Hi. I am a newbee. I have 75+ pounds I want to lose. I have started working out on a new eliptical training machine at my local Y. It has a cardio mode and a fat burning mode. They both measure my heart rate and adjust tention to keep it at a particular level. Question: If the cardio mode wants me to work out at a highter heart rate and the fat burn mode wants me to work out at a lower heart rate, which one is better for me? What is the difference between the two?

Boy, that's a good question. I always thought cardio work would automatically burn fat by burning calories.
I know "strength training" does not necessarily burn fat, but cardio?? Hmmmm.....

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXgizzieXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As a starter u should begin with the manual program on the elliptical machine, then when u move on and starts feeling more fit u should move to the fat burning, then after few month u shall begin the cardio program.
I prefer going with the manual, where i can go up and down along with myself.
best of luck and hope this helps!

If you get your heart rate up and are able to maintain that for 10 minutes or more, you are burning fat. The rest is just gimmick. There is no difference between fat burning and cardio burning. If so, how would someone who jogs or speed walks differentiate? Just make sure you go fast enough to get your heart rate up but not so fast you burn out quickly. Go at the speed you can maintain.

I always do manual on all machines, and have been for 20 years. That way I can regulate the speed. When I do the stairclimber or the treatmill, I like to do at a high incline or high resistance, so that I can work my muscles at the same time as I do cardio. You can really build the legs and butt with a harder resistance. But, just so long as you are doing it for an extended amount of time, you are also doing cardio/fat burning.

The "industry" tries to make it sound so confusing, and it doesn't have to be. You get your heart rate up, doing anything, you are going to burn calories and burn fat.

To answer your questions;
"If the cardio mode wants me to work out at a highter heart rate and the fat burn mode wants me to work out at a lower heart rate, which one is better for me?"
Both
one day you will work in cardio mode, the next fat burning. Alternate your workouts to get the best benefit.

"What is the difference between the two?"
The difference between the two is how they condition your body. The cardio mode gets your heart rate up to where you can answer someone if they ask you a question but you really don't want to (a good way to gauge it if you don't have a heart rate monitor). This increases what is called your cardio threshhold. You should feel spent after this work out. It basically conditions your lungs to be able to work at a higher heart rate when needed so you can get enough oxygen and makes you faster as a result. The fat burning mode should put your heart rate at a level where you are able to speak in full sentences but it is a little labored. After a fat burning session you should feel like you could do it again immediately, but you really don't want to. The fat burning zone allows you to raise your heart rates just enough to burn fat but not have it be so labored that your body holds on to the fat to use as stored energy. If you stay anaerobic (85% or higher of your heart rate max) that is basically part of what happens (ozzie explains it really well).

Wanting to lose 75lbs, you really want to use both modes. (It will help your body recover on the fat burning days. Going at it full force every day will increase your risk of an injury. You need recovery time and being in the fat burning zone does that. You get to recover and burn fat at the same time.)

I agree with Loou. You may want to put it in a manual mode. While in that mode, try doing a "ladder". It is actually my favorite workout:-) ;warm up for 5 min, then go like crazy for 2min, recover your heart rate within a minute, then go like heck for 3 min.,recover for one, then go like heck for 4, recover 1, glh for 5, recover 1, glh for 6,then come back down the ladder by recovering for 1, glh for 5, recover 1, glh for 4, recover 1, glh for 3, recover 1, glh for 2 recover 5. It is about an hour workout and it goes super fast when you have good music blasting in your ears. That's the cardio workout. The fat burning zone one is a little boring because you try to maintain a 70 - 80% max heart rate (60 - 70% for some) without going under or above. It takes more patience and doesn't give you the anaerobic high but it will burn the fat so stick with it.

I hope this answers your questions.
Have fun!

With all due respect, actually, the latest studies have shown that while it is very beneficial to work out in blasts for other reasons, it is not necessary for either muscle building or for fat burning. You will burn just as much fat even if you are going over your 70-80% max heart rate. You do not need to be able to talk in full sentences to burn fat. I regularly run 1/2 marathons and some full marathons, but I cannot talk through them. I do, however, burn fat both while running those and while training for them.

All the confusion is for naught. It is not as difficult as you are making it.

Great question!!

If you are fit and healthy and able then I would try the cardio one and here's why..

The whole fat burning range is kind of an old school train of thought, but I'll attempt to explain why and how it all works.

Your body can pull it's energy from 3 sources.. fat, carbs and protein. Protein is used by the body as a last resort. Your body then chooses whether to burn fat or carbs depending on your workout intensity.

When you workout in the cardio range you need more energy so your body draws more on your carbs because that is the more efficient fuel.

When you workout in the fat burning range you are using more fats cause the body knows it doesn't need to use the quality fuel right now.

So a few years back everyone thought hey if I workout at a lower intensity then I'll burn more fat and bonus!! I don't have to work so hard. But it's not the case.. (Eg from Jillian's book)

Working for half an hour in the fat burning range you might burn 100 calories. Of those 100 roughly 80% will be fat calories meaning you've burned 80 fat calories.

Working for half an hour in the cardio range you might burn 300 calories. Of those 300 roughly 33% will be fat calories meaning you've burned 100 fat calories.

So even though at a lower intensity your percentage of fat calories burned is higher, at the higher intensity not only have you burned an overall higher number of calories but you've also burned a higher number of fat calories. AND high intensity workouts also trigger higher postworkout metabolism rates and fat afterburn.

Kapiche?

I pretty much agree with what everyone posted anyway but I'd answered this question before so a little copy and paste wasn't going to take long... and I love this quesion it's my favourite in the whole wide world.

But like freckles said... if you don't want to understand any of this then don't just get out there and exercise.

[quote name='thirteenfreckles' date='Jan 3 2007, 11:31 PM' post='1375516']
With all due respect, actually, the latest studies have shown that while it is very beneficial to work out in blasts for other reasons, it is not necessary for either muscle building or for fat burning. You will burn just as much fat even if you are going over your 70-80% max heart rate. You do not need to be able to talk in full sentences to burn fat. I regularly run 1/2 marathons and some full marathons, but I cannot talk through them. I do, however, burn fat both while running those and while training for them.]

Ozzie explains it in full very well. Good job Ozzie!

I didn't mean to imply you don't burn fat while in the higher zone. I had just wanted to make aware the energy exchange is different without having to explain it in full. I modified my post (everything I added is in "()" ) . I did explain "The difference between the two is how they condition your body".
To allow recovery time and lower your risk in getting an injury, especially if you are not working with a trainer, you should use both modes. It is just the way I prefer to train (when I'm training) and how I work my people. It may be old school but it works. I have enjoyed using both modes as they have taught me about how my body reacts under different stress levels. I have enjoyed getting to know my heart that way.

The past 2 years I have helped 32 women lose and maintain over 3,612 lbs & inches by managing a fitness facility. We actually have over 200 members but I can't gauge all of their results because they don't/won't weigh-in. Some come for physical therapy purposes (not getting their heart rates up high enough to benefit them cardio wise but it helps their arthritis), social benefits ( they mostly come to talk - I started them on a walking route so they can talk and walk, they walk every day and are able to get their heart rates up to get a benefit but are not working as hard as I would like them to), toning ( these are the thin girls looking to get some definition) and then we have the really fit athletic women who serve as a great example to us all ( they work hard and look like they do) these people aren't interested in the scale and it works for them. I don't weigh or measure them if they do not desire it. I do try and push them into a first weigh-in when they join so if they want to compare later, they can. After that, they let me know when they want weighed.
The ones who have had good results do cardio and strength training and work out 70-80%, 3x a week and 60-70% 4x a week for a minimum of 45 min. The more conditioned ones work out 75 - 85% 3x and 70-80% 4x (these are my runners like freckles) for the same amount of time, sometimes a little longer.
The normal weightloss for these women (ages 36 - 74), has been about 2 - 3 lbs a week. Some have lost more and the ladies over 60 have lost less but all usually maintain what they lose unless their diets go off on a tangent. They get back into their journaling and get back on track with their food intake. I have a few of them up from Christmas but they will get back down in a week or two. It is nice to see a few people back who I haven't seen for a while. New Year resolutions are good for that...my numbers will be too:-)

Get a trainer after seeing your doctor and have someone who actually KNOWS you answer these questions for you.

Hello, you know i often woundered this myself, i just take one day of the fat burner, another day of the cardio, and then sometimes i do teh personal trainer on it, and after i do to my BL workout dvd, and by teh time i am done, my legs hurt so bad,, so i need to come up with other ways to do workouts where iam not hurting so much and for days!!! but your question is a good one though!

It all makes since to me now...

Dana M-Iowa