Diet & Fitness Blog
Ask Raphael: Heart Rate and Fat Loss
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
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Have a question about your routine or anything fitness-related? Send it Raphael's way at askraphael@ediets.com.
Hi Raphael,
I am a 32-year-old woman who works out (cardio and strength training) 4-5 times a week. I consider myself fairly athletic, but I do have some extra weight that I have been trying to lose. I use a heart rate monitor and do cardio interval training (High Intensity Interval Training) a few times a week. However, it seems that the target heart rate for fat burning is impossibly low for me to reach.
If my calculations are correct, my ideal fat-burning heart rate is around 113-120 beats per minute. During all cardio workouts, my heart rate is much higher than this.
Most often my heart rate fluctuates between 145-165, but at peak exertion during interval training it is much higher: It can reach up to 186 beats per minute! I’ve also tried the “fat burning” workout routines on many cardio machines, but my heart rate still ends up being much higher than the target fat-burning heart rate. So I am confused.
Do I really need to decrease the intensity of my workouts so significantly to reach the fat burning target heart rate? I just want to lose the fat. Thanks a million! -- Melanie
Melanie,
You sound like you’re in excellent shape! I like your question because it allows me to not only assist you but to also clear up a misconception. There is no such thing as a fat-burning heart rate range or fat-burning zone. Burning fat (in reality, fat cells shrink) is a process whereby we burn more calories on a day-to-day basis than we consume. So no matter what, the heart rate during exercise does not magically take us into a fat-burning zone.
As you're probably aware, the formula for determining target heart rate (THR) is as follows:
220 - 32 (your age) = 188 beats per minute (maximum heart rate)
We then calculate 60%-85% of max heart rate to determine your target heart rate range:
188 x 60% = 113 beats per minute
188 x 85% = 160 beats per minute
The textbook answer tells us that the range of 113-160 is ideal for your cardio workouts, depending on your experience and comfort level. However, it appears you’ve heard that the low end (113-120) is the range where we burn fat. That's a complete myth!
If you tried to work out at the 113-120 level, you’d make very little progress and would most likely be bored to tears. The low range might be appropriate for someone just beginning an exercise program, but I don’t recommend it for any considerable length of time. Your range of 145-165 is perfectly fine. I would not recommend above that level, but that range is completely acceptable.
Concerning the fat-burning workout programs on cardio machines -- complete marketing hype! I wish it were true, but losing fat has more to do with burning more calories than you consume day in and day out, as I said earlier. Cardio will accelerate fat loss, but a fat-burning program labeled as such is misleading to the public. Am I being subtle about how much I detest the public being misled? Ha!
As far as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), your heart rate is bound to surpass the target heart rate range. However, the high point that you reach (186) isn’t sustained. In other words, it’s part of the high intensity interval of the workout and is balanced with the more moderate intervals in between.
If you were pushing 186 and never lowering for the entire workout, then I’d say you need to back off but that’s not the case with interval training. By the way, research shows that we burn more calories from HIIT in the 24 hours after the workout than during the workout. So HIIT is a marvelous way to stoke the metabolism.
So you can now mentally rest easy, Melanie. No need to work in a range that might send you into boredom land. Just remember that burning fat is a function of nutrition, cardio, strength training and consistency.
And no matter what, we must be in a slight calorie deficit to lose fat. Thanks so much for writing, and I wish you the best of success in your fitness journey. If you join eDiets, please stop by my Exercise and Fitness support board and say hello.
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.
Make NOW your time to do something about your weight. eDiets can help make weight loss a little easier. Let our nutritionists and fitness pros guide you! Click here to find out more and save big!
Hi Raphael,I am a 32-year-old woman who works out (cardio and strength training) 4-5 times a week. I consider myself fairly athletic, but I do have some extra weight that I have been trying to lose. I use a heart rate monitor and do cardio interval training (High Intensity Interval Training) a few times a week. However, it seems that the target heart rate for fat burning is impossibly low for me to reach.
If my calculations are correct, my ideal fat-burning heart rate is around 113-120 beats per minute. During all cardio workouts, my heart rate is much higher than this.
Most often my heart rate fluctuates between 145-165, but at peak exertion during interval training it is much higher: It can reach up to 186 beats per minute! I’ve also tried the “fat burning” workout routines on many cardio machines, but my heart rate still ends up being much higher than the target fat-burning heart rate. So I am confused.
Do I really need to decrease the intensity of my workouts so significantly to reach the fat burning target heart rate? I just want to lose the fat. Thanks a million! -- Melanie
Melanie,
You sound like you’re in excellent shape! I like your question because it allows me to not only assist you but to also clear up a misconception. There is no such thing as a fat-burning heart rate range or fat-burning zone. Burning fat (in reality, fat cells shrink) is a process whereby we burn more calories on a day-to-day basis than we consume. So no matter what, the heart rate during exercise does not magically take us into a fat-burning zone.
As you're probably aware, the formula for determining target heart rate (THR) is as follows:
220 - 32 (your age) = 188 beats per minute (maximum heart rate)
We then calculate 60%-85% of max heart rate to determine your target heart rate range:
188 x 60% = 113 beats per minute
188 x 85% = 160 beats per minute
The textbook answer tells us that the range of 113-160 is ideal for your cardio workouts, depending on your experience and comfort level. However, it appears you’ve heard that the low end (113-120) is the range where we burn fat. That's a complete myth!
If you tried to work out at the 113-120 level, you’d make very little progress and would most likely be bored to tears. The low range might be appropriate for someone just beginning an exercise program, but I don’t recommend it for any considerable length of time. Your range of 145-165 is perfectly fine. I would not recommend above that level, but that range is completely acceptable.
Concerning the fat-burning workout programs on cardio machines -- complete marketing hype! I wish it were true, but losing fat has more to do with burning more calories than you consume day in and day out, as I said earlier. Cardio will accelerate fat loss, but a fat-burning program labeled as such is misleading to the public. Am I being subtle about how much I detest the public being misled? Ha!
As far as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), your heart rate is bound to surpass the target heart rate range. However, the high point that you reach (186) isn’t sustained. In other words, it’s part of the high intensity interval of the workout and is balanced with the more moderate intervals in between.
If you were pushing 186 and never lowering for the entire workout, then I’d say you need to back off but that’s not the case with interval training. By the way, research shows that we burn more calories from HIIT in the 24 hours after the workout than during the workout. So HIIT is a marvelous way to stoke the metabolism.
So you can now mentally rest easy, Melanie. No need to work in a range that might send you into boredom land. Just remember that burning fat is a function of nutrition, cardio, strength training and consistency.
And no matter what, we must be in a slight calorie deficit to lose fat. Thanks so much for writing, and I wish you the best of success in your fitness journey. If you join eDiets, please stop by my Exercise and Fitness support board and say hello.
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.
Make NOW your time to do something about your weight. eDiets can help make weight loss a little easier. Let our nutritionists and fitness pros guide you! Click here to find out more and save big!
Labels: ask raphael, fitness, heart rate, Raphael, workout
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