Heart rate monitors are one of the best weight loss tools around. They can help you monitor high intensity intervals during cardio workouts that burn more calories and lead to faster weight loss results. Many beginners are often led to believe that working out in the mythical "fat burning zone" is the best way to lose weight. Unfortunately this a myth and a misinterpretation of the body’s energy systems.
The average person burns a mix of 50% fat and 50% carbs when at rest (well trained individuals burn 70% fat and 30% carbs). When a person begins to exercise the mix changes and carbs begin to take over energy production. The higher the intensity of your workout the less fat you burn. This is your body’s way of delivering oxygen to exercising muscles faster. It sounds reasonable to think that if you exercise at a lower intensity and burn more fat you will lose more weight but contrary to popular belief that is not the case. Your body will burn more calories and also more fat with higher intensity intervals.
220 - your age = max HR
max HR x .60 = lower end of your range
max HR x .85 = upper end of your range
For example, if you're 30 years old:
220 - 30 = 190
190 x .60 = 114
190 x .85 = 161
Once you have your max multiply it by 65%, 75%, 85% and 95%. Spend your warm-up and cool down in the 65% range. Spend a majority of your workout in the 75% range then add 85% and 95% intervals. The length of those intervals can be 30 seconds, 60 seconds, or even 3 minutes. Mix it up and add 5-6 intervals of different lengths to each workouts. Check your heart rate monitor regularly throughout your workout to make sure you are staying in your target zones. The more you mix it up the faster you will see results. The added bonus is your fitness level will also improve boosting your endurance for other activities like hiking, cycling, or circuit training.
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