Research

Hormonal

Continuous endurance training at the intensity of maximal fat oxidation (FATmax) significantly increases whole-body fat oxidation rates and insulin sensitivity in obese, sedentary men within 4 weeks, whereas interval training at lower intensities (averaging 65% VO2max) does not, despite equal energy expenditure.

For obese, sedentary men, exercising continuously at the specific intensity where your body burns the most fat (FATmax) for 4 weeks significantly improves insulin sensitivity and fat burning. You do not need to perform high-intensity interval training to get these metabolic benefits; in fact, lower-intensity continuous training was more effective in this study. Aim for a steady pace that allows you to sustain exercise for 30-60 minutes, 5 days a week.

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A continuous exercise training protocol that can elicit high rates of fat oxidation increases the contribution of fat to substrate oxidation during exercise and can significantly increase insulin sensitivity compared with a eucaloric interval protocol.
Michelle Venables et al. · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 2008

Why this rating

Randomized crossover design with controlled diet and energy expenditure, though limited by a small sample size (n=8) and short duration (4 weeks).

Source

Endurance Training and Obesity

Michelle Venables et al. · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 2008

DOI 10.1249/mss.0b013e31815f256f

crossover · n=8Cited 187×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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