How to Calculate Your Fat Burning Heart Rate

You can reach the fat burning zone through low intensity cardio exercise

Calculating your heart rate while exercising can help you determine if you need to increase the intensity of your workout. You can find your ideal "fat burning heart rate" when your heart rate is in the fat burning zone, or working between 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. The reasoning behind this is that as you start exercising, your body uses stored glucose to power your muscles, but as you increase intensity, the glucose runs out, and your body starts combining fat with oxygen to fuel your muscles. If you remain in this low-intensity zone, you will continue burning fat as you work out.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

Instructions

1. Subtract your age from the number 220 (226 for women) to get your average maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate starts at 220 beats per minute, and loses one beat per year, which is why you subtract your age from the initial 220.

2. Take 60 or 70 percent of your maximum heart rate to find your fat burning zone. To take a percentage of a number, multiply it by .6 (for 60 percent) or .7 (for 70 percent).

3. While exercising, place your finger on the side of your neck, feel for your pulse, and count the number of beats for 15 seconds, then multiply that number by four.

4. Compare your current heart rate to your ideal fat burning heart rate. If it is well under your fat burning heart rate, increase the intensity of your work out. If it is well above, decrease the intensity of your workout.

5. Continue to check your pulse until you reach your fat burning heart rate, and remain in that zone for as long as desired during your work out.

References

• The Walking Site: Your Target Heart Rate