Diet & Fitness

Have a question about your routine or anything fitness-related? Send it Raphael's way at askraphael@ediets.com.


Hi Raphael,

Years ago, I was told that in order to effectively burn the most fat, your cardio target heart rate should be toward the lower end of your target heart range vs. the higher end (which they said is more for a strong heart). Is there any truth to this? - Winanne

Winanne,

I remember when I first started working in the fitness industry how we were told to teach about the value of always remaining at the lower end of the target heart rate range to access stored body fat. We were taught that someone should be in a 50-60 percent range for the most part.

Then a few years later, we were told it was higher than that. In fact, the industry used to teach about the mythical "fat burning zone" that you still see on so many cardio machines. It makes me laugh when I think about it.

Before I answer your question, let me first say that any cardio machine that has "fat burning zone" as a set program was probably invented in the Land of Oz. It’s pure marketing hype!

To help answer your question, I’m providing the standard target heart rate formula (I tend to manipulate the formula for elite athletes) and using a 40-year-old as an example:

220 - Age = Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)

60-85 percent of MHR is the goal for target heart rate range (THRR)

If we use a 40-year-old as an example, here is what the formula looks like:

220 – 40 = 180 beats per minute (MHR)

180 x 60-85 percent = 108-153 beats per minute (THRR)

Based on your question and what I was originally taught, one would assume that 108 to possibly 115 would be best for fat burning.

For someone who has been sedentary and is overweight, this low end range may be a good place to start. But for anyone else, it’s not going to burn as much fat as a higher intensity level of effort. Not super high all the time – just higher.

There are two cardio approaches that I’ve found to be effective for burning fat:

1. Steady state cardio, where one maintains a target rate range of 70-75 percent. You might warm up for five minutes and then gradually build your heart rate range to 70-75 percent and remain there for 35 minutes, followed by a 10-minute cool down.

2. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), where one performs moderate intensity cardio mixed with very high intensity bursts for brief periods. One might warm up for five minutes and then perform a 30-second, very high intensity burst followed by 1 minute low to moderate intensity and so on. The 30 second/1 minute cycles would be repeated for 30 minutes and then one would cool down for 10 minutes.

Both approaches work, but high-intensity cardio has been shown to be better than moderate/low-intensity cardio in targeting body fat.

So as you can see, a strategy that incorporates a moderate THRR (70-75 percent) and HIIT (moderate heart rate and very high heart rate) is a very effective way to go. Assuming one performs cardio 4-5 times a week, you can perform steady state 3 days and HIIT 2 days.

As far as the other part of your question related to making the heart stronger by working at the high end of the THRR -- just like strength training with weights makes your muscles stronger, regular cardio exercise actually makes your heart (also a muscle) stronger. The stronger your heart is, the more blood it can pump with each beat; this means your body gets oxygen more efficiently. However, it’s not necessary to always work at the high end of the THRR to accomplish this.

Aside from the above steady state and HIIT protocols, I try to keep things as simple as possible and based on common sense. So as long as you can carry on a conversation during cardio but would choose not to based on intensity, then you’re probably working in the correct range. The fitness industry tends to make things more complicated then they need to be.

If you have any more questions, I’m always available to help eDiets members on my Exercise and Fitness support board. In addition, we offer over 17 online nutrition programs, a very popular meal delivery program and access to dietitians and other personal trainers.

Best of luck, Winanne!

Have a fitness question you want answered? Email Raphael at askraphael@ediets.com and you could have your question picked! And if you missed a previous column, see the archive here.

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A drug-free competitive bodybuilder and winner of the prestigious WNBF (World Natural Bodybuilding Federation) Pro Card, Raphael Calzadilla is a veteran of the health-and-fitness industry. He specializes in a holistic approach to body transformation, nutrition programs and personal training. He earned his B.A. from Southern Connecticut State University and is certified as a personal trainer with The American Council on Exercise (ACE). In addition, he successfully completed the RTS1 (Resistance Training Specialist) program based on biomechanics.

Labels: cardio, cardio machines, heart rate, Raphael

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