I am training using my heart rate moniter. I am trying to burn as much fat as possible, so I read that I should be 60-75% of my max heart rate. My max is 195. I can’t get down low enough. Even at a REAL slow jog, or slow ride, I am at 165. Am I doing something wrong, or thinking wrongly? Will it come down as I get in better shape?
It will come down with better shape…
Personally, I started training 3 years ago. A “slow jog” would be 170+… Looking back, walking 2.5 miles per hour, put me in a Z1 or “fat burning zone” (135-140 bpm)
3 years later, I’m able to run 9:45 pace in the low to mid 140’s. I’m still looking forward to the day that I can train at an 8:00 min pace in the mid 140’s… When that day come’s I’ll consider that I have arrived, but untill that day… slow training is the way to improve that engine.
Don’t worry. It actually is the greatest % of calories being burned are fat calories at 60-75%, but at 165hr, you are burning more calories total than at 60-75%, but the percentage of fat calories is not as high. You still may be burning more total fat calories, though, so don’t fret.
For instance (and these are just made up numbers to show you the math), at 60-75%, you may burn ~ 600 cal/hr, of which 75% are fat. – 450 fat cal/hour
At 80-85%, you may burn ~1000 cal/hr, of which 50% are fat. – 500 fat cal/hour.
So you are still ahead of the game. Don’t feel like you aren’t burning fat because you riding at 165. Also, because you are upping your metabolism, your body will be burning fat during the rest of the day, after you finish riding, etc.
If you eat right, all this training will help you lean down!
Great answer!
I wish all my wifes fat friends would stop telling me they are burning more fat by wobbling along the sidewalk, chatting about shoe sales, than I am running at 175BPM for an hour!
Since none of them can figure out shifting gears on a bike, they can’t grasp even simple math so I don’t waste my time explaining the answer you just gave.
I just leave them to their white wine, Turkish bread and creamy spread after their 1 hour walks. 500-600 calories expended, 1500 calories ingested…and they wonder why they don’t lose weight with all the walking they do? Go figure!
Unbelievable, isn’t it. If you ever do the Cathay Pacific half marathon, where they try and make sure everyone finishes at the same time, the last couple of k are amazing: I’m feeling the pain, trying to cover up the fact I went out too fast, and tacking and gybing through fleets of women still talking, talking talking after three hours of walking. Every now and then I listen in to see what’s so fascinating, and it does my head in. They aren’t talking about anything much at all. Its like shopping with my wife. No plan, no idea, no conclusion, just a vague wandering through the streets.
It does come down as you get in proper shape, but I’m not sure how it gets there. I was faced with the issue of either walking to stay in the the right zone, or running and gradually building distance and ignoring my heart rate. Then the battery on my HRM went and I couldn’t be bothered fixing it. So I just ran, keeping to a pace that meant I could sustain my training program. Nine months later I finally got the HRM sorted I discovered that my HR had dropped into what is calculated to be the aerobic zone
Thanks for the advice.