Heart rate…
…let’s be smart about how we exercise.
Are you trying to lose weight and are not sure where to start? Does everything feel overwhelming? Do you love your smart watch but are confused about what it is telling you, especially about your heart rate? Let’s utilize your smart watch in your next workout. By optimizing your exercise based on your heart rate, you can achieve fitness goals like a fat burn much quicker. Let’s bring science into your next workout.
How can I measure my heart rate?
The easiest way is to use a heart rate monitor. Almost every smart watch offers this feature. You can measure it manually as well. You should best measure your resting heart rate the first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. Press the wrist with your middle and index fingers on the side of your thumb. Once you feel the pulse, count the amount of beats in 60 seconds.
Resting Heart Rate
Resting Heart Rate is the amount of beats per minute while resting. A perfect example of it is whilst you are asleep or first thing when you wake up. Resting heart rate is normally between 60-100 beats per minute. For an athlete or a very fit person, it can be between 40-60 beats per minute. Of course, the lower digit you see the better, as your heart is working less to maintain the beat. If you are not exercising on a regular basis a low heart rate can also be a sign of a medical condition that should be checked out by a doctor.
Maximum Heart Rate
Maximum Heart Rate is the amount of beats that heart can do per minute when the activity that the body performs (physical or other) is the most strenuous. Keeping your heart rate close to the maximum heart rate is difficult to sustain. You can count such time in seconds. Your body will very quickly naturally tell you to slow down.
Target Heart Rate
It is the heart rate that is appropriate for your age, fitness level and type of activity you are doing. If you keep your heart rate in certain zone you are more likely to achieve your fitness goals.
How can I easily calculate my Maximum Heart Rate?
The most heart rate calculators use age as a basis. They expect the maximum heart rate to increase with age. Variables such as gender, size or personal fitness level are not taken into account. Still this calculation provides us with a good guidance. The most common calculator is called the Fox Formula. The base is the number 220. From this you deduct your age and get your max HR. For example, if you take a person who is 40 years old, they will have a maximum heart rate of 180 bpm, based on the Fox Formula.
What heart rate should we aim for whilst exercising?
Low intensity exercise
Approx. 40%-50% of max HR. You should be able to hold conversation without getting out of breath.
Moderate exercise
Approx. 50%-70% of max HR. At this level you can say a few sentences but would struggle to hold conversation.
Vigorous physical activity
Approx. 70%-85% of max HR. You will not be able to say more than a few words at this level.
New to exercising?
If you are not used to exercising you should start with low to moderate intensity exercise. As you build up your exercise routine you can then include some high intensity exercise in your routine.
If we take the 40 year old from our previous example, their approx. target heart rate zone is between 90 (50% of maximum heart rate) and 153 bpm (85% of maximum heart rate).
If you are new to exercising and mostly sedentary, you should be aiming initially for a heart rate in the lower half of the 90-153 bpm spread. Then steadily increase as you get used to exercising and include more mid to high intensity exercises. At this level your heart rate gets regularly to the approx. 153 bpm on a regular basis.
At which heart rate do I burn the most fat?
The most fat is being burnt at a level of moderate activity, approx. 65-75% of maximum heart rate. If we take a 40 year old from our previous scenario, such person would aim to exercise as much as possible in the heart rate of 117 to 135bpm.
Why is it so efficient?
You can sustain this level of activity much longer than high intensity exercise. Realistically this is the exercise level if done regularly that allows your body to tuck in enough to your fat storage to make a difference. It is because at this level the body utilizes fat storage as a source of energy rather than just carbohydrates. Also your cardiovascular fitness improves. This level of exercise is sustainable even for people with a lower cardio fitness that would struggle to maintain vigorous activity.
Examples of great exercises to do would be slow run, fast paced walk (uphill if possible) or biking.
What is a cardio?
Cardio, also known as cardiovascular exercise, falls into the category of fat burning heart rate. It is an aerobic exercise and a great way to improve health of your heart. During cardio you aim to increase your heart rate for some time, ideally at least a few minutes. Heart will react to such exercise by increasing efficiency of how it pumps blood to the lungs and back and around the body. This exercise encourages the cholesterol levels to improve (boosts the good cholesterol and decreases the bad cholesterol) which means that the arteries become cleaner and allow the blood to flow better.
HIIT
HIIT, also known as high intensity interval training, is a form of a cardio exercise where you switch between a moderate intensity exercise and a high intensity. It is a very exciting form that has developed recently and suits perfectly our busy lifestyles. It is meant to be done for short periods, such as 30 min. A great benefit of HIIT is that body does not burn calories only during the HIIT exercise, but for some time after at a significant level. HIIT despite being very efficient requires a certain level of fitness ability to be able to sustain the pace and would not be suitable for beginners.
How to achieve optimal fat burn?
In order to achieve fat burn the best combination is of medium intensity activity for an extended period. Aim to keep this activity over 30 minutes as a minimum. Try to vary your exercise and keep your HR ideally in the target zone between 65% and 75% of a maximum heart rate.
Did you realize that if you repeat the same exercise your body adapts and you will start burning less calories?
You might like biking, but why not change it up for a run or a swim every once in a while? The fact is that our bodies adapt to certain activity fairly quickly and you are going to burn less calories on the 50th bike ride than what you burnt on the first bike ride. We need to keep our bodies constantly guessing in order to burn an impactful amount of fat. It is great to include HIIT training in your routine as it means a quick boost of the fat burn.
Let’s get in touch!
What do you do to lose weight? What are your favorite activities in the fat burning zone? We would love to hear from you! Let us know your thoughts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or TikTok. Would you like to do a workout with us? Join us for a Back Pain Buster! Click below!
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