Weight Loss Heart Rate

One of the biggest myths in the fitness/weight loss industries is the one that says you must boost heart rates up to a certain level; often called the fat burning zone. They push the 'fact' that when your heart rate is within this zone, you will then start losing body fat. This is totally wrong and I hope to clarify this for you. In actual fact this practice is the opposite of what you should be focusing on. Let me explain.

The belief that increasing your heart rate to this level mistakenly leads people to engage in low intensity routines which simply boost heart rates. These are very ineffective and you will soon give up due to poor results. You are doing this to lose body fat and need to see results. You would like to see results fast obviously, but first you must drop the myth that target heart rates equate with a good workout. They do not.

Weight Loss Heart Rate

A high intensity workout utilizing weights and various related exercises will lead you to burn more fat and calories in the day after training. Even when you are not in the gym! This phenomenon is a result of the hormonal and metabolic changes that your body experiences during the workout. These effects are nothing to do with your heart rate, even though that will increase during the exercises. It is the type of exercises that give the lasting changes mentioned.

Losing Body Fat Has Nothing To Do With Target Heart Rates and Fat Burning Zones

This has been shown by scientific research to be true. The work has shown that lifting heavier weights while doing a workout will lead to a higher rate of fat and calorie burning for a period of one to two days after the workout. This is compared to a lower level of burning following a lighter exercise regime involving lighter weights with more repetitions. This explains the basis behind the advice I give which is to do six or eight reps per set, instead of say twelve to fifteen reps. You will actually get better fat loss with the fewer reps, and heavier weights. This principle is one of the main points of intensity training. It is this period of fat and calorie burning in the days after the exercise that you want to nurture.

Research has also shown that variable interval training is a lot more effective than the slow and steady cardio exercising for fat loss. It is also better for this post exercising calorie burning period. This type of workout is also a much more efficient use of your time. So use high intensity, variable interval training to really burn fat and not the low intensity, slow steady cardio exercises.

I am not saying your heart rate is not important. It is actually useful to monitor it during your recovery phase of the interval training. In this type of training try to get your heart rate to drop to below 60% of your maximum rate, before starting the next phase. You do not want to start high intensity work too soon or before your body has gone through the recovery period.

There are various guidelines available on the net which give you more details on intensity training and how to adjust the recovery periods to get the correct overall balance. It is certainly worth a little research to get it right.

So, to summarize;

If you really want to lose body fat fast, stop worrying about target fat burning heart rates and 'zones'. Simply ensure that you work at high intensity exercises utilizing weights, dumbbells, barbells or weight lifting machines. Ensure that you learn about and use variable intensity and interval training.

Work hard at this, it's not easy, nothing is, but persist and get it right. The results will be worth it and will astound you.

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