Fat Burning Zone Target Heart Rate

One of the worst myths in the fitness industry is the fat burning zone that states that you need to maintain a specific heart rate range in the fat burning zone in order to lose fat. But this is simply not true. Unfortunately, this false belief leads people to choose low intensity steady state cardio routines that are ineffective and cause most people a major lack of results from their workouts.

The quicker you get rid of the "target fat burning heart rate = the best workout" mentality, the faster you will actually start to get real results with and changing the shape of your body for good.

With Interval Training workouts, you actually burn more fat and more total calories when you are OUT of the gym due to the high-intensity and variable intensity nature of the training methods. This phenomenon is not due to the elevated heart rate you experience during the workout (even though your heart rate will be increased from the supersets and intervals), but rather from the metabolic and hormonal response you achieve from the more effective workout compared to your ineffective "fat burning zone" workout.

Over the last 10 years, scientific research has indicated a couple of very important things to us about exercising for body fat loss. First of all, lifting heavier weights while exercising leads to a higher caloric consumption by the body in the period for about 1-2 days following the workout when compared to lifting light weights with high repetitions. So that's why 6-8 repetitions per set is better than 12-15 reps per set when it comes to stimulating the metabolism for losing fat permanently.

Another important aspect we have learned from scientific research in recent years is that highly variable interval-type training is far superior to slow, steady-pace cardio exercise for fat loss and post-exercise induced calorie burning. In the long run, if you focus on the internal metabolic response your body is getting from your workout routines, instead of how many calories you burn during some sort of magical "target fat burning zone", you will achieve MUCH better fat loss results. So not only is it more result-producing, but it is also more time-efficient to use short high-intensity interval training workouts instead of slow, long, steady-pace cardio sessions.

The only time you might need to know your specific heart rate or fat burning zone is during the recovery period of the interval training. It is important to take enough time during your recovery intervals in order for your heart rate to drop back down significantly (allow it drop to approximately less than 60% of your max heart rate).

That way you are able to get more quality work done when it counts. You do not want to start your next high-intensity interval too soon, nor do you want to exercise too hard during your recovery intervals.

So here's the bottom line:

If you want to start actually getting the fat loss results you've been wanting for so long, do not worry so much about your target fat buring heart rate zone during exercise. Instead, make sure that you are working at a high-intensity and a variable intensity (according to your individual capabilities of course) during each weight lifting and interval training session.

More Cardio Exercise Articles

Interval Training to burn fat fast
Interval training is one of the most effective ways I know to burn a lot of calories and burn up the belly fat.

Heart Health and a more effective training method for fat loss
For heart health it is common to hear fitness professionals and medical doctors prescribe low to moderate intensity aerobic training (cardio) to people who are trying to prevent heart disease or lose weight.