How do you determine your target heart rate?
Learn how to calculate your target heart rates for optimum fat loss during exercise, and as a guide to stay in the zone and avoid overtraining.
Your heart rate can tell you a lot about your fitness level. The fitter you are, the lower your heart rate will be overall, that is, during rest (resting heart rate) as well as during exercise.
You can use a heart rate monitor to measure both your resting heart rate and heart rate while exercising.
Where exercising to lose fat is concerned, your goal should be to do exercise that is as intense as possible for as long as possible and as often as possible, without killing yourself, that is.
Exercise intensity and target heart rates
Exercise intensity is determined by your heart rate.
I’ve found the best zone to burn calories for fat loss to be between 65% and 85% of your maximum heart rate. You can determine your maximum heart rate by using the following formula:
220 - age
For example, if you’re 30 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 190 bpm (beats per minute), and your target heart rate zone would be between 124 bpm (65% of 190) and 162 bpm (85% of 190).
The better in shape you are, the lower your resting heart rate will be, and the more difficult it will be for you to elevate your heart rate while exercising.
In such cases, it is best to use the following formula, which takes your resting heart rate into account to find your maximum heart rate:
220 - age - resting heart rate
You can use these numbers to let your heart rate become your trainer and determine the intensity of your workouts. For example, as soon as your heart rate starts dipping below the lower limit of your target heart rate zone, you should increase your intensity. If you’re walking to get fit, this would mean walking faster or starting to run.
Exercise duration and target heart rates
You are less likely to keep up a high intensity for a long period of time. There is a reason why sprinters run faster than marathon runners, but can cover a shorter distance in the process.
The longer you exercise at a moderate to high intensity, the more calories you’ll burn, and consequently the more fat you’ll lose.
An exercise duration of anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes is ideal for fat loss. Of course, when you’re starting out, you might not be able to go for that long a period of time. In such cases it is best to build up slowly from 20 minutes up to that amount of time. And while you’re doing that, monitor your heart rate and adjust your intensity level accordingly.
Exercise frequency and heart rates
If you exercise too often, you could wind up in a state of chronic fatigue or overtraining. It is vitally important to give your body enough rest between exercise sessions. This is especially true as you age, since older people generally recover less quickly than younger people.
Where overtraining is concerned, your heart rate can again tell you a lot. If you wake up in the morning, measure your resting heart rate, and find that it is elevated (above the normal or expected amount of beats per minute), it might be an indication that you’re overtrained. Also watch for signs of being tired, listless, and general loss of appetite.
There is no hard-set rule for how frequent you should exercise, but in general, aim for at least 3 days a week. Then increase the frequency to an amount that you feel comfortable with and to which you do not wind up in an overtrained or fatigued state.
