The rate at which your heart beats during exercise is an excellent indicator of the intensity of the activity. Monitoring your heart rate is method to determine whether you are working hard enough to burn fat or too hard, limiting the duration of the exercise and decreasing the amount of potential fat loss. Both men and women's bodies operate in the same manner; the intensity of the exercise dictates the fitness zone.
Minimum Zone
The longer you exercise the more fat you will burn, so lower intensity allows for longer duration. The lowest training heart rate at which fat will be used by the muscles for energy is 60 percent of your maximum heart rate. The consensus is that the maximum heart rate is 220 beats per minute. If you are 30-years-old, then 220 minus 30 is 190 divided by 60 percent equals 114. Therefore, your minimum heart rate for burning fat would be 114 beats per minute.
Training Zone
Conversely, the more effort you put into an exercise the less time you have to sustain it. This is because of fatigue factors inherent in exercise such as lactic acid accumulation. However, the higher your fitness level, the longer you will be able to sustain a more intense training session. An effective way of determining whether your exertion level is too high is to consider the following signs: Is there a burning sensation in the muscles? Are you gasping for breath? Is your heart rate 80 percent, or beyond, of your maximum.
Training Application
The aerobic equipment at most fitness facilities has sensors that can be used to monitor your heart rate. However, if you don't have access to this equipment, a quick and easy way of figuring out your training intensity is by taking your pulse for 10 seconds and multiplying that number by six. The most convenient areas for taking your pulse is on the wrist or at the throat area just below the back edge of your jaw.
Monitoring Heart Rate
When you begin your exercise, you start with a five-minute warm-up. During the warm-up, you have no need to monitor your heart rate because it will waiver for various reasons. Once the warm-up has been completed and you have established your training level, then you can monitor your heart rate and maintain this intensity for at least 30 minutes in order to maximize fat loss.
References
- "Mayo Clinic: Fitness for Everyone"; Diane Dahm and Jay Smith; 2005
- "Fitness and Health"; Brian Sharkey; 2002
- "Practical Sports Nutrition"; Louise Burke; 2007
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