The weight-loss or fat-loss activity button on a treadmill or any other type of cardiovascular fitness equipment is designed to help you exercise at an intensity level in your optimum fat-burning zone. The weight-loss preset programs use your predicted maximum heart rate to determine your fat-burning zone and aim to keep you at an intensity level throughout the workout that promotes fat loss.
Weight-Loss Programs
When selecting the weight-loss button, you may be prompted to provide your age and current body weight. Your age is necessary for the treadmill's computer software to calculate your predicted maximum heart rate to determine your fat-loss zone. Your body weight is necessary to give you a more accurate calculation of the number of calories you are burning during your workout.
Intensity Level
Weight-loss programs on a treadmill typically involve a low-intensity warm-up and cool-down, and usually a series of intervals at varying intensity levels to keep your heart rate within the fat-loss range. You will most likely be prompted to check your heart rate using the heart-rate sensors provided on the treadmill periodically throughout the workout to ensure you are working at the right intensity level. If you are not at the correct fat-burning intensity level, the treadmill will adjust the intensity level accordingly or may prompt you to increase or decrease the speed or incline to keep you within a fat-burning range.
Fat-Burning Zone
The fat-burning zone is when the highest percentage of calories burned during an activity comes from fat stores as opposed to carbohydrate stores. The optimum fat-burning zone is typically between 55 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. Your fat-burning zone is calculated by subtracting your age from 220, then multiplying your answer by 55 percent and by 70 percent. This will provide you with a heart-rate range in which you will burn the greatest percentage of calories from fat.
Considerations
Although the body uses a higher percentage of fat for energy during lower intensity exercise, it does not expend as many calories as higher intensity exercises, note David L. Costill and Jack H. Wilmore, authors of "Physiology of Sport and Exercise." Higher intensity exercise burns a greater percentage of calories from carbohydrate stores than fat stores but burns more total calories than lower intensity exercise. If your goal is weight loss, exercise alone may not be enough. Changes in your diet may also be necessary for optimum results.
References
- Precor; Treadmill 9.35 Owner's Manual
- "Physiology of Sport and Exercise;" Jack H. Wilmore & David L. Costill; 2004
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