I haven't blogged in a while, but I just got done responding to a question in the Weight Loss group that I think I should throw up on the blog.

I wanna talk a little bit about exercising with HR goals, which I found have greatly improved the quality and efficiency of my workouts, especially cardio workouts.

I am NOT a fitness professional and you should consult with your doctor or personal trainer before taking any of my advice

The HR goal you're aiming for depends on what kind of fitness objective you're aiming for. When you go above 140 bpm or so you start getting into aerobic levels, where your body doesn't have enough oxygen to optimally use it's muscles and move fat and lactic acid out of the body. This is where you build fitness and your body gets stronger and builds greater endurance. However, because your body is also not able to most efficiently move fat out of the body it's not ideal for weight loss if done regularly. If you're aiming to burn fat you need to stay between 125 and 135, if you're in your 20s. The older you get the lower that number moves.

You should do some high intensity cardio in your workout though because the stronger you get the faster you'll be able to run and the harder you'll be able to work with your heart pumping in the lower anaerobic range, meaning you'll burn more calories.

I prefer to stay right on the cusp of anaeroic and aerobic zones for most of my daily cardio workouts, which tend to be of moderate length, 20 - 30 minutes.

i'll give you examples of the heart rates I aim for with different types of exercise.

weight training or interval training: push up to 170 or 180, then rest back down below 140. Usually what I do is do my interval, then the instant my HR drops below 140 I hit the interval again. Repeat until you're done

short runs (30 minutes or less): 150 - 160 bpm. Middle of the aerobic zone, strengthens the heart and lungs but keeps lactic...

I haven't blogged in a while, but I just got done responding to a question in the Weight Loss group that I think I should throw up on the blog.

I wanna talk a little bit about exercising with HR goals, which I found have greatly improved the quality and efficiency of my workouts, especially cardio workouts.

I am NOT a fitness professional and you should consult with your doctor or personal trainer before taking any of my advice

The HR goal you're aiming for depends on what kind of fitness objective you're aiming for. When you go above 140 bpm or so you start getting into aerobic levels, where your body doesn't have enough oxygen to optimally use it's muscles and move fat and lactic acid out of the body. This is where you build fitness and your body gets stronger and builds greater endurance. However, because your body is also not able to most efficiently move fat out of the body it's not ideal for weight loss if done regularly. If you're aiming to burn fat you need to stay between 125 and 135, if you're in your 20s. The older you get the lower that number moves.

You should do some high intensity cardio in your workout though because the stronger you get the faster you'll be able to run and the harder you'll be able to work with your heart pumping in the lower anaerobic range, meaning you'll burn more calories.

I prefer to stay right on the cusp of anaeroic and aerobic zones for most of my daily cardio workouts, which tend to be of moderate length, 20 - 30 minutes.

i'll give you examples of the heart rates I aim for with different types of exercise.

weight training or interval training: push up to 170 or 180, then rest back down below 140. Usually what I do is do my interval, then the instant my HR drops below 140 I hit the interval again. Repeat until you're done

short runs (30 minutes or less): 150 - 160 bpm. Middle of the aerobic zone, strengthens the heart and lungs but keeps lactic acid build-up in the muscles to a minimum.

long runs (30 minutes or more): 130 - 150 bpm. The longer the run the lower the HR goal. If you stay in the anaerobic zone your body is able to move fat and, more importantly, lactic acid out of your muscles and into your blood stream so it can be flushed from your body. Ideally at 130 bpm you should be able to do whatever it is you're doing nearly indefinitely, or until you run out of stored energy to do it.

with running generally I hit 130bpm at around 4.5mph, 150 at around 5.5pmh, and 180 at 7.5mph or more. That's on a treadmill at least.