Fat 2 Fit Radio

Exercising Heart Rate Speed vs. Fat Loss

If you see an older heart rate chart in your local gym, you will see that most will have a “fat burning” and a “cardio” range.

The “fat burning” range was based upon studies that looked at the first few minutes of exercise at different intensity levels. It is now accepted that the total amount of calories expended is more important than the intensity for overall fat loss.

We live in a world where fat loss occurs over a 24 hour period, not just when we exercise. At the end of the day, it is still the old saying “calories in vs calories out”. Exercise helps you to increase your negative caloric intake and helps to speed up your metabolism.

When you are exercising for cardiovascular and muscle endurance results, you do need to push yourself to a reasonable level. There is a difference between activity and exercise if you want significant results, but for fat loss, your body really cares about negative calories at the end of the day.

Here is an example: Lets say that you burn 500 calories on an elliptical trainer or stair climber. If it took you 30 or 40 minutes to accomplish this, you still have the same negative calories at the end of the day. Your overall “fitness” workout is better with a higher intensity, but weight loss would be similar.

Think of it this way. If you are a new runner and you go out and try to run as fast as you can for as long as you can, you may only last 3 minutes and burn 25 calories. It is intuitive that if you walked/jogged for half an hour you may burn 250 calories. It’s clear that in this instance, the slower runner has the superior workout if the goal is fat loss.

You do need to be aware of the extremes with regard to heart rate and exercise. The rule of thumb is to subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate. Think of this as the “extreme danger level”. Once you have this level, don’t exceed 85% of this number while exercising. If you are close to this number, you are close to your maximum safe level of exertion.

For Example: 35 years old

Maximum Heart Rate: 220-30 = 185 beats per minute
Max Safe Exercise Rate: 185 X .85 = 157 bpm

If you are exercising at a lower intensity and your heart rate is very fast, don’t be too concerned. As your cardiovascular fitness increases, your heart rate will lower. If you are on a fitness machine that keeps your heart at a constant rate during exercise, you will find that over time, you will be working out harder and harder at the same heart rate.

Tags: Exercise, Heart Rate, Heart Rate Monitors