These are all terms rooted in the 80’s, back when the prevailing attitude was that if you did not vomit during or after a workout, then you had not worked out.

Fast forward to the late 90’s and early 00’s and everyone was obsessed with getting into the “fat burning zone.” The theory was if you were in the zone then your body would use fat for energy, where as if you worked hard it would use whatever it could get it hands on the quickest, which is whatever sugar is in your system.

That has also been de-bunked, weight loss is about how hard you work, go harder and you’ll burn more kilojoules.

For example the faster you run the more kilojoules you’ll burn.

An hour of;

Running at 5.00 minute per km burns 2458kj

Running at 4.30 minute per km burns 29876kj

Running at 4.00 minutes per km burns 3500kj

More recent research is suggesting that weight loss, fitness and general overall health can be benefitted by introducing some interval training into your workout.

Athletes and sports teams have long used interval training to increase fitness and raise pain thresholds.

So it seems if you want to get the best from your workouts a combination of easier sessions and interval training is the key.

For our beginner session check out Fit training; and as with all exercise get checked out by your doctor first.