Maximizing Fat Burn

So you've heard it all. About how a increase in exercise intensity yields better weight-loss results. About how you need to push yourself harder. And even how you can push yourself harder, in shorter bursts, and lose more. 

Well here are the different sides of the story:

FOR LOWER INTENSITY

To be able to explain this properly, one must know about heart zones. Typically, they are as follows:

1. 30-40%: Resting heart rate. At this point you aren't really doing anything yet

2. 40-50%: Warm up zone. At this point your body is just beginning to heat up

3. 50-60%: Heart health zone: A very safe zone with a high percentage of calorie burn coming from fat (as much as 85%, depending on who you ask).

4. 60-70%: Fat burning zone: At this point you're actually exercising, usually a light cardio exercise, or lower intensity resistance training like yoga or pilates. At this point, percentage of calories from fat is still high.

5. 70-80%: Aerobic zone: Now you're starting to work out. Longer or faster runs, higher impact training, that comes here. But percentage of calories from fat is lower, even as overall calorie burn is higher.

6. 80-90%: Anaerobic zone: Not a zone we recommend for most people, but as your heart rate goes up, the percentage of calories from fat goes down. 

7. 90-100%: DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS CLEARED BY A DOCTOR. And don't sustain this level for long even if you are. 

Now from the above table, it looks like the fat burning zone is the place where one wants to be when it comes to burning fat. And many people believe so, going for longer duration, low intensity workouts. 

FOR HIGHER INTENSITY

Now despite the percentage factor, many people would rather talk about total calories burned and total fat burn. And there's a lot of opinion to that effect from the internet. Just check out this article from Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/125773-heart-rate-zone-fat-loss/. And here's another from about.com: http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/The-Truth-About-The-Fat-Burning-Zone.htm. And, here's one last from scienceblogs.com: http://scienceblogs.com/obesitypanacea/2010/06/30/the-myth-of-the-fat-burning-zo/

Basically they say that at higher intensities, the overall calorie burn is higher, therefore helping one lose weight faster or more efficiently. And this is what is more important. More calories burned = more weight lost = more fat burned.

AUTHOR OPINION

Now to wash my hands of it all, its easy for me to say that this needs to be checked with proper trials for us to be sure, and this is something I'd love to be able to try. Ok ok so thats a bit of a cop out. So lets analyze the data in front of us. 

Just going back to the articles above, you'll notice that in the about.com article that they only compare 60-65% with 80-85% and while at the 80-85% zone total fat burned is higher, what about in the middle zone from 65%-75%? What's even more suspect is the scienceblogs article where they talk about how at 80% maximum heart rate you're losing more fat than at 60%, but the author totally ignores the heart rate which yields the GREATEST result, which is at, according to his scientific research, 70%. 

So where does that leave us now? From the articles above, it would seem that 70% of your maximum heart rate is the optimal zone for FAT LOSS. This would now explain all those skinny people doing yoga and pilates (and here I thought it was all the vegetables).

Keep Well,

Ferds

What do you guys think? We'd love to hear from you. Shout us out your comments and opinions in the comment box! 

Wanna be able to track your heart rate during exercise? Check out MIO Heart Rate monitor watches at miowatchph.multiply.com!