The “fat burning zone” is ‘Low Intensity Cardio’ where your heart rate is between 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. For the average person within 2-5 minutes you will have an increased heart rate and if you maintain that rate you burn fat. About 50% of total calories you burn are coming from fat. If you maintain that intensity level after 20 min 70-80% of calories are coming now from fat and 20-30% from carbohydrates. However, most people stop after 20 minutes. When training for cardiovascular endurance the zone is ‘High Intensity Cardio’ and your heart rate is between 70-85% of your maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate can be estimated by the following formula: (220 – Age) = Maximum Heart Rate Example: (220-28) = 192 b.p.m. (beats per minute) is the maximum heart rate a 28 year old fat burning zone – low intensity zone 192 x 60% – 70% = 115 – 134 b.p.m. cardio training zone – high intensity zone 192 x 70% – 85% = 134 – 163 b.p.m. So which is for fat loss? Really it is determined by the person’s fitness level and fitness goals! Even though the “fat-burning zone” uses a higher percentage of fat for fuel; you need to look at the big picture, total calories burned. For Example: Low Intensity Training burns 50% fat for fuel ex: 100 calories x 50% = 50 calories from fat High Intensity Training burns 40% fat for fuel ex: 160 calories x 40% = 64 calories from fat So, if you burn 100 calories in 20 minutes of Low Intensity exercise compared to 160 calories in 10 minutes of High Intensity Exercise, you’ve still burned more total fat doing High Intensity Exercise. Let me break it down: For individuals new to exercise it is recommended to start in the low intensity zone (you want to start slow so you don’t get hurt). Keep your heart rate between 60 and 75% of your max and there will be some benefit in the first 2-3 weeks, initially you may even experience some weight loss. Once you have been working out consistently, you need to increase the intensity of your routine. Don’t forget to this increase corresponds to a 70 – 85% of Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). Maintaining a higher intensity of exercise for a longer time could be very hard for some. I suggest interval training. Interval training is a great way to burn more calories in a short amount of time. This means that increasing the intensity level for a short period of time (30sec. – 2 min) and returning after each interval to a basic intensity level. For example: The initial intensity of the interval corresponds to 60% of MHR. So walk on the treadmill for 1 minute at 60 of MHR, then jog or run for 2 minutes at 80% of your MHR. The goal would be to repeat this for a time period of 30 minutes. Efficiency and life style would determine the best option for you. If you are looking to make a long term life style change, the goal should be to workout out a minimum of three times weekly. Doing 30 minutes of high intensity exercise followed by 30 minutes of interval training cardiovascular exercise. If you are at an advanced level of exercise, or an athlete (runner, cyclist, swimmer, football player, basketball player, soccer player etc.) longer periods of cardio may be required to improve your long term cardiovascular endurance.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 13:00:23 +0000
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