HELP! BURNING FAT VS BURNING MUSCLE

fishernd

When I work out, my HRM is telling me that my target heart rate should be somewhere around 140-160, however when I'm doing my cardio workouts, I'm usually at 170 or above for a good portion of the time. I've been told that in this range, I'm burning more muscle than fat.

If I slowed down to 145-150-ish for my heart rate, I would feel like I wasn't working out. Plus, I eat around 100g of protein a day to maintain muscle mass (I'm also doing weight training 3x a week). I generally do 3 different machines in the gym and all of them at intervals (high for 2-3 minutes, then slower for 1-2 min).

>>My questions is, for someone who's trying to lose weight, would it be better to drop my intensity down, even if I don't feel like I'm pushing myself, just to lose fat? Or should I stay at the same intensity, working intervals, and just continue to eat lots of protein?

Note: I'm starting training for a season of triathlons as well and possibly a half-marathon.

Thanks!

beano1980

Try this site http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/11_fat_loss_rules.htm
Has a lot of usefull info.
Hope it helps!
Stewart

Azdak

Given that the #1 rule listed is BS and wrong, I'm not so sure I'd bother with the other 10.

Working harder aerobically does not "burn muscle". Doing extensive endurance training -ie. marathon training--can possibly inhibit muscle growth, but that's about it.

There is a wide range of "normal" when it comes to heart rate. If you use the automatic HRM setup to determine your maximum heart rate and training HR "zones", it uses a standard formula. Unfortunately, probably anywhere from 20%-30% of the population has an actual max HR that is significantly different that what the HRM calculates for them

Bottom line: if you don't feel you are overexerting yourself, and if you can sustain an effort for 15-20 min, the HR you see is NOT too high for you.

The fuel that you burn during exercise--whether fats or carbs--is irrelevant and will not affect your fat loss. It is best to maximize your calorie expenditure. It is also important to follow a varied program that allows you to steadily improve fitness levels. That means a mixture of lower-intensity, longer-duration endurance workouts, medium duration, medium-intensity tempo or threshold workouts, and shorter, high-intensity interval workouts.