I gotta ? about heart rates & exercise

Bellaryna

Bellaryna

New member
For V-day hubby got me a heart rate monitor to wear while I am doing my various classes at the YMCA so that I could a better idea of how many calories that I am burning during said classes.
One class is called PowerCore. We do alot of Core work in this class. Abs, stretching, balance you get the idea.
We do get our heart rates up at various times during the class but it is not constant. Same thing in my Fit for Life class. We do about 20 minutes of Cardio to warm up for all the weight lifting that we do. We rotate upper and lower body Tues and Thurs.
My question is this.......what is a good heart rate to shoot for, for weightloss. Every website I go to just gives me a different answer without ever asking for any stats on my part.
STATS
Female
35yr
188lbs
5'4"
As best as I can tell my resting rate is somewhere between 50-60. Usually more towards the 50 than the 60. I have been on my fitness journey now for the past 6 1/2 months.
I have at this point lost 41 pounds without ever knowing my heart rate. But it does seem to be slowing down considerably here in the last month or two.
So does anyone have any ideas?
 
My question is this.......what is a good heart rate to shoot for, for weightloss.
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Oh boy... you sure open a can of worms with that question!

If the question is how to best lose "weight" - more correctly lose fat - then IMO, go for a maximum calorie burn.

As long as you are expending more calories than you are consuming - on a regular and consistent basis - and exercising - then both fat/weight will come off.

I don't see that heart rate has much to do with weight loss, again IMO.

Any aerobic activity which you enjoy doing enough to do 3-5 times a week at a moderate intensity for at least 20 continuous minutes at a time will help you burn plenty of calories;dance/step aerobics, bicycling, swimming, basketball, soccer, running, skating, hiking, etc.

You see to have a terrific exercise program going there with all bases covered - cardio and weights.

Just keep in mind though, this is only about 20% of the equation. The other 80% is what you eat. There's an old saying that more weight is lost in the kitchen than in the gym. :)
 
Now don't quote me, but I seem to recall in highschool fitness they taught us that inorder to burn calories you have to get your heart rate up to around 120 and keep it there for a good 5 minutes minimum. Ofcourse to achieve this you should stretch, then warm up, then go fullout, then cool down, and stretch again. (Don't just run for 10 minutes and then sit down, that's very unhealthy.)
 
Now don't quote me, but I seem to recall in highschool fitness they taught us that inorder to burn calories you have to get your heart rate up to around 120 and keep it there for a good 5 minutes minimum.
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Uh, Robert, you're "burning" calories 24/7 whether or not your heart rate is around 120.

It's called your metabolism and that's what keeps you alive.

Actually, your body is gets its highest percentage of energy from fat when you're asleep because your body has no need for bursts of high intensity activity, so those energy systems are quiet.

But your energy requirements are obviously quite low when you're sleeping so you're not going to lose much weight.

So this is a round about way of answering Bellaryna's question again. The rate at which you burn fat/calories is not as important as the total that you burn on a daily basis.
 
well, that was fair enough. I do recall requiring to keep your heart rate up for some reason...i guess it wasn't this reason :)
 
Hi Bell! :waving:

Are you looking for your target heart rate?

Here's a good calculator:

I don't believe that target hear rates take into consideration your weight, just your age, sex, and fitness level.

And on the same site it talks about what levels to reach to get the best benefits out of exercise:

I have read that you burn more fat when you work out longer at a steady pace. I know the "weightloss" programs on my treadmill and elliptical do just that. They keep a fairly steady pace, but the program goes longer.

And this site has an interesting tidbit about where to set your heart rate goals depending on your fitness goals:

Of course these are all just "estimates". I know that I'm working out really well when I can talk but not as good as like carrying on a regular conversation. But not so bad that I can't say one or two words. Usually I'm just telling the kids, "I'm working out." So they don't bother me. ;)

Good luck!
 
I've been training for almost a year now... I've never intentionally "not worked hard" to stay in some heart rate fat burning zone.

I've lost over 100 lbs so far, but my mindset has been that i'm training for functionality, endurance and performance. And i train according to how my body feels and push my limits every time. I usually stay in the 70-85% heart rate range on my monitor occasionally doing intervals to the near 90%

You gotta find what works for you tho. I personally view a leisurely walk on the treadmill as a waste of time. I want maximal use of my time.
 
Doc Bunkum said:
I don't see that heart rate has much to do with weight loss, again IMO.
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If she improves her cardiovascular fitness, that will lower her resting heart rate.
If she has better cardio, she can do more intense workouts for longer periods or squeeze more work into her current regimen without killing herself.

Doc Bunkum said:
Any aerobic activity which you enjoy doing enough to do 3-5 times a week at a moderate intensity for at least 20 continuous minutes at a time will help you burn plenty of calories;dance/step aerobics, bicycling, swimming, basketball, soccer, running, skating, hiking, etc.
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Perfect! If you go to a gym alternate aerobic machines like the bike, treadmill, and cross country machine so your using different muscles to avoid fatigue in those areas, therefore keeping your heart rate up as long as possible. Try to keep your transition time from one machine to the next less than one minute. If your in an aerobics class the instructor should be doing this with his/her exercises.
 
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If she improves her cardiovascular fitness, that will lower her resting heart rate.
If she has better cardio, she can do more intense workouts for longer periods or squeeze more work into her current regimen without killing herself.
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I follow your logic. Makes sense. To what degree a lower heart rate affects weight loss I have no idea, but following your reasoning, it should make a difference in the big picture.

Is that you in your avatar, JMike?

Catch UFC 82: Pride of a Champion last night?
 
Doc Bunkum said:
I follow your logic. Makes sense. To what degree a lower heart rate affects weight loss I have no idea, but following your reasoning, it should make a difference in the big picture.

Is that you in your avatar, JMike?

Catch UFC 82: Pride of a Champion last night?
Click to expand...

Yup thats me, Im not too into UFC but its entertaining.

Boxing is my sport :)
 
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