Why is a lower heart rate better for weight loss?
Why is it meant to be better doing brisk walk on an incline (on a treadmill) keeping the heart rate around the 110-130 range better for weight loss than going for it to your maximum and having your heart rate in the range of 150-170. Surely your using more energy and burning more calories in a 20 minute moderately fast jog than you would be in a 20 minute brisk walk??
September 6th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Your body uses fat, which has nine calories per gram, as its prime energy source at lower intensities. However, the faster you go the more calories you will burn overall as you correctly stated. The other main energy source is glucose (from Carbohydrates, 4 calories per gram). This will be utilised at higher intensities. There are also more health benefits at working at a higher intensity as your heart is a muscle too and needs to be exercised. I recommend interval training to my clients. I also set the incline on the treadmill at at least level 2 as this compensates for the loss of drag when running on a treadmill as opposed to outside terrain. My advice would be to go for as long as you can for as fast as you can, being careful not to over train. There is also evidence that suggests training before you have eaten a meal is better as the body will have low carbs and thus utilise fat at a higher intensity. Replenish the carbs after a work out. Ignore the fat burning zone on most treadmills, they are a waste of time