When you exercise, your heart rate increases. This ensures that oxygenated blood and nutrients get to the muscles to keep them working properly, according to the American Council on Exercise. Knowing your exercising heart rate will help you stay in the right zone for effective fat burning.
Identification
Aerobic, or cardiovascular, exercise is performed in a repetitive motion with little added resistance. It is beneficial for burning fat. This is the type of exercise that causes you to break out in a sweat during a workout. The goal with your heart rate is to get into the 50 percent to 80 percent training zone, which is also known as the aerobic zone.
Heart Rate
Before you get into your training zone, you need to determine your maximum heart rate, or MHR. This is done by subtracting your age from 220. For example, if you are 30 years old, your MHR is 190 beats per minute. To determine your target training zone, you need to multiply your maximum heart rate by .5 and .8, the decimal equivalents of 50 percent and 80 percent. Use 190 as an example. This would come out to 95 and 152. Your goal is to get your heart rate up to at least 95 beats per minute, but not past 152.
Function
To determine your heart rate while exercising, place your fingers on the inside of one wrist or on the side of your neck over your carotid artery. Once you locate your pulse, count the beats for 10 seconds and multiply by six. You will need to wear a watch when you do this or be within clear sight of a clock. For example, if you count 18 beats, your exercising heart rate is 108, which is in your target training zone. When you locate your pulse, do not apply heavy pressure with your fingers. You also have the option of wearing a heart-rate monitor when you exercise. These have chest straps with transmitters that send a signal to a watch. By wearing this, your heart rate will automatically display on the screen throughout your workout so you can easily determine your training zone.
Time Frame
Even when you get into your fat-burning zone, you still need to exercise long enough. Keep your heart rate in the aerobic zone for at lest 12 minutes to get fat burning and aerobic results, according to Penn State University. This is only a minimum. The longer you train, the more calories you will expend and the more fat you will burn.
Considerations
As you exercise, check your heart rate on a regular basis. You can easily adjust your intensity up or down to get into your target heart-rate zone. If you are new to training, exercise near the lower end of your training zone and gradually increase your intensity as you get into better shape over the weeks.
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