How do I determine my target heart rate for weight loss?

sonybalony

Hi All!

I recently bought a heart rate monitor and the directions say I should be between 55 and 65% of my maximum heart rate.

I can set this silly thing to a max and min with an alarm to tell me when I reach either... but what the heck do I set it to, is the following right or am I doing it wrong?

I am 40, so my maximum heart rate is 180? normally when I work out I am hitting 130's to 160's... should I really be around 120? I don't sweat then, talk fine, basically it would be me on a treadmill moseying at 2.5 - 3 mph and no incline... should I just work in that zone for ... how long... and then also do what my normal is after? If I am doing a tape, I also range a lot higher...

Any help from somebody who actually has a clue would be great, since I am obviously challenged on this issue! lol

Thanks!

With Friendship and Warmth from Missouri!

Sonia

Mandyw58

Good luck with your new HRM. I bought a polar about 6 months ago, and I absolutely love it!

The first thing I would say is that you can use a formula for determining maximum heart rate (for example, 226-age for women) which would give you a max HR of 186. But they also state that it isn't accurate for all individuals, and can vary by up to 15 bpm. By the formula, my max HR is 194, but I've gone much higher than that while just sprinting. Also, I average around 170-175 bpm while jogging somewhat comfortably, so obviously the formula doesn't work or me. I just went for a run, then went balls-to-the-walls at the end, and used that to set my max HR.

For this next part, I'm going to explain this to the best of my understanding, but I'm definitely no expert. In the "fat burning" mode your body metabolizes a higher percentage of the energy burned using fat because it doesn't need a quick source of energy. When you are in aerobic mode or higher, your body is using sources which free up energy faster, like sugars, but it is also still burning fat (just a lower percentage of fat compared to the "fat burning" mode). However, when your HR is higher, you are burning more energy/calories than when your HR is lower. So overall, even though you may not be burning as high of a *percentage* of fat while in the aerobic mode, you may actually be burning more *total* fat.

The long and short of it is that when I exercise, I usually train the way I like and don't use the HRM zones. Instead, I'll use it while running or cycling to tell me if I'm pushing hard enough or if I'm slacking off, and I use it to give me a more accurate estimate of the calories burned. And given the option, I'd rather burn 300 calories in 30 mins of exercise in the aerobic zone than 150 calories in 30 mins in the fat burning zone.

Edit: I'm not sure how well I explained that, so here's a link to someone who is much clearer than me! http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/busting-the-great-myths-of-fat-burning.html

sonybalony

thanks Mandy! will def check out that link! :-)

Sonia