Which Heart Rate Formula?

[mbayly]

Hi
I'm working out to lose some weight and have read in many places that the best way to lose weight while working out is to work within 60-70% of your max heart rate and that way 85% of the calories you burn come from fat compared to 50% if you work at 70-80% of max heart rate.

My HRM uses the std formula of .60 * MHR which gives me a zone of 109 - 126.

However, I've also read that the Karvonen formula is supposedly more accurate, but that formula would give me a zone of more like 134 to 145 for 60-70%. i.e. more like the 70-80% zone of the standard calculation.

So I'm confused - if I use the Karvonen formula am I going to be burning less fat or if I use the standard formula am I going to be burning to few calories?


Thanks
Questions, questions - If only life were simple!

 

[dswithers]

It is even more complicated than that! The important point is NOT how many calories you burn while doing the exercise, but how many additional calories your body burns during the exercise and how many more calories your body burns after the exercise than you would have if you had not done the exercise, sometimes called EPOC (Enhanced Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption). A normal LSD (Long Slow Duration) Cardio session only triggers your body to burn elevated calories for 30 to 120 minutes after you stop. A proper HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) session triggers your body to burn more calories for up to 48 hours after the exercise session and causes you to burn more total calories.

HIIT consists of 6-8 rounds of a 15-30 second all out sprint, followed by a slow jog for 15-120 seconds. After the 6th round or so you should feel like puking or you are not sprinting hard enough.