Fat Burning Zones: Get your heart in the workout

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Some questions I had as I started to work out were “what is a target heart rate?” and “why's it important?”

I mean I see the heart rate chart on the side of most cardio equipment but why's it important?

The answer is more straightforward than some would think. Let’s start with what target heart rates.

Simply put it is the heart rate you want to reach and maintain for your given exercise. Now there are some widely accepted zones for your heart rate: fat burning, heart healthy, aerobic, intense conditioning and the “RED ZONE”.

To be aware of roughly where each of these are, we need to do some simple math.

For your maximum heart rate (MHR) take 220 and subtract your age from it, this is your predicted max heart rate (220-age=MHR). Please be aware without going to a medical professional to have a max heart rate test, you will not have the exact number for your MHR. This number will also vary based on your physical condition.

Your target heart rate can also entirely depend on what you are trying to do.

Here is a little summary of what these ranges are:

1. Fat Burning Zone – At 40%-50% of maximum heart rate, this is going to be light exercise such as walking on the treadmill. Part of why this rate is called fat burning is its usually a very maintainable pace.

2. Heart Healthy Zone – Increasing to 50%-70% of the maximum heart rate, this is going to be more strenuous but still light. Often this is a good start to improving overall fitness.

3. Aerobic Zone – This zone falls into the 70%-85% of the maximum heart rate. For me, this exertion feels difficult. The perceived exertion should be moderate - hard. This range helps to improve overall aerobic fitness.

4. Intense conditioning – The intense conditioning zone is considered a sports training zone. About 80%-95% of your max heart rate usually only maintainable for 5-10 minutes. It is extremely hard and pushes you. This level will help to improve your maximum endurance and maximum speed. This range is best for athletes.

5. The “RED ZONE” – This is pushing your heart to its maximum. 90%-100% of your maximum heart rate. This zone is the hardest and, unless you are in good shape and cleared by a medical professional, can be a dangerous place to be. This range helps to develop maximum speed.

Quick math review to calculate percentages you multiply the number by .xx. So if I want 40% of my MHR, it would be 196 x .40 = 78.4 for heart rate I would round so 78 beats per minute.

I made a calculator for you to use just put in your values MHR x the percentage you want like 40.

With all of this in mind, when I work out I have a few goals for where I want my heart rate. Please keep in mind if you have heart problems or have not been cleared by a doctor for physical activity do not push yourself. Please do not do this without a doctor’s clearance.

My long-term goals right now are too loose fat and improve my overall fitness. Here are my target heart rate goals in general terms.

1. When I am warming up, I want to be going from my normal heart rate into the fat-burning zone. You want to warm up by getting your heart going and doing light exercise for the muscles you will be using. I am not looking for aerobic or heart healthy here. I want to be at a point my heart is being pushed to put more blood into my muscles getting me warmed up and ready to go.

2. Cardio – I like to push myself towards the top of the Heart healthy zone maybe peeking into the Aerobic zone. Because I want to improve my overall fitness levels and basic endurance in addition to losing weight I focus in these zones.

3. Weightlifting is a whole other animal and isn’t focused on heart rate. I would still do my warm-up for weightlifting.

4. Most important part of any workout is the cooldown. The cooldown should not ever be a rushed process you can save yourself a vast amount of muscle soreness just by doing this step. I like to work down from Heart healthy to an average rate. I do this through a walking cool down usually 5+ minutes. I then stretch. Any muscles I used or that have been sore lately get stretched this can take anywhere from 10 minutes – 30 minutes.

I have found an easy way to keep track of your heart rate during your workout is to have a device that measures your heart rate. They tend to be more accurate than the gym equipment. An easy one to have is just a wrist Fitbit.

-FatToFlatGuy