Heart rate at the gym

bubsyh
bubsyh Posts: 57 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

I was wondering what my heart rate should be at the gym to burn the most fat. When I am running it is about 140-160 (I am very unfit) but when I do the "fat burn" option on the cross trainer/eliptical it recommends my heart rate should stay at 125. To burn the most calories should I go high or stay low?

Replies

  • pauline251
    pauline251 Posts: 33 Member
    Hmm, my average heart rate is 165 when i'm running, although if i push myself it will go up 180 and I am reasonably fit. I am currently training for a half marathon which is in 2 weeks time. The higher your heart rate the more calories you will burn. Also interval training will burn more calories too.
  • leslturn8
    leslturn8 Posts: 505 Member
    The higher your heart rate the more calories you will burn. Also interval training will burn more calories too.
    awesome i do interval training because i just cant run at 10km/ph more then a minute at a time! i die lol when running at 10km/h my heart rate is 180-ish!
    The sad thing is you want to lose, u want to gain muscle the things i get told and work out for changes lol, to lose fat walk slow pace, to burm more calories run like the wind, to lose weight keep between 140-160....it's hard to stick to what you want when it keeps changing!
  • KitTheRoadie
    KitTheRoadie Posts: 641 Member
    I am not going to profess to know the answer to this but I can relate and say the machines in my gym say exactly the same thing...

    If I want to burn fat then I have to keep my HR at around 120, but normally my average is around 140. I have heard that to burn fat you should stay low.

    In answer to your question "to burn the most calories, high or low?" I would say high!

    :smile:
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
    Hi all,

    I was wondering what my heart rate should be at the gym to burn the most fat. When I am running it is about 140-160 (I am very unfit) but when I do the "fat burn" option on the cross trainer/eliptical it recommends my heart rate should stay at 125. To burn the most calories should I go high or stay low?

    Loads of info on here about heart rate and fat burning zone but in summary:

    Fat burn zone (125 in your case) = higher percentage of fat burnt relative to glycogen
    Higher intensity (140-160 in your case) = higher overall fat burnt but lower percentage relative to glycogen
  • johncole90
    johncole90 Posts: 23
    A fat burning zone is just that, a heart rate zone where the calories burned will be mostly fat. Higher intensity will tap into your muscle if done for a longer period.
  • whitefang66
    whitefang66 Posts: 38 Member
    can i suggest something that has worked well for me to keep the weight loss rate steady at around 3-4lbs a week? i workout 6 out of 7 days, but i find the key to a) not getting bored and b) keeping the weight loss going is variation. let me explain.. i work on a 1 day of cardio and 1 day of cardio and weights routine, for 6 days in a row generally. when i do cardio i try and do 15 minutes of each elliptical (cross) trainer, then rowing, cycling and walking/jogging on treadmill. on the days i do cardio only, i do 2 circuits, amounting to 1 hour for each circuit with 30-60 seconds between each. and i try and do them in a different order each day. on the day i do weights, i do one circuit of cardio machines, and then each of the weight machines, again, varying the order i do them in, i am still losing weight at a rate of 3-4 lbs a week :)
  • whitefang66
    whitefang66 Posts: 38 Member
    incidentally, i am burning calories at a rate 0f 500-550 an hour on cardio, and 250 an hour on weights :)
  • madmickie
    madmickie Posts: 221 Member
    Read this http://www.brianmac.co.uk/fatburn.htm
  • bubsyh
    bubsyh Posts: 57 Member
    Thank you evegryone :)

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