heart rate for cardio

[Skywalker]

what is the ideal heartrate to burn fat?
ive heard 70%, 80%, + of MaxHR

is there any better way to estimate MaxHR, other than 220-AGE, without getting it explicitly measure by Co2 expenditure

[canadagold]

I would do stuff like interval training bro.
It will help you spare the muscle while getting the fat down. .

ie. 1min 30 sec at low intensity and rpm at 75 on the lifcycle (upright bike)
then 30 seconds all out at the highest level you can maintain 125 rpm at. . .then back to low level cruise at 75rpm. . .
repeat 15 cycles. . .30 min and you will be dead at the end. . .there are loads of different ways to do intervals. .do a search on it. I am sure there are some good articles posted that are more in depth!
keep safe
CG

[Jordan]

heres something ive always wondered- if you do cardio in the morning, before breakfast, is it still a good idea to aim for 60-80 percent of your max, or does it not matter sinse you dont really have anyother sources of energy at that time, peace
j

[Emptee]

If my ass gets up before the absolute last moment before I have to get ready to go to work... I think a pound of fat should just melt off just for the extreme effort being put out.

[lordikon]

On most cardio machines there's a guide. It's only by age. I'm 22, so my target heart rate is 158. I think every year old is about one less heartbeat per minute. Sounds sort of like what you said about "220 - age", except this machine is saying about 180 - age. Big difference.

[Cogar]

The ideal heart rate to burn fat has been debated for some time and it is unlikely that anyone will reach a conclusion in the near future. The two schools of thought are:

1. Slower, "fat burning" cardio. Many of the older BB pros used this at perhaps 60-65% MHR. The idea is to keep the energy expenditure low enough that the body can metabolize fat rather than having to resort to metabolizing muscle and any glycogen you have in your system.

2. High intensity interval training. This has gained popularity since Bill Phillips started promoting it in his book Body-for-LIFE (perhaps aided by Muscle Media Magazine and a few other sources that promoted the idea). The idea is that the high intensity bursts (perhaps 80-85% MHR) keep your metabolism higher after the workout, so you continue to burn fat after your workout (if you don't eat as much, that is). Incidentally, you will continue to have an elevated metabolism for 1-10 hours with any cardio. It is just more pronounced with HIIT.

The problem is that I have never seen a scientific study (and I have spent a considerable amount of time doing research in this area) that can demonstrate that one technique removes a higher percentage of fat than the other does. I personally suspect that the lower intensity cardio is more likely to burn a higher percentage of fat, although that is based on nonscientific sources (bodybuilder testimonials, The 24/5 Complete Personal Training Manual from 24 Hour Fitness, etc.).

You might try both and see what works best for you.