3.2 mph, Jeremy and Dennis both burned almost 200 calories each. 80% of those calories came from fat for both participants.
This video compares the fat-burning efficiency of various cardio exercises, including jump rope, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprints, jogging, and swimming. The experiment uses a highly accurate calorie tracker to measure not only total calories burned but also the breakdown between fat and carbohydrate burn, considering the afterburn effect and different fitness levels.
Varied Calorie Burn: Different exercises burn varying numbers of calories, with sprints showing the highest calorie burn per minute for both participants. However, the proportion of calories from fat versus carbohydrates varied significantly across exercises.
Limited Afterburn Effect: The "afterburn effect" (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC) was surprisingly small for all exercises tested, even HIIT workouts. The study suggests that the afterburn effect is not a significant factor in overall fat loss.
Fasted Cardio and Fat Burn: While fasted cardio leads to a higher percentage of calories burned from fat during the workout itself, this doesn't necessarily translate to greater overall fat loss. Long-term studies show no significant long-term fat loss benefit to fasted cardio.
Walking's Effectiveness: Walking, especially incline walking, is a highly effective and easily sustainable exercise for fat loss. It burns a substantial number of calories, is easy on the joints, and provides a significant percentage of calories from fat.
Consistency and Enjoyment: Choosing an exercise you enjoy and can stick with long-term is crucial for successful fat loss. The video emphasizes that sustainability is more important than maximizing calorie burn in a single session.
