Fat-burning Cardio question

[Pumpitdude]

Well here is what I know. If you want to lose weight you increase muscle mass so even while you are sleeping you burn more calories than before. You also do cardiovascular exercises and eat a healthy low fat or carb etc.. diet which I am not going to get in here.

My main dilemma is high intensity versus low intensity cardio workouts. I have been an athlete my whole life and if I am not warming up I am usually going %90 of my max heart rate. Now I have been told by some self acclaimed experts that to burn fat more efficiently a long drawn out session of cardio at around %65 of my max heart rate is more efficient than just going as fast as I can until I don't have the strength to stand on the treadmill anymore.

Now the second option does burn more calories than the first option however it also strips away some of the hard earned muscle. Considering I am not losing weight on a show like the biggest loser where the total body mass loss is the goal, I was leaning towards 45 minutes to 1 hour %65 max heart rate cardio sessions about 4 times a week. What do you guys think?

 

[liftsiron]

The second option burns LESS muscle, all out balls to wall for an extended period burns some muscle as well as fat for fuel.

 

[Pumpitdude]

I think i did not word my post correctly.
I was trying to say that low intensity burns less muscle and high intensity burns more muscle. Although at the end of the day, high intensity will burn off more total calories, at the expense of muscle loss as a result, which I would rather have for looks and for their passive ability to increase metabolism.
Am I correct with this mindset and go for low intensity cardio workouts?

How do you plan your cardio sets right before competitions etc..

 

[liftsiron]

I don't do cardio for competition. Just weight training and diet.

 

[HOTROCKS]

The second option burns LESS muscle, all out balls to wall for an extended period burns some muscle as well as fat for fuel.

Listen to this man .
He knows .

 

[Pumpitdude]

I know he knows thats why I am asking but i don't get it lol.
Well I am sticking to low intensity cardio sessions. I wish I could just diet lift and get the results I want, but i have excess flab that needs to go away, maybe once i hit below 12-13 percent body fat, I am hovering around 20 at the moment.

 

[HOTROCKS]

Read about carb cycling .

 

[jboldman]

i never have good luck losing weight with just diet. i personally use moderate intensity exercise, studies show that aerobic exercise will preferentially burn fat however as i understand it, interval training is the best bang for your buck for burning calories. so for instance, if you are out walking, alternate high speed power walking with lower intensity, or if jogging, alternate sprints. since my knees are toast, i walk and alternate isometric arm movements to get my heart rate up.

jb

 

[Guest]

the thing about people saying going slower burns more calories from fat its half true.... basically your percentage of calories burnt from fat is higher but ur total calories burnt is lower when you go faster your calories burnt from fat might be at a lower percentage but ur total calories burnt is much high so basically in the end going faster means u have burnt the same number of cals from fat as going slower plus you burn more calories in total which is what really counts when trying to lose weight..... it will make it harder to maintain muscle but not impossible. other benifits from going faster are that you train your cardiovascular system better which will lead to more red blood cells being made more capilaries being made with time and if you stick to it for a long enough it well also build more mitocondria which is where energy is mostly made and where fat is primarly broken down.