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Do you run for exercise or for weight loss? If you are currently training for a race, the answer is most likely neither one. But when you are not actually in training you might set a weight loss goal: just don't attempt to train for a race and lose weight at the same time.

Actually, when we talk about weight loss we really mean fat loss. I could stand to lose a little weight, but it's really the fat around my belly that is the problem. As you probably know, if I were to lose that and replace it with the same volume of lean muscle, I would actually gain weight!

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I have recently reviewed Dr. Al Sears' PACE® (Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion) program. Sears claims that distance running adds fat – we need to do something different for fat loss. I'm not sure that I agree with everything he says, but most of it makes a lot of sense.

The basis of his program is that for fat loss and to build lean muscle we need to exercise in short, intense bursts. Our LSD runs, he claims, teach the body to build more fat. Sorry, Al, I love those runs and am not about to give them up!

This all started because my wife, who hates exercise, liked the idea of a program for fat loss with only 12 minutes per day of exercise! This is what the PACE® program promises. So, when she decided to start this program I agreed to work out with her to encourage her.

So far, we have done it twice, so this is an early report. I do not intend to make major changes to my running program in order to lose fat, but I do intend to add the PACE® workouts to my normal routine. In essence, the way I'm doing it now is similar to interval training but shorter and more intense.

For example, yesterday I did the following routine:

  1. Walk 2 minutes

  2. Run 1 minute fast

  3. Repeat 4 times

  4. Walk 2 minutes at end.

For fat loss, the idea is to get past your anaerobic threshold in the running intervals. In other words, run at a really hard pace so that after 1 minute you are really panting hard. This is similar to an interval workout, but is completed in 17 minutes. As you progress, the intervals become more intense and the total duration drops to 12 minutes or so.

Does it work? It's too early to tell, but I have noticed two things so far. One is that it gives variety to my workouts. The other is that my running pace seems to have improved: my body seems already to be adapting to the fact that it can be pushed harder than previously without ill effects.

Part of the program requires that I measure my existing fat with calipers: that's my next task. That way I'll be able to measure any fat loss that actually takes place. Stay tuned for the next thrilling installment of this fat loss program!