For you gym rats, a question

I just joined a gym and in talking with the personal trainer, he said that the goal for exercise for me was to work to my optimum heart rate.  Something about Age minus something.  Darn, now I have forgotten the formula but he said that my target heart rate would be 115.  If I worked any harder than that, that I am no longer burning fat but burning sugar.  He said for weight loss the best thing is to be burning fat which sorta makes sense. 

Has anyone heard of this theory?  I did not explain it well and will have to have him explain it again but if anyone can shed any light on this, I would love to hear it.  

220 minus your age = Beats per minute X  .50 or .75 to determine if you are exercising within your target heart rate zone for weight loss.

 

yes, that is it, thank you!

Found this on WebMD hope it helps.

 

When you exercise, your body speeds up, and so does your heart as it works to meet your increased energy needs. But how much speeding-up of your heart is safe when you exercise? You need the answer to this question in order to maximize your exercise benefits while not overworking your heart.

Your target heart rate isn't one rate but a range of rates (beats per minute, or bpm), expressed as percentages of your maximum heart rate, that are safe for you to reach during exercise. For most healthy people, the American Heart Association recommends an exercise target heart rate ranging from 50% to 75% of your maximum heart rate, which is normally calculated as the number 220 minus your age.

Now that you know your target heart rate, check your bpm (take your pulse) regularly as you exercise. An easy way to do this is to count your heartbeats (pulse) for 10 seconds using your watch, and then multiply this number by 6 to get your bpm. You can feel your heartbeats in several ways, such as by placing your fingers lightly but firmly over the inside of your wrist or on your neck just below the angle of your jaw. (Be careful not to put too much pressure on the neck; this can slow the heart down and can be dangerous in people with blockages of blood vessels in the neck.) You can also place your palm over your heart and count the number of beats that you feel.

Caution: If you have any questions or concerns about your exercise regimen, including your target heart rate, consult your doctor.

 

For me, the fat burning zone is really slow. The last time I felt like I was going really hard on the elliptical, I checked, and my heart rate was 184. I immediately got down and haven't gotten back on again. Now I walk on the treadmill but it seems like I'd have to walk at a 1 to keep my heart rate in the fat burning zone. I guess that's something to discuss with the physiologist when I see him at pre-op day.

Hmm, thanks for your reply.  Let us know what your physiologist says.  

I am pretty sure that is a myth.  I am 42.  According to my trainer the minimum I should train at is 135.  My Maximum heart rate is 180.  He said I should do cardio for at lest 45 minutes in my target zone. (135-170)  There are heart rate calculators on the internet that can help you figure this out if you don't want to do the math.

You may burn more fat at a lower level, but you will burn more calories at a higher heart rate.  I am not suggestion that you aim for a higher heart rate if you have any health reasons why you shouldn't.  I have exercised regularly for over 2 years and know my body can handle it.

http://www.shape.com/fitness/should-i-be-working-out-fat-burning-zone

Virtually every piece of cardio equipment at the gym has a slow-paced "fat burning" program on the display panel that promises to help you stay "in the fat burning zone." If you are trying to lose weight, cover it with a towel and ignore it. Workouts that focus on the fat burning zone are a relic of the persistent yet outdated belief that long, slow workouts are always better for weight loss than faster, shorter workouts. But you can file that along with other fitness myths you should ignore: The best fat burning workout plan is simply the one that burns the most calories.

Like many myths, the so-called fat burning zone is based on a grain of truth: At slower speeds, your body's primary fuel source is fat, whereas at higher intensities, usually at a rate of perceived of exertion (RPE) of 7 or higher, you primarily draw on the carbohydrates that are circulating in your bloodstream or stored in your muscle. Misguided exercisers often reason that using higher percentages of fat as fuel must translate into quicker fat loss. The reality is, the more calories you burn, the closer you inch toward your weight-loss goals, regardless of what type of fuel your body uses for energy.

Here's a quick example to illustrate the point. It involves some arithmetic so I'll walk you through it. Let's say you spend a half an hour on a treadmill doing a casual stroll as you watch videos and yada yada with the person on the next mill over. You might burn 150 calories with this routine, about 80 percent of them from fat. That's a total of 120 fat calories burned.

Now let's say you spend 30 minutes doing a gear-grinding, booty-kicking spin class with tons of sprints, jumps and hills thrown in to dial up the intensity. In this scenario, you destroy 300 total calories with approximately 50 percent—150 calories—coming from fat. Even if I lost you on the number crunching, it should be clear why the second workout is superior for calorie burn (twice as much!), fat burn and weight loss.

Thanks for the great answer and for convincing me that this was not right.  

Great results you have had... good on ya!

Just like there are a million nutritionists/dieticians each with their own opinions and theories (often not backed up with research) there are also a million trainers with various  strategies and plans.  If you look around you will find hundreds of weight loss plans involving exercise and they will all tell you something different.  I have done them ALL.  The physical therapist at my bari center told me I need to work out for more than 1 hour a day at the fat burning zone and that the only time I am actually burning fat is after one hour.  This is utter nonsense.  and as the previous poster said, it is based on some facts but they really leave out critical pieces of the equation.  I find that for me, what works best is to do what feels great and is sustainable.  I like intervals, which is when you work out really hard with your heart rate really high (up above 160 for me) and then slow it way down and recover, I go high for 30 seconds and low for 90 seconds.  I just find that fun.  It requires a shorter workout (20 minutes is really all I can do) and it is fun.  I also love big long hikes where my heart rate stays pretty low.  Just start moving and figure out what you love and what feels good.  If you are losing weight and gaining stamina you are probably doing it perfectly for your body.  I am hula hooping quite a bit right now and lifting weights which is really fun for me.  In the summer I will swim. And try to sweat!  If you are sweating and needing to catch your breath after a few words you are probably in a nice zone.  But have fun!

Thanks, Louise!  I will find what I like and do it.  And what I will continue to do. So far I am in love with the sauna, the steam room and the hot tub, LOL!  And I love that I am not embarrassed to wear a swim suit in the pool.   As you say, I will probably figure out what is fun and right for me soon.  

Gonna try hydro training, basic yoga and a fitness program that includes cardio and strength for beginners.   Hope to move on to Zumba once I get into some sort of shape.

Thanks to you all for your great and thoughtful answers.