Why is it you can you burn more calories by having an increased heart rate while working out?

Question

What is a good rate to have for optimal workout?

Answer 1

You are doing more work and you want to get your heart rate over 120 beats per minute for at least 40 minutes.

A calorie is a measure of heat. When you move a muscle you are creating heat. Your body is running a chemical reaction that creates heat and gives it the chemical energy to make the muscle contract. If you do a lot of muscle contractions then you are burning a lot of chemical energy and we chose to measure that by the heat produced from the chemical reaction. Thus when you run hard for over 40 minutes you increase your metabolism over the standard rate so the body has to draw on its reserves; including fat, to provide that extra energy that you need to keep going.

If you keep doing this a lot then the muscles you are exercising are getting used to a higher strain so they increase in size and strength. This is how a weight lifter trains and builds a muscle bound body.

Answer 2

Because it not only increases your heartrate but it doublies your metabolism. Sustaining a workout heartrate for 20 min will double your metabolism for the next 8 hrs. I learned that from a professional trainer. There are charts which tell you good workout heart rates for different ages and levels of conditioning and levels of activity..

Answer 3

depends on your goal.

For optimal fat burn, you want to be at 70%-80% of your maximum heart rate.

http://www.twrc.rowing.org.uk/coach/heartrate.htm