Aerobic Burn vs. Fat Burn

TheGreatYaYa
TheGreatYaYa Posts: 215 Member
edited October 1 in Introduce Yourself
Okay...I need a fitness expert for this one. I just purchased a HRM and have now learned that for all of the walking and workouts I've been doing, my heart rate has been burning at "fitness rate" rather than a "fat burning" rate. I need it to burn at a fat burning rate, I think, don't I, if my objective is to lose fat? Example: I just tested it on my NordicTrack treadmill and slowed down to try and get my heart rate down really slow, but the problem is, my heart rate is normally fast (around 92-95). Okay, I walked at a slow pace of between 2.2 and 2.3 m.p.h. for 101 minutes and 14 seconds. I only spent 1 minute and 14 seconds in "fat burn" mode and the other hour was spent in "fitness" mode. My avg. HR was 129 and the max was 136. What should I do?

Does the fact that my heart rate normally runs high mean that it can run higher into the "fitness" mode and me still be in "fat burn" mode? Hope this makes sense to somebody. I really want to be burning fat!!! Isn't there a formula...a certain percentage your heart should work at to be in fat burning mode?

Thanks.

Nance

Replies

  • kirsty0911
    kirsty0911 Posts: 54 Member
    Bump...I'm interested in peoples thoughts/opinions on this too
  • kimberly702
    kimberly702 Posts: 369 Member
    I'm bumping this too because my heartrate is high too and was wondering the same thing!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    heart rate zones are a corck of S$^t. you will burn more calories in the aerobic zone which will lead to greater weight and fat loss. The harder you work the more cals you burn the more fat you lose.

    In the fat burning zone you burn a higher % of calories from fat, but less fat calories overall. Lets say you burn 200 cals in 30 minutes in the fat burning zone and 60% of those cals are from fat that would be 120 cals from fat, now say in the aerobic zone you burn 300 cals in 30 minutes and 45% cals are from fat, that would be 135 cals from fat, so although the % of cals burned from fat is lower the 135 cals from fat is higher than the 120.

    Keep working hard and you will not only see fat loss but improvements in athletic performances and overall fitness.
  • readingboy
    readingboy Posts: 24
    From: http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/The-Truth-About-The-Fat-Burning-Zone.htm

    The body does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat in the fat burning zone or at lower intensities. However, at higher intensities (70-90% of your maximum heart rate), you burn a greater number of overall calories, which is what matters when it comes to losing weight.

    The chart below details the fat calories expended by a 130-pound woman during cardio exercise:

    Low Intensity - 60-65% MHR High Intensity - 80-85% MHR

    Total Calories expended per min. - low-intensity: 4.86, high-intensity: 6.86
    Fat Calories expended per min. - low-intensity:low-intensity:2.43, high-intensity: 2.7
    Total Calories expended in 30 min. - low-intensity:146, high-intensity: 206
    Total Fat calories expended in 30 min. - low-intensity: 73, high-intensity: 82

    In this example, the woman burns more total calories and more fat calories at a higher intensity. This isn't to say that low intensity exercise doesn't have it's place. In fact, endurance workouts should be a staple of a complete fitness program along with shorter, higher intensity workouts or interval workouts, which are a great way to burn calories and build endurance.
  • kbarnes84
    kbarnes84 Posts: 2
    I do know that a slow paced jog is spouse to help you burn fat compared to you running at a quicker pace. To me it felt like I wasn’t doing anything, so I started to do interval training. With interval training I felt like I was more productive and wasn’t worried about my hear rate.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    If you have a high heart rate, it basically means you're not aerobically fit. So go with getting aerobically fit. Like other posts here, it's more important for the total calories burned in weight loss. By upping your fitness, you will be more efficient at burning "fat" calories when you DON'T exercise. You burn more calories at rest then if you worked out for 3 hours.
  • artsymel
    artsymel Posts: 9
    Hi Nancy

    I don't know if this will be of any help or not but this site has some good articles . I also do his hit work outs ( high intensity interval training) He is saying the right exercise for 20 mins is as or more effective than a 2 hour session at the gym..http://www.losebellyfatworkout.com/week1
  • TheGreatYaYa
    TheGreatYaYa Posts: 215 Member
    Thanks everybody. Makes perfect sense! I'll keep on truckin' :-) and eventually this weight will come off!
  • TheGreatYaYa
    TheGreatYaYa Posts: 215 Member
    Hi Nancy

    I don't know if this will be of any help or not but this site has some good articles . I also do his hit work outs ( high intensity interval training) He is saying the right exercise for 20 mins is as or more effective than a 2 hour session at the gym..http://www.losebellyfatworkout.com/week1

    I was checking out that site. Do you have to sign up to get the workout? Is it really free? I get the feeling they want to sell me something. Did they send you an MP3 player?
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