Please explain target heartrate?

Seajolly
Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
edited September 30 in Fitness and Exercise
I just got a HRM and have used it twice already. I love it, but would like to know more about my target heartrate "zone" and what it means to be under or over that, in plain English not scientific jargon please. :wink:

Today I jogged and was over my "zone". My HRM has my zone as 127-166 and I was around 177 while jogging. Can someone please explain why this would be a bad thing for weight loss to be over? Or is it not? Thanks!

Replies

  • misssmiles
    misssmiles Posts: 207 Member
    i've been wondering this too!!
  • James_1954
    James_1954 Posts: 187 Member
    I just got a HRM and have used it twice already. I love it, but would like to know more about my target heartrate "zone" and what it means to be under or over that, in plain English not scientific jargon please. :wink:

    Today I jogged and was over my "zone". My HRM has my zone as 127-166 and I was around 177 while jogging. Can someone please explain why this would be a bad thing for weight loss to be over? Or is it not? Thanks!

    I could be mistaken, but I don't think it's a "bad thing" for weight loss to be above your zone. I think it has more to do with the efficiency of your exercise for cardiovascular conditioning. Above your zone, I think you're primarily working anaerobically; within it, aerobically.

    Bottom line: go hard, work up a good sweat, play your tunes nice and loud, and have fun with it. It's all good!
  • yankeefamily05
    yankeefamily05 Posts: 657
    I was wondering the same thing! My target heart rate 125-165. Just like you I usually go over that to 170!
  • run_momma_run
    run_momma_run Posts: 319
    I'm not 100% sure if I'll be explaining this properly, but here goes.

    When you workout in the weight loss zone, your metabolism can convert stored fat as usable energy. This must be done in a lower aerobic state, and is considered "easy" cardio.

    When you workout at a higher HR, your body can no longer use fat stores, because it needs to provide you with energy more quickly than that. Working out at this level is considered "performance building". This is where you want to be if you want to get stronger or faster, but is not ideal for fat loss. Of course working out here isn't bad, it's just not specifically targeting fat loss (but indirectly, it still will; since you burn an extra 50 calories per day just breathing for every extra pound of muscle that you build)...

    Hope this helps...
  • lausa22
    lausa22 Posts: 467 Member
    Stay within your target zone.
    If you go over your target zone your body starts to work anaerobically, which doesn't burn fat as well as aerobic respiration (in fact it's 38x less efficient)

    Exercising in your target zone for a long time (jogging is great!) burns fat the best!


    (I study human biology, this is where my source comes from!)
  • Gabby215
    Gabby215 Posts: 69
    I've been dealing with this too and I agree with whats_her_name - higher than the zone means you'll burn loads of calories but not necessarily fat. Working out in the target zone is the fat burning zone. When I run the exact same thing happens to me but I don't want to slow down just for the sake of being in the target zone. So on my other workout days I try to do exercises that keep me in the zone - my step class usually does this for me. HTH
  • sara_m83
    sara_m83 Posts: 545 Member
    The only danger is being too close to your max heart rate. In general, your max heart rate is calculated as 220 - your age. So for me, my max heart rate is 220-28 = 192. If you are doing a long period of cardio, you don't generally want to be above 85% of your max heart rate as this puts quite a bit of stress on your heart and if it's weak or has any problems, you could end up having a heart attack. That's why high-intensity cardio tends to be short or in intervals. With high-intensity cardio, you may reach 85% or above of your max heart rate, but it is not sustained for long. For cardio you're doing for longer than 20 or 30 minutes, I would strongly advise to try to keep your heart rate below 85% of your maximum heart rate.
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
    Thanks all! Makes a lot of sense.

    I think the heat outside is pushing my HR too high. If I ran on a cooler day or on a treadmill I think I'd be closer to my fat burning zone. So while it's so hot, I'm going to cut back on my running and do more walking as well as weight/cardio interval training, which puts me right in the burning zone.
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