what is the right heart rate when using an exercise bike for fat burning? age 42 male.?

Question

Thank you all, lots of info, I am more cofused than ever. Well, I should add more info aboiut myself in order to get a better answer, right to the point. I am very fit, not overweight at all, I just have some fat around the abdomen, about half an inch in thickness. I want to get rid of it and show the six pack. I can go fast at a higher rate and stay there, no problem, what I am worry about is doing something that makes me loose muscles rather than fat. So the question should be like this, should I go slow or fast for best fat burning?

Answer 1

So, spycatcher, are you totally confused yet?

There's alot of info been bantered about, so of it good, some of it bad.

Bride2be gave you a formula, but incorrectly identified it as your resting HR. 220 minus your age is the theoretical max heart rate, not the resting HR. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about intervals until you've reached a good fitness base. Doing intervals as a novice can cause injury. Besides, intervals will burn calories at a higher rate, but you won't be able to do it for nearly as long. The best way to burn a significant number of calories in each workout is to stay in the 'fat burning' zone, more on that later.

Hello has convoluted the answer even further by bringing the idea of cardiovascular intensity in. Again, more on this later, but as a novice, don't worry about this distinction just yet.

Errolcollen has given great advice, and the numbers are right on, but again has given an overly complicated answer. You don't need to worry about your actual resting heart rate for now, and again, the intensity zones are beyond you for now.

Kinkyboots (god I love that handle) also knows her stuff. But, I think gave you more than you're ready for now. The initialisms HRM and AT, stand for Heart Rate Monitor and Anaerobic Threshold. Asking you to come up with a number for a two hour workout is a bit presumptuous. But I suspect her target HR (heart rate) is pretty close.

To get down to it - Ignore the 220 minus your age formula. It's different for everyone. I'm 45 and can still hit the high 190's, and actually hit 202 this past spring.

In order to lose weight, you need to do workouts at level below your AT. AT is the point at which your body starts to burn more sugar based fuel (aka glycogen) than fat. People sometimes refer to this as the 'burn'.

You'll need a HRM, nothing fancy, just a basic chest strap and wrist monitor type. Don't worry about the types with memory, alarms, zones, etc.

Now you're ready to find your best 'fat burning' zone. The best way to figure this is to give yourself a 15 minute warm up, keep your pace just at the point where you start to sweat for this. After 15 minutes, increase your pace to the point where it's difficult to carry on a conversation. You should be breathing hard enough to have to concentrate on getting a full sentence out, but not so hard that you have to take a breath after only three or four syllables. Keep this pace for 15 -20 minutes. Check your HR every minute or so, it should be relatively stable. Presto, you have just discovered your fat burning zone.

I know other people are going to call me crazy or completely wrong. Rest assured, I am neither. When you take a fitness test, they ask you for a 'perceived exertion rate'. The exercise physiologist uses this same method to 'calculate' your AT and maxHR, except that they will monitor your speech pattern and hr for you.

To lose weight, you will need at least 20 minutes per day at the HR you have discovered, plus or minus about ten beats per minute.

You resting HR is pretty much irrelevant except as a gauge. The advice on calculating it was right on, but it's a relative number that really has very little bearing on trying to lose weight. It might be interesting to find it, but it's nothing to worry about.

Lastly, according to the laws of physics, you can only lose weight if you burn more calories than you take in. This means, don't increase your food intake just because you are exercising. If weight loss is your goal, keep your food intake the same or lower.

Over time, you will see that you are able to go longer and faster at the same heart rate. Once this happens you can experiment with higher cardio intensities, or even anaerobic workouts. Until then, concentrate on just dropping pounds, and don't become a slave to the HRM. If you don't feel like going into the zone, stay lower, there's no problem with that. If you feel like pumpin' out the jam, go for it, just not every day. The HRM is a tool, not a goal. If you're tired, had a hard day at work, didn't eat right, you migh not be able to maintain the zone. Listen to your body. When it needs a rest, give it one.

Answer 2

To be more accurate, you would also need to know your resting heart rate. The formula for this is:
220 - 42 (age) x 85% (this is the high end of your target heart rate - the low end is 65%)
The last answer minus your resting heart rate is your target heart rate. If you figure your target for 65% and 85% you'll know the range you want to be in.

While it's true that your fat burning zone will burn a higher percentage of calories from fat, you may want to consider interval training - 2-3 minutes of exercise in the fat burning zone followed by 1-2 minutes at a higher heart rate (or, the cardio zone). Higher intensities burn more overall calories which is what you should be concerned with if you're trying to lose weight.

Good luck! :)

Answer 3

Unless you've been training with a HRM for some time, and you know your AT and max heart rate, I can't give you a numeric answer. Its different for everyone. 220 minus your age is only an approximation.

The easiest way is to go at a pace you can maintain for more than 2 hours. My best guess (not knowing your physical condition) is that doing this will put you somewhere between 130-140 beats per minute.

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Then just get out and tear it up. I don't know where all this fear of cannibalizing muscle comes from. I've never seen it happen. Maybe if you're eating at starvation level, but certainly not just going a few calories light to shed a few pounds.

Note to mad monkey: The 2 hour suggestion was dead serious, because thats one of the definitions of the alleged "fat burning zone". Any pace you can maintain for 2 hours is entirely aerobic. I don't know why you would think it presumptuous, because LSD (long slow distance) is by far the most effective way to lose weight via exercise.

Answer 4

Well, you know the *theory*. Your theoretical maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. Your minimum HR you get by measuring it as soon as you wake up in the morning. Do it on 3 consecutive days and take the average. Your range is therefore from 0% (your minimum) to 100% (your maximum). You now exercise in the different % range zones. They’re sometimes called as follows: 50%-60% = Zone 1 (light); 60%-70% = Zone 2 (easy, or recovery zone); 70%-80% = Zone 3 (aerobic); 80%-90% = Zone 4 (anaerobic); 90%-100% = Zone 5 (VO2 max). In practice, start easy and build up slowly. Don’t overdo it. The principle is gradually and slowly. Don’t try to rush it. You’ll find lots of more information here: http://www.fitzones.com/members/Fitness/heartrate_zones.asp

Answer 5

that is a good formula, but the number given is for your exercise heart rate to improve cardio, not burn fat. for burning fat, you actually want to lengthen your exercise and run your heart rate lower. it has been found that walking is better for your fat level than running or even jogging, but does much less for your cardio.
based on that, and if your goal is strictly fat burn, find your walking (3 mph) heart rate and use that as a baseline. remember though, fat burn doesn't begin until 20 minutes of exercise, so you need to go longer than that... also, if you feel any burn in your muscle when you get done, be sure to put protein in your body, you are burning muscle too.

Answer 6

You may have asked the wrong question. More important is how quickly does it get back close to normal. I was told that is should get back under 90 within about five minutes.
I have also heard that you should vary cardio exercise a little. Sitting at one heart rate is not good either.

Answer 7

When creating cookies, bake half the batch and scoop others into ice-cube trays. When the sweet tooth kicks in, pop out one and bake it to meet your craving without breaking the particular calorie bank.

Answer 8

Celebrate Meatless Mondays by building a meal starring beans (another weight-loss aid). You can love this sweet potato along with black bean burrito.

Answer 9

Add protein powder to nice recipes (like these Rice Krispies treats) for boosting the nutrition.

Answer 10

schedule meetings to take place in far off conference rooms