If you’re trying to burn more calories, amping up your workout with new moves, a faster pace, or a longer session might all sound like good solutions. But, is there any other way to burn more calories at the gym?
In actuality, working out as hard as you possibly can may not be the most efficient way to up your calorie burn. The main reason for this is exhaustion. Sustaining a comfortable pace for half an hour is probably going to lead you better than burning yourself out in half the time by going as hard as you can.
The goal with working out is to find a pace that you can reasonably keep up for about 20-30 minutes. This goes for all cardio routines and even strength training. Think about a speed and difficulty level that you can sustain without completely losing your breath or having to interrupt your routine for a break every so often.
The purpose of this is to get you going and keep you going. After all, steady state cardio has proven time and time again to be super effective. This will also help you build up your endurance, increase your heart health, lung capacity, and so on. Of course, if you’re practicing HIIT or Tabata, which require 20-60 seconds of high intensity, all-out pace, you’ll want to take a different approach.
During the recovery period between moves, keep moving but do so slowly so you can catch your breath and even take a sip of water. During the all-out periods, go as hard as you can without hurting yourself or losing your form.
Regardless of the type of workout you choose to do, if you’re wondering how hard you should be working out in order to burn the most calories, the answer is simple: As hard as you reasonable can without wearing yourself out to the point of exhaustion. When you get to that point of exhaustion, your workout will be cut short, your efficiency will drop, and you’ll even risk hurting yourself due to a poor posture or form.
Always start things out slow and learn to do your workout properly, then gradually make it more difficult for yourself until you can find your sustainable pace. If you want to challenge yourself more, bump your running speed up by .5 mile or add a pound or two of weights at a time until you find that perfect challenge for yourself.
