Hello everyone. I just wanted to ask which workouts are the best to burn fat (names in TR). I just finished long strictured plan. I am taking 1-2 weeks off the bike (I will only be doing club runs 1-2 times a week). After that I would like to focus on weight loss. At the moment I am 59kg (164cm height, around 13% body fat) and I would like to go down to 55kg before I start new strictured plan. Of course ideally without losing muscle strengt. What would be the best way to do it?
As far as I know there’s no fat burning work out.
You just need to be in a calorie deficit.
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Long z2 rides plus healthy diet
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But it doesn’t have a progression level???
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Disaster has every training “power zone” included so I don’t see how you rate a workout with a little bit of everything. Maybe I’m gullible and fell for your comment 
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No, disaster has a rating, but it’s a 
where the point system usually is. It’s hard to notice if you’re looking for numbers. Glad I could get your back and help you out with that.
If you don’t complete it successfully do you gain weight? 
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Long steady Z2 rides where the body utilises fat for fuel a opposed to glycogen. In the literature, there’s some evidence that aerobic adaptations and particularly capacity for fat oxidation may be improved by riding Z2 fasted. Not every session and obviously not for 3-4hrs at a time. However studies have shown 90 minute sessions fasted to have a positive affect. For more on this and to carry out your own research on the topic, check out the following papers:
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Thank you, that is what I exactly was asking for - which zone (and for how long) is the best to stay in. But POWER Zone 2 or HR Zone 2?
And there is an evidence it is not:
So basically calories deficit is the safest bet. Of course you can experiment but you can also impair your training without much benefits. The other thing is training in glycogen depleted state, that can induce additional stimulus but it should be approached with cautious.
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My plan is to cut calories for about 300-500(but only by cutting carbs) and do 1,5-2 workouts entirely in Z2. And see how it goes. I should not loose much of the power this way.
500 calories is beginning to really push what is possible or sustainable long-term. Just be careful with that especially if you’re cutting carbs first. Be sure you absolutely fuel the workouts so your performance doesn’t drop dramatically after a week or two.
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Yeah, that is what I was thinking. What u mean “fuel the workouts” while cutting the calories? Any tips?
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I can’t say with any accuracy what your base calorie needs are, but cut your calories from snacks and maybe dinner. If you stay fueled during a ride you will feel better riding, make faster adaptations, and not be as hungry throughout the day. Even if you fuel 100g of carbs per hour you’re likely burning more than that riding, but you’re still staying fueled. Cutting during the ride just means bonking, training poorly, and never recovering.
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Thanks for advice. Very useful.
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I think there is a misconception about “fueling the workouts” and “don’t diet on the bike.” I believe the actual meaning of this is primarily related to nutrient timing. If you are going to ride, make sure to time your meals so that you utilize that meal for your ride as well as doing the appropriate eating on the bike based on the level of work you are doing. You can still “fuel your workouts” with good timing AND maintain an overall calorie deficit for losing weight. As others have suggested, too large a deficit can be counter productive.
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People who have said that riding in zone 2 uses more fat for fuel are correct but i would not recommend that you only ride zone 2 to lose weight because i think it kind of misses the forest for the trees a bit.
Main problem, for someone who is not that well trained aerobically, riding in zone 2 just doesn’t do that much work, doesn’t have that high of an energy demand, especially if you don’t have time to go very long. Not going to be that meaningful of a contributor overall healthy weight loss plan regardless of what it uses for fuel.
I think you’re better off focusing on training the organism. Pick the best workouts and intensity distribution to get stronger and faster, fuel them appropriately, and shoot for an appropriate calorie deficit in your other meals. By all means do some long zone 2 workouts as they will eventually make you fitter in a way that short, hard workouts cannot, but think of them as a part of the whole.
Do this and you will lose weight but also get stronger and fitter such that you can use more energy each time you go out, the specific substrate / fuel source your body is using for each individual workout shouldn’t matter that much.
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