burn belly fat faster

what burns fat faster sprinting or jogging?

i work out a bit, and at the end of every work out session i take a small break then run. my goal right now is to burn belly fat around the stomach. everyone says “do both!” but which should i do more of if i want to burn my fat off. im trying to get my abs to show.

Studies have shown over and over again that high intensity interval training (ie wind sprints) are much more effective for fat loss than low intensity. In fact, a research group in Australia just concluded a study* of 15 females doing longer 45 minute cardio sessions and 15 females doing high intensity intervals over a 15 week period. The HIIT group lost 6x more bodyfat than the constant intensity group.

Too many people focus on the fat lost during exercise, or the number of calories burned. The myth of the “fat burning zone” is very old school and has been disproved by many studies as the least effective form of fat loss.

Not only does high intensity cardio increase VO2 max, it increases the EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consuption) which will oxidize fat for much longer after exercise than constant intensity cardio. Additionally, HIIT will increase testosterone and GH levels, both which are fat burning hormones. Finally, the resting metabolic rate will be increased, which will help burn calories throughout the day (when at rest, the body utilized free form fatty acids for energy, so the higher the resting metabolic rate (RMR), the more bodyfat is burned)..

So if your goal is fat loss as well as better overall fitness and conditioning, HIIT is the way to go hands down. Also, it’s better at retaining lean muscle mass as longer cardio sessions have been known to be very catabolic, burning muscle tissue for energy. That’s why marathon runners are so skinny without much muscle tone, while sprinters are lean and a lot more muscular.

Edit: one thing I wanted to add is that many posts indicate slow and low as a good means of fat loss. This only really holds true for obese individuals just beginning an exercise routine. High intensity exercise should be approached by these individuals gradually by starting out with a slower, constant paced exercise and working their way up. However, this still isn’t the most efficient means of fat loss, so in order for these individuals to make more progress, high intensity needs to be added or replace the slower, longer sessions – the body will adapt to a routine and stop responding after a time. Again, for fat loss, the focus shouldn’t be as much on what occurs during exercise but the effects after exercise, which HIIT has a much greater effect.