What Is Your Healthy Heart Rate? Determine Your Fat Burning Zone…

Determine Your Fat Burning Zone

Adding regular exercise to your diet plan is an essential part of healthy weight loss, and measuring your pulse rate is one tool that can help guide you in this endeavor. By determining what your baseline pulse is, you can see where it is you already stand in terms of fitness. It also helps to know your optimal heart rate for fat-burning and aerobic activity. The following heart rate calculator will make it easy for you. We’ve also included explanations, other methods for calculating your heart rate, and a few fitness tips (just for fun:-).

Heart Rate Calculator:

An example of how to apply this calculator to your workout:

To stay within your fat-burning range, try to maintain your pulse between the high end of your healthy range and the max for the fat-burning range.

How To Calculate Your Target Heart Rate

Maximum Heart Rate (MHR): the fastest rate at which your heart will beat in one minute.

Often, MHR is simply calculated by subtracting your age from 220. However, it doesn’t account for the differences in heart rate as we age.

Formular: 220 – Your Age = MHR

For example, if you are 30 years old:

220-30=170 is your MHR (maximum heart rate)

Your Target Heart Rate Zone ranges between 50-75 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR)

A more accurate formula for MHR and the Karvonen Formula:

MHR = 207 – 0.7 x age (Source: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17468581)

The Karvonen formula is the most common method for determining your Heart Rate Reserve (HHR) or Target Training Zone.

To determine your Target Training Zone, using the Karvonen formula:

First, take your resting pulse by counting your pulse for one full minute, just before jumping out of bed in the morning. It’s best to do this three mornings in a row, then add them all together and divide by 3, to get an average.

207 – 0.7 x age = MHR
MHR – (resting heart rate) = HRR

Then use the HRR to find your target training zone:

HRR x 0.6 = low end of training range %
Low end of training range % + RHR = low end of your target training zone
HRR x 0.8 = high end of training range %
High end of training range % + RHR = high end of your target training zone

Optimal heart rate for fat-burning:

The fat-burning zone is on the lower end of the target training zone, and involves mainly low-intensity exercise. This is because the body does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat when it’s working at this level (about 80%). However, at higher intensities more calories are burned overall. When it comes to safe, healthy weight loss, the old adage of less calories in and more calories out is tried and proven. So keep this in mind when developing your exercise strategy and be sure to incorporate aerobic activity as well, or consider interval training. This way you can be sure you’re burning enough calories to spur weight loss.

Aerobic Activity:

This is the optimal rate for conditioning your cardiorespiratory system, strengthening your heart and building your endurance. More total calories will be burned, roughly half of which will be coming from fat.

Anaerobic Activity:

Working out in the anaerobic zone will help raise the amount of oxygen your body’s able to consume during exercise, while strengthening your cardiorespiratory system. By working out at this level, you will also improve your body’s ability to tolerate lactic acid, thus improving your endurance. You will burn more overall calories this way, but even less will come directly from fat. This level is more for those who are already fit, and isn’t recommended for beginners.

As always, be sure to check with your physician before starting any new workout routine.

For some more tips on including activity as part of your healthy weight loss diet, check out the following links:

Which burns fat faster, high intensity or low intensity exercise?

Lose The Belly Fat, Aka Muffin Tops: For Guys and Girls

How to Burn 500 Calories a Day With Exercise: Helpful Tips and Activity Calculator

Isometric Exercises For the Obese: Experience the Thrill of Success.

15-Minute Daily Exercise Routine.

Burn the Fat and Feed the Muscle: Power Walking.

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About Tanya Wilson
Tanya Wilson is a freelance writer and author for dietivity.com. You may contact her at admin@dietivity.com.