Optimum Weight Loss Heart Rate Explained
Optimum Weight Loss Heart Rate Explained Imagine, for a moment, that there is a ‘zone’ within which your heart should be for the best workout possible. Now, there are many myths, half-truths, and suppositions about this ‘zone’. Some are of the opinion that at a certain zone, your body ends up burning fat as opposed to carbohydrates or any other energy. Right now, that theory has been shown to be true. But (and this is a very big but), it has also been shown to not be the best way to burn fat. End of the day, this is the reasoning behind it: Although low-intensity cardiovascular exercise can get you into that ‘fat burning zone’ with ease, the end result will be that you have burned less total calories.
So although most of those calories were burned from fat, the total calories burned from fat would still be less than a more intense workout. With a more intense workout, less of a percentage of the total calories burned would be from fat, but the total calories burned would be far greater than the lower-intensity workout. Let’s put this in figures so that you can better see what we mean: Take a low intensity workout that burns about 150 calories, with 50% of those being fat. That means that 75 calories of fat ended up being burned. Not too shabby, by any means, but not too amazing either. On the other hand, for a similar duration, a high intensity workout would burn around 220 calories. Even with only 40% of those calories coming from fat, in terms of calories that is still 88 calories, which is more than the low intensity workout. See how the benefits of a higher intensity workout are more apparent?
Of course, this means that pushing yourself hard is better – which you already probably could have figured out for yourself. At the same time, it doesn’t mean that you should ignore the ‘weight loss zone’ entirely. Depending on how often you’ve exercised before, and what type of shape you’re in, the weight loss zone could be a valuable tool to start off with. If you have led a fairly sedentary life, then going straight to high-intensity cardiovascular exercise would be difficult, if not impossible. Thus, opting for the alternative and just getting into the weight loss zone, would help you to lose a good proportion of fat calories, while not having to push yourself to the upper limit of what your body can take. As things move along, and your fitness improves, you’ll then find that you can push yourself further. Bearing this in mind, it would make sense to at least calculate your target heart rate so that you’re able to base your workouts on it somewhat. In time, you’ll learn how useful this could be when planning a workout. Anyway, here’s how you can calculate your target heart rate…