From this article you will learn how important it is to maintain during a physical exercise a certain pulse for fat burning, how to calculate the desired heart rate, with what exercises you can reduce the amount of adipose tissue in the body. The boundaries of the pulse to improve fat burning - is it true or myth?
Article content:
- What is the maximum age-related heart rate?
- What pulse is needed for maximum fat burning?
- Theory of the pulse range for fat burning - a myth or reality?
- Recommendations for Exercise for Fat Burning
Many people who want to get rid of excess fat and lose weight, have heard about the pulse range for fat burning. It is believed that fats will be best burned in such physical exercises, during which the pulse is 60-75% of the maximum age-related heart rate.
This statement is rather controversial - as we will discuss further in the article. The main condition for successful weight loss is that a person should spend more calories than eating with food.
What is the maximum age-related heart rate?
Physical activity causes the human heart to beat with a different frequency, which depends on the intensity of the load. Therefore, very many people use the heart rate to determine the intensity of the exercise required.
The maximum age-related heart rate is the number obtained by subtracting from 220 the age of a person in years. This formula was obtained empirically by young athletes. Examples of calculations:
- A person of 50 years of age: maximum heart rate = 220 - 50 = 170.
- Individual aged 35 years: maximum heart rate = 220 - 35 = 185.
Effect of pulse on training effectiveness In reality, the tolerability of maximum heart rate for each person is individual. Professional athletes specifically conduct the definition of this indicator by experimental means.
What pulse is needed for maximum fat burning?
There is a theory that with a certain intensity of exercise, fats are burned better. This intensity is controlled by the heart rate. Many people argue that fats in the body disintegrate faster at such a load, at which the pulse is 50-70% of the maximum age-related heart rate.
An example of calculations for a person aged 50:
- Maximum heart rate - 170 beats./ min.
- Lower limit of the heart rate range for fat burning: 0.5 x 170 = 85 beats./ min.
- The upper limit of the pulse range for fat burning: 0.7 x 170 = 119 beats./ min.
According to this theory, a 50-year-old man for faster fat burning should perform exercises of such intensity that his heart rate was 85-119 ud./ min. According to the supporters of this theory, it is with such intensity of physical activity that the body uses fats as an energy source.
Theory of the pulse range for fat burning - a myth or reality?
This theory has gained popularity at the same time with the appearance of color graphs on consoles of treadmills and exercise bikes, indicating at what heart rate fats are best burned. Its supporters argue that it is through sustained physical exercise of moderate intensity that maintains a pulse at the level of 50-70% of the maximum heart rate that it is best to burn fats in the body. With a more intense load, energy sources become not carbohydrates, but fats. Proceeding from this theory, to reduce the amount of fat tissue in the body, long-term loads of low intensity are best suited.
As in any hypothesis, in this statement there is both truth and error. The amount of calories burned is directly related to the intensity of physical exertion. Indeed, the body uses fats as the main source of energy for moderate intensity exercises. It is this fact that has become the source of the theory about the pulse at which fat is burned faster. At a low intensity, a person needs to take longer to spend a lot of calories.
But more important is the total number of calories spent, regardless of the source of their origin. A person doing heavy exercises burns more fat per unit time than with moderate physical exertion. For example, in 30 minutes at 65% of the maximum heart rate 150 calories are burned, of which 50%( 75 calories) - from fats. With an increase in intensity to 85% of the maximum heart rate, 210 calories are consumed, 40.5%( 85 calories) of fat.
When a person performs light exercises, his body spends a small amount of energy after they finish. After intensive loads, burning calories is observed, the severity of which depends on the type of exercises and their severity.
Scientists conducted a study in which they studied the loss of calories in low and high intensity sessions lasting 3.5 minutes and 45 seconds, respectively. Participants from the light load group burned 29 calories in 3.5 minutes, and from the heavy group - 4 calories in 15 seconds. But when the calories that were burned after classes were counted, the figures turned out to be quite different - 39 calories in a group of low intensity exercise and 65 calories in a high intensity group.
Another study showed that a significant amount of fat from fat stores in muscles is burned after intense physical exertion. Thus, the human body, even burning mainly carbohydrates during intensive loads, after their completion continues to break down fats.
Recommendations for Exercise for Fat Burning
Increasing the intensity of the load and increasing the pulse rate above 70% of the maximum heart rate, you can burn more calories. However, people who are just starting to play sports, this option is not suitable. The American Heart Association recommends that beginners start with exercises that increase the heart rate to 50% of the maximum heart rate, and then slowly, within a few weeks, increase their intensity.
After the body has become accustomed to physical exertion and the heart becomes stronger, high-intensity interval training( VIIT) can be started to burn more fat, which is a good way to speed up the metabolism and reduce the amount of adipose tissue on the stomach.
This style of training involves alternating heavy and light exercises, during which the pulse then accelerates, then slows down. The technique has the following useful properties:
- Increases stamina.
- Reduces blood pressure.
- Increases insulin sensitivity.
- Improves the profile of cholesterol in the blood.
- Reduces the amount of adipose tissue on the abdomen and supports muscle mass.
In the development of the VIIT program, it is necessary to determine the duration, intensity and frequency of the intensive load intervals and the duration of the recovery intervals. During an intensive exercise, the pulse should be more than 80% of the maximum heart rate, and during the recovery interval - 40-50%.
Example of WIIT:
- heating for 3-5 minutes( for example, jogging);
- 30 seconds of high intensity exercise( sprinting);
- 60 seconds of light load( walking);
- alternate these intervals for 10 minutes;
- recovery within 3-5 minutes( fast walking).
Everyone can develop their own individual program of VIIT, based on the physical capabilities of their body.
Regardless of the name and nature, all physical exercises lead to fat burning. The most important is the amount of calories spent, and not what, due to what substances( fats or carbohydrates), energy was obtained. If you need to eliminate excess fat tissue faster, you can engage in high-intensity interval training.
