We asked the fitness experts who help others torch fat every day for their final word on burning through those unwanted layers
WORDS ROB KEMP. PHOTOGRAPHS ISTOCK BY GETTY IMAGES
Fat-burning is the magic bullet for successful weight loss and muscle definition – but what does it mean and how is it done? ‘When a person maintains a new exercise regimen and limits their calories, the body begins to burn fat,’ explains James Stark, personal trainer and founder of Starks Fitness. ‘It does this by using the energy stored in fat cells to fuel new activity – the brain signals to fat cells to get them to release fatty acid molecules into the bloodstream as a source of energy.’
However, it’s not as simple a process as it sounds. Our body is a complex and individually unique creation – with both genetic and environmental influences shaping it. Before you attempt to burn body fat, it’s also pretty useful to know how much of it you need to burn. ‘There are a number of ways that we can measure our body fat,’ says Steven Virtue, fitness content and programming manager at Total Fitness. However, two tools are most commonly used by fitness professionals and health clinicians.
‘Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is the technology used in weighing scales that monitor body composition, and sends a low-voltage electrical current through the body,’ says Virtue. ‘Fat conducts less electricity than water or muscle, and so as levels of body fat increase, so does the resistance within one’s anatomy.’ (BIA works by measuring the amount of time taken for the current sent through the body to feedback to the machine, which can then estimate the level of body fat.)
Callipers are the second tool. ‘Simple yet effective, they’re widely regarded as the most effective way to measure body fat. The callipers grip the outer layer of skin – where subcutaneous fat is stored – and quantify this in millimetres.’ (The three-site test is the simplest way to use callipers to produce a body fat reading. Sites are typically the chest, abdomen and quadriceps on men; the triceps, suprailium [hip] and quadriceps on women.)
TAKE A HIIT
The experts’ exercise format of choice when it comes to setting the switch to burning fat is high-intensity interval training (HIIT) – drills that combine short bursts of cardiovascular exercise with bodyweight-based strength training moves that rapidly raise the heart-rate but in intervals, so the body can train intensely without fatiguing. ‘As your heart-rate increases, f
