Your heart rate is the common thread between exercising for aerobic fitness and exercising for fat loss. While optimal aerobic training requires a higher heart rate than optimal fat burning, you don't have to choose one over the other. You can accomplish both fat loss and cardiovascular conditioning at the same time, according to a study by exercise physiologist Dan Carey, assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at St. Thomas University in Minnesota.
Convergent Training Zones
Carey's study, published in the October 2009 issue of the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research," found considerable overlap in the target heart rates for aerobic fitness and fat loss. The aerobic conditioning zone is between 60 to 90 percent of maximal heart rate, and the fat-burning zone is between 55 to 70 percent of maximal heart rate. Exercising in the overlap would allow you to meet both goals with the same exercise program. In addition, Carey's study says that such a training program would also meet cardiovascular fitness and weight control standards for the American College of Sports Medicine.
Crunching the Numbers
To estimate your maximal heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, if you are 45 years old, your maximal heart rate is approximately 175 beats per minute. Then, multiply your maximal heart rate by the upper and lower limits of the aerobic and fat-burning zones. Your aerobic heart rate zone would be between 105 and 157 beats per minute -- 175 multiplied by 0.6 and 175 multiplied by 0.9. Your fat-burning zone would be between 96 and 122 beats per minute -- 175 multiplied by 0.55 and 175 multiplied by 0.7. These are your target heart rates for each zone.
Target Heart Rates
To achieve cardiovascular fitness or optimal fat burning, you must exercise at the target heart rates specified for each and sustain that heart rate for at least 20 minutes. The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggests exercising at your target heart rate for at least 150 minutes spread across three to five days a week. If you are just beginning an exercise program, check with your doctor first. Then, start slowly and increase intensity of exercise gradually, while staying within your target heart rate.
The Overlap Zone
If you keep your heart rate in the overlap zone, you can benefit aerobically and achieve fat loss simultaneously, according to Carey's study. For example, the overlap zone for a 45-year-old occurs between 105 and 122 beats per minute. Keeping your heart rate within that range for at least 20 minutes per exercise session can promote cardiovascular fitness as well as weight loss.
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