Optimal Heart rate for fat reduction

I was on the eliptical yesterday and I noticed that having a low intensity HR is "zoned" for weight loss, while high HR (or high intensity) is for cardio work. If I am trying ot increase lean muscle mass with the intention of losing reduciing my body fat, then how should I engage myself in what activities?
 
engage in heavy weight training sticking to lower reps, nothing above 8 reps, mostly 4-6 reps per set.

the cardio HR thing is misleading. the 'fat loss' zone, is really the minimum heart rate you need to be doing aerobic exercise. typcially in fat loss you're burning 50% of your calories from stored fat. As you work harder, the percentage drops to 40%...however you burn a lot more total calories, so the net calories burned is higher, and 40% of 300cals is more fat than 50% of 200 cals.

ideally in cardio, at least in my opinion, you're best of doing intervals...work really hard a couple mins then taper off, catch you're breath, then burst again. you can get a better workout, more cals burned, in less time than a slower pace.
 
malkore said:
engage in heavy weight training sticking to lower reps, nothing above 8 reps, mostly 4-6 reps per set.

the cardio HR thing is misleading. the 'fat loss' zone, is really the minimum heart rate you need to be doing aerobic exercise. typcially in fat loss you're burning 50% of your calories from stored fat. As you work harder, the percentage drops to 40%...however you burn a lot more total calories, so the net calories burned is higher, and 40% of 300cals is more fat than 50% of 200 cals.

ideally in cardio, at least in my opinion, you're best of doing intervals...work really hard a couple mins then taper off, catch you're breath, then burst again. you can get a better workout, more cals burned, in less time than a slower pace.

pretty much summed it up :cool:
 
Sorry, it is not optimal to attempt to lose fat and gain muscle mass. Either you're gonna do one or the other. So, choose which is most important and go from there. And it is true the cardio fat zone thing is very misleading.
 
or toss this into the mix: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/alwyn8.htm

which essentially means there's an upper limit to aerobic exercise...you eventually have to go longer, or harder. and when you go too hard, you push yourself out of the aerobic zone and into anaerobic zone because you're doing cardio faster than the body can really supply energy in an aerobic way.
 
OK, how about increasing strength while decreasing body fat?
So what I've read and heard is this is not possible?

I heard that it is more beneficial to do 30 mins. of hard sprinting than 1 hour of running. Is that true?
 
malkore said:
engage in heavy weight training sticking to lower reps, nothing above 8 reps, mostly 4-6 reps per set.

Low reps are good and still boost the metabolism, but I'm starting to learn something new from NROL...

In it, Alwyn designed the fat loss program around supersets of higher rep ranges: 3x15 to start dropping in reps to 3x10 in FL1, and FL2 is 3x12 going to 3x8.

There's an FL3 designed arounf giant sets of four exercises with no rest, but I'm going to wait on those.:)

I think this is pretty good for fat loss.
 
NROL is on my wish list. I'm doing the low rep stuff because you can increase strength and hold on to lean mass while on a cutting diet. I just don't see a reason to hit hypertrophy when I lack a caloric surplus to really support hypertrophy.

But Alwyn is a smart guy so I certainly don't discredit his method either, and I'll have to try it eventually.

right now, i'm really liking the fully body, heavy weight stuff, and having lost 2% body fat and gained 3lbs of lean mass since 08/01...I can't discredit it either.
 
They're both right: higher rep workouts may be used as glycogen depletion workouts, which promote lipolysis (in various ways) and glycogen supercompensation after a refeed period.

Lower rep training stimulates protein synthesis and EPOC, which promotes...lipolysis.

It basically comes down to your individual genetic predisposition (insulin sensitivity, RMR, etc, etc) and diet, but both methods work well.
 
bipennate said:
They're both right: higher rep workouts may be used as glycogen depletion workouts, which promote lipolysis (in various ways) and glycogen supercompensation after a refeed period.

Lower rep training stimulates protein synthesis and EPOC, which promotes...lipolysis.

It basically comes down to your individual genetic predisposition (insulin sensitivity, RMR, etc, etc) and diet, but both methods work well.

How do I find out what is my genetic predisposition is to whci method? Is it as simple as trial and error? Try one way, then try the other to find out which is better?
 
teknotexan said:
How do I find out what is my genetic predisposition is to whci method? Is it as simple as trial and error? Try one way, then try the other to find out which is better?
You can look at your dieting/weight loss & gain history for a clue *what types of diets have worked for you in the past: low carb, low fat, etc), as well as your disposition: do you normally have low energy, or high energy? That can be helpful in figuring where to go (low carb/low energy: go with higher rep training to deplete glycogen and increase insulin sensitivity...include refeeds and diet breaks often in your training; if the opposite, then go with heavier weights. It doesn't have to be one or the other, mind you...). But either one works well, so you can experiment and see what works best
 
Mr. Fass, I consider my self moderately energized. I m not hyperactive, but I'm no slouch. Been working out on and off since I was 12 years old. I awake at 6:30am and go to bed at 11:30pm. I've had the same wait line (save for the current added 1.5") since I was 16. Now I'm 26. Where can I look to find more information on this subjuect you've addressed? I'll be getting the NROL book, since it's all the rave here on the forum, to better imprive my strategy. Being fit and eating healthy has always been a part of my life, since I was again 12. But as to being "high energy", I am clueless as to what constitutes that description. So please point me in the right direction or give me added advice. And by the way, cool name. Same as mine.
 
teknotexan said:
Mr. Fass, I consider my self moderately energized. I m not hyperactive, but I'm no slouch. Been working out on and off since I was 12 years old. I awake at 6:30am and go to bed at 11:30pm. I've had the same wait line (save for the current added 1.5") since I was 16. Now I'm 26. Where can I look to find more information on this subjuect you've addressed? I'll be getting the NROL book, since it's all the rave here on the forum, to better imprive my strategy. Being fit and eating healthy has always been a part of my life, since I was again 12. But as to being "high energy", I am clueless as to what constitutes that description. So please point me in the right direction or give me added advice. And by the way, cool name. Same as mine.
My father is "Mr. Fass" :D You can call me Jonathan (hell, even "bip"). As far as materials, that's an interesting question...You can take a look here, which explains the differences in diet types. If you can decide which one works for you, you can probably figure which workout method works by deduction:



I hope that helps :)
 
bipennate said:
They're both right: higher rep workouts may be used as glycogen depletion workouts, which promote lipolysis (in various ways) and glycogen supercompensation after a refeed period.

Lower rep training stimulates protein synthesis and EPOC, which promotes...lipolysis.

Ok, in lipolysis, can one expect to see ketones in the urine stream? I tested myself and saw no change on the strip and I'm wondering if a caloric deficit is working for me.
 
im pretty sure excess ketones only appear when there is a lack of carbohydrates in your diet. And its only when there is an excess of ketones that you will see them in your urine.
 
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