Need Advice on Proper HR for workouts to achieve my goals..

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scottg9999
scottg9999 Posts: 30
in Fitness and Exercise
I have just joined a gym and I am trying to improve my fitness level and loose weight. Heart rate monitors aren't exactly new, but last time I regularly went to a gym, the idea was to work out for as hard as possible. Heart rate monitors now seem to be a primarly tool in exercise/fitness routinue. I understand that fat burning is at around 60% of max while cardio should be around 80% of max. In my case being 44, I am assuming max would be around 180?

My confusion is i am looking for both, but not sure how effective fat burning would be if working at the 80% of max? I have found that working at 60% of max is way too easy and I often wind up working in the 90% of max for 30 minutes (maximum time I have at lunch at work). To be honest, I really don't find the workout overwhelming or overchallenging in any way. It seems intuitive that harder workouts/more calories burned/more weight lost, but not sure this is the current thinking. I would appreciate any adivse I could get on this and a recommended workout.

Thanks,

Scott

Replies

  • yvonnej1
    yvonnej1 Posts: 904 Member
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    I would recommend that you check out this blog by one of the members Azdak, I have found it very interesting http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak?month=201005 check out his other posts too he also explains about the limits of HRM's.
  • TulsaTim
    TulsaTim Posts: 87
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    From what I have seen. "Rule of thumb" max heart rate is 220.

    I clipped this from a previous post... Hope it helps. I know it has helped me.


    *****BOTTOM LINE*********

    To figure your best calorie burning zone you need to use this formula.

    220-(Your Age)*85% = Calorie Burn Zone

    Mine currently is 220-43 = 177*85% = 150


    Please remember this is a rule of thumb. To get your true max heart rate, you need to consult a doctor.
  • dewoods
    dewoods Posts: 148
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    Here is another thing to consider when using an HRM I posted this several days ago.

    It was brought to my attention that when I use a HRM during exercise, when I am done I need to subtract the calories that my body burned at rest to get the TRUE total calories burned from the EXERCISE alone.

    At first this didn't make since to me but after doing some research it is clear that for a true caloric burn you need to subtract out your BMR calories.

    If you go to my profile, tools, BMR, there is a calculator that will measure your daily BMR based on the current information you provide.

    Here is the definition of BMR:

    Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. It represents the minimum amount of energy needed to keep your body functioning, including breathing and keeping your heart beating.

    Your BMR does not include the calories you burn from normal daily activities or exercise.



    My current BMR is 1760/day

    1,7601/24 (hr/day) = 73.33/hour
    73.33/60 = 1.22/min

    So I would need to subtract 1.22 cals for every minute I work out, because MFP already accounts for that amount of resting caloric burn. Example: 30 minutes of working out, I would subtract 36.6 calories from what my HRM says I burned in order to get the calories burned from exercise alone.

    I wanted to mention this as there has been a lot of discussion about eating your exercise calories. I personally do not eat all my exercise calories back as my thoughts are this is what you want to do if your in maintenance mode. For those who decide to eat them all just make sure your eating the correct amount otherwise you may go in the wrong direction.
  • scottg9999
    scottg9999 Posts: 30
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    Just to clarify a bit, I am really looking for an answer to as whether I am getting any advantage continuing to work out at 90% max or I should drop down to 80% of max or even 60% of max (to maximimize fat burning). My current 30 minutes at 90% of max is very doable, but I just want to make sure that it is also the best ways to go to acheive my goals of weight loss (40+ lbs) and improvement of overall fitness level.

    Thanks,

    Scott
  • TulsaTim
    TulsaTim Posts: 87
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    85-90% is rule of thumb without getting into some monster testing and testing equipment. :-) So you are on the right track from everything that I have read. I am sure there are some doctors and fitness experts that can elaborate further that just seem to make my head spin but when they start talking about something "I" can measure, they always point back to the 85-90% rule LoL
  • yvonnej1
    yvonnej1 Posts: 904 Member
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    Just to clarify a bit, I am really looking for an answer to as whether I am getting any advantage continuing to work out at 90% max or I should drop down to 80% of max or even 60% of max (to maximimize fat burning). My current 30 minutes at 90% of max is very doable, but I just want to make sure that it is also the best ways to go to acheive my goals of weight loss (40+ lbs) and improvement of overall fitness level.

    Thanks,

    Scott

    Apologies I meant to direct you to this blog which better answers your question ( but is even longer) http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak?month=201002, as he says it's not all about heart rate or percentages, if it feels easy it probably is regardless of your heart rate, therefore I wouldn't worry about working at 90% of your maximum, I often do comfortably too.

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