Celebrity Life

FACT CHECK: Can you really burn 600 calories in four minutes?

By Cherry Sun

Published On: November 20, 2020, 06:45 PM

Updated On: November 21, 2020, 01:27 PM

Coaches, trainers, academics, athletes, and fitness enthusiasts recently went into an uproar after discussing a workout regimen that promises to burn 600 calories in just four minutes.

While this is like music to the ears of anyone who wants to tone up and lose weight, this is also a controversial declaration in the fitness community.

Among those that strongly contended this statement is Assistant Professor Mona Adviento-Maghanoy of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman College of Human Kinetics (CHK).

Mona holds the position of Assistant Chair of the UP Varsity Sports Program. She is also a member of the Future Leader Program under the Foundation of the Global Community Health that promotes the United Nations' sustainable development goals and health and wellness advocacy.

Mona provided a scientific and academic approach to dispute the claim that one can burn 600 calories in just four minutes via her Facebook page. Her post has been shared over 200 times and has earned the support of her colleagues as well as people working in the health and wellness industry.

Mona granted GMANetwork.com an exclusive interview to further correct this false claim.

Mona Adviento-Maghanoy, from Mona Adviento (FB)

She explains that burning calories is tied with one's individual make-up and the intensity of his or her workout.

She illustrates, “You'd have to have a certain weight in order for you to burn 600 calories in just four minutes. On the other hand, puwede ring in four minutes ng pag-e-exercise, in order for you to burn 600 calories, dapat 'yung exercise intensity mo is about 128 METs (metabolic equivalent of task). Pero ang known metabolic equivalent lang na pinakamataas is 16. So 16 versus 128, technically that's virtually impossible for you to be able to burn that amount of kilocalories in just that short amount of time. Ibig sabhin, either sobrang bigat mo or sobrang taas ng exercise intensity mo pero beyond physiological human limit na 'yun eh, 'yung ganung klaseng intensity.”

Mona also discusses the phenomenon called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) as a possible explanation to burning more calories despite a short period of time.

“'Yung another possibility doon is if you exercise at a high intensity. Sabihin natin physiologically 16 metabolic equivalents, nagbe-burn ka pa rin after (resting period) pero hindi within four minutes 'yun. You can actually burn until a few minutes, 30 minutes after your high-intensity workout. You're still burning energy kasi binabayaran mo 'yung oxygen debt na ginamit mo in the intensity of your exercise. Ganun siya. But within four minutes, I don't think it's really possible to burn that amount of energy within those four minutes...not physiologically possible I would say.”

The risks of misinformation concerning fitness

The promise of burning 600 calories in four minutes was first heard in 2014, and six years later, the coach responsible for such a statement continues to gain bigger and wider influence.

This alarmed other physical trainers, strength and conditioning coaches as well as the academe. Among their top concerns include safety.

Mona states, “Kailangan full disclosure kumbaga in terms of doon sa information na binibigay kasi maraming factors to consider. And for doon sa mga taong gusto talagang pumayat tapos may cardiovascular risk, puwede talaga silang alam mo 'yun, madisgrasya. Totoo 'yun. Correct information is important.”

Aside from the detrimental physiological effect of false information, another concern is the psychological effects this can bring to those committed to achieving their fitness goals.

She continues, saying “Isipin mo 'yun mga tao talagang sobrang desperado, gusto talagang pumayat or gustong mag-lose ng weight tapos sasabihin mo, 'Hindi, malu-lose mo 'to ng ganito in four minutes, gawin mo lang 'to, mawawala 'yan.' Ang problema doon is they will hinge on that and at some point they will get frustrated because 'yung expected outcome, it's not happening because it's not an accurate prediction.

“That can have an effect on their own motivation to continue what they're doing, because they're not seeing the results that were presented to them at the beginning. In the long run, baka altogether sa frustration nila, hindi nila ituloy 'yung pag-exercise. It's not going to be a positive experience. Eh ang gusto nga natin is they'd want to continue what they're doing, to put it in their lifestyle.”

The good news is there is a collective movement among strength and conditioning coaches as well as the academe to fight fake news even in the world of fitness.

Mona shares, “So what we're trying to do now is put out correct information. Like I said, in UP CHK we have this initiative of putting up this page and we're hoping to expand it to give correct information on health, wellness, and fitness. Aside from that, we're encouraging all the strength and conditioning coaches, those who have the knowledge to put it out [there].

“I think importante for the users to also check the resources. Alam mo 'yun, mag-fact check sila dahil sa Pilipinas wala pa tayong accredited body on this. A lot of the accredited bodies ay nasa labas pa ng Pilipinas. I think the [closest] is the Sports Science schools which are UP and UST. So on our end, that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to put out more information on social media so that other people can fact-check about their workouts.”

Achieving your health and fitness goals

Mona cannot emphasize enough the risks of misleading people about working out.

She stresses, “To be honest and to really give the truth on this, there is no shortcut to that. You can lose weight in a short period of time but there are pay-offs. Either there's a pay-off in your own metabolism or there's a pay-off in your own health. So the better way is to build it and incorporate it in your lifestyle.”

According to Mona, the American College of Sports Medicine prescribes an accumulated time of 150 to 300 minutes a week of aerobic activities to work up your cardiovascular endurance as well as two sessions per week of strength and conditioning that builds up your muscular endurance.

She notes, “Generally in health 'yun 'yung gusto mong i-maintain 'no for metabolic fitness. But at the same time, in terms of performance, 'yun din 'yung kailangan mo kasi it's basic eh. That's what you call health-related components natin.”

She further explains that achieving health and wellness can also be done through one's daily routines.

She says, “Actually kahit hindi 'yung workouts eh. The things that you do, the activities of daily living if you try to incorporate that like you do more gardening, you do more walking, bike to work or for example, you use the stairs instead of the elevator - those contribute to the accumulation of minutes that go into the required minutes for physical activity.”

After all, fitness is really a way of life!