HR and Cardio Zone vs. Fat Burning

Iceprincessk25

Songbryd gave me some GREAT info regarding your HR. There seems to be a lot of questions on it lately so I thought I would post it for all to see!


FROM SONGBYRDSWEET

Well the 'cardio zone' vs. 'fat burning zone' is pretty dated, but every once in a while it pops back up like a cold sore.

People generally refer to the 'cardio zone' as the heart rate level during which you burn only 'sugar'. Some people think it's ineffective for fat loss, or dangerous because it puts too much strain on the heart (which is total bull). The 'fat burning zone' is generally thought to be a lower heart rate level that burns more fat and is the only thing necessary during weight loss and it spares all your glycogen for lifting, yadda yadda.

However, it's all crap, and here's what really happens:

At lower intensities, like while sitting, you're utilizing about 70% calories from oxidative systems that can use fatty acids, and 30% from non-oxidative systems that use glucose. However, you're burning almost nothing. Obviously, even though you're using more fatty acids, you're not burning calories and you're not improving your cardiovascular health. The same goes for low-intensity exercise (<65% MHR). You're still using glucose and fatty acids. At moderate levels, about 65-75% MHR, you're using glucose and fatty acids at about a 50/50 split and burning far more calories than you would at lower HR's. You can keep this up for a loooooooong time. And at higher HR, about 85%+, you're burning about 25% fatty acids and 75% glucose, but wasting a lot of calories. You can't sustain it as long though, because you teeter at the lactic acid threshold, and lactic acid causes pH changes that don't allow for proper energy production, so you reach fatigue. However, you're still going to use BOTH glucose and fatty acids, and the better trained you are, the better you can use fatty acids even at high intensities. It's important to incorporate all types of training to prevent overuse injuries and train your energy systems dynamically. But it's better to include moderate-high intensity work more often because it burns more calories and improves your cardiovascular health as well.

Hope that helps!

Iceprincessk25

Songbryd gave me some GREAT info regarding your HR. There seems to be a lot of questions on it lately so I thought I would post it for all to see!


FROM SONGBYRDSWEET

Well the 'cardio zone' vs. 'fat burning zone' is pretty dated, but every once in a while it pops back up like a cold sore.

People generally refer to the 'cardio zone' as the heart rate level during which you burn only 'sugar'. Some people think it's ineffective for fat loss, or dangerous because it puts too much strain on the heart (which is total bull). The 'fat burning zone' is generally thought to be a lower heart rate level that burns more fat and is the only thing necessary during weight loss and it spares all your glycogen for lifting, yadda yadda.

However, it's all crap, and here's what really happens:

At lower intensities, like while sitting, you're utilizing about 70% calories from oxidative systems that can use fatty acids, and 30% from non-oxidative systems that use glucose. However, you're burning almost nothing. Obviously, even though you're using more fatty acids, you're not burning calories and you're not improving your cardiovascular health. The same goes for low-intensity exercise (<65% MHR). You're still using glucose and fatty acids. At moderate levels, about 65-75% MHR, you're using glucose and fatty acids at about a 50/50 split and burning far more calories than you would at lower HR's. You can keep this up for a loooooooong time. And at higher HR, about 85%+, you're burning about 25% fatty acids and 75% glucose, but wasting a lot of calories. You can't sustain it as long though, because you teeter at the lactic acid threshold, and lactic acid causes pH changes that don't allow for proper energy production, so you reach fatigue. However, you're still going to use BOTH glucose and fatty acids, and the better trained you are, the better you can use fatty acids even at high intensities. It's important to incorporate all types of training to prevent overuse injuries and train your energy systems dynamically. But it's better to include moderate-high intensity work more often because it burns more calories and improves your cardiovascular health as well.

Hope that helps!

AliceLMS

Thank you ladies for that educational and instructive information.

I have fatty acids and glucose burning as I type:drinker: