If I'm suppose to be at 121 heart rate for fat burn, and 150 for cardio, what does it mean when I'm at 135?

Question

My goal right now is to burn fat. The research I've been doing tells me to keep my heart rate at an average of 121 when I'm on the treadmill, eliptical, bike...things of that nature. I do not yet have the conditioning to keep my heart rate at the cardio level of 150 for a good lengh of time, but 121 seems slow, and not a hard workout. If I step it up a bit, to give me the "feeling" of a harder work out, my HR is more around 135. If I burn fat at 121, and doing cardio at 150, what's going on with my body when I'm stuck in the middle of the two? Is the pace of 121, even though it feels like I'm not doing as much as I could, still the best for burning fat, as opposed to muscle? I also do some work with weights, and I'm gaining strength, so I don't want to burn that muscle by pushing too hard on the treadmill. Help! Do I have it all mixed up? Again, my main goal is to burn fat.

Answer 1

hmm... what does it mean? the answer lies in your question, my dear.

if you're supposed to be at 121 and you're at 135, it means that you're 14 bpm higher than your rate for "fat burn"

but it doesn't end there. no. you're also 15 bpm less than that "for cardio"

Answer 2

121 is enough for fat burn, but its just the lowest heart rate for fat burn. it goes all the way up to 150 when cardio rate starts.
any rate from121-150 is fat burn.

Answer 3

if you are heart healthy performing cardio in the "fat burning" zone is based on an antiquated methodology and is not optimum for fat loss. so many people have been brainwashed by this thinking.

there are two factors that are important when exercising specifically for body fat reduction. the intensity of the exercise and the duration. when you exercise at a low level of intensity the body will use more fatty acids for energy during the training session and after exercise it will utilize more glucose for energy. when low level intensity exercise is performed the body can metabolize a sufficient amount of free fatty acids to be converted to the cellular energy source ATP. ATP is the main source of energy for all muscular contractions. when exercising at a high level of intensity the body can not metabolize sufficient amounts of fatty acids so it switches to utilizing glucose as the primary energy source. it is easy for the body to convert glucose to ATP. so after training the body will metabolize a greater amount of fatty acids for energy. if exercise is performed at an intensity equivalent to 75% of the VO2max for 60-80 minutes. the resting metabolic rate "after" exercise can be elevated for up to 10 hours, with low intensity exercise (29% of the VO2max) it is elevated only maybe 30 minutes.

it's kind of a no-brainer if you ask me...check the net there are tons of sites for ways to test your VO2max so you can adjust your training accordingly