fat burning zone

rachylouise87

when i am doing zumba i am usually averaging at around 150bpm on my HRM sometimes up to 155. when doing 30 day shred its usually anything up to 140 and i know that includes toning and strength and zumba is pure cardio. i have a lot of fat to lose my scales are estimating me to have 35% body fat so what im asking is is it better to do endurance cardio say keeping my HR at 150 for longer eg 45-60 minutes or doing shorter bursts say 15 to 20 minutes of a higher HR?

ninerbuff

The "fat burning zone" while scientifically correct doesn't compared to fat burned when you sleep for 8 hours. In fact you burn more fat at rest than exercising moderately for an hour.
Since weight loss is based on a CALORIE deficit (notice I didn't say a fat calorie deficit), then it's better to just burn more calories at higher intensities. Higher intensities also RAISE your RMR which means you burn more fat at rest.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

rachylouise87

thanks. if my estimated max hr is 189 what should i be aiming for in workouts to get the most benefit. so far zumba is giving me 150-60 per 20-40 minutes

DeeTee68

For greater fat burn you need to do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) over a short period just google HIIT and you will find a wealth of information on the subject though not sure how that would fit into a Zumba class lol

rachylouise87

ahhh i tried insanity and couldnt get past the fit test... shameful

DopeItUp

rachylouise87 wrote: »

thanks. if my estimated max hr is 189 what should i be aiming for in workouts to get the most benefit. so far zumba is giving me 150-60 per 20-40 minutes

Do whatever you can. Strive to go harder or longer (or both) over time. Shooting for some mythical magic heart rate is pointless unless you are trying to pace yourself or are shooting for a specific goal of some kind (doesn't sound like you are).

Cherimoose

rachylouise87 wrote: »

what im asking is is it better to do endurance cardio say keeping my HR at 150 for longer eg 45-60 minutes or doing shorter bursts say 15 to 20 minutes of a higher HR?

A higher HR burns more calories per hour. It's not "better", it's just more efficient. An HR of 150 for 45-60 minutes burns more calories than 20 minutes at 160, since the duration is way longer.

rachylouise87

thanks i had a burn of 157 over 52 minutes today so much better