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Thread: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

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    God/dess Bella21's Avatar
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    Default Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    Okay, for my cardio, I do about 40 minute on the eliptical... I usually just set it at level 3 (I don't want a lot of resistance so I don't bulk up) and "run" at a speed that give me an intense work out. But, I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong since I noticed that heart rate chart thingie shows that I'm doing "cardio" instead of "fat burning". Wtf does that mean?! When I purposely slowed down to a "fat burning" heart rate, it was like I was barely doing anything at all. Someone please explain the difference between these two things. My heart rate is usually 160-170 when I'm on the machine.
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    yeah and the weird thing is the calorie counter shows you burn more calories when you keep your heartrate at the "fat burn" level than at the "cardio" level. Seems counterintuitive to me.


  3. #3
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    "Fat burn" is just the rate at which you are burning some calories. I think they call it that to make out-of-shape people feel better about not getting their heart rates up as high as they otherwise could. It's the rate at which you figure, hey, at least I'm moving instead of sitting in the Barca lounger.

    "Cardio" is the rate at which your heart rate is affected and your metabolism increased for hours after the workout. No worries, doing cardio burns more fat than the "fat burn" rate. It's also better for your heart.

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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    That fat burning zone is not quite a myth but it's misleading.

    The calories you burn DURING exercise are really going to be pretty meaningless in the general scope of things, unless you are already VERY lean.

    The important thing is how exercise raises your metabolism for the entire day, leading to many, many, more calories burned above how much you used during the exercise period itself.

    No elliptical is going to bulk you up. You wont bulk up by accident, believe me. Unless you are eating to do it, even if you body build, you won't bulk up, either.

    Heart rate really isn't that big a deal. Go watch a scary movie,that will jump your heart rate up. You won't lose any weight from it though.

    Do the most intense thing you can get away with.

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    God/dess Bella21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    I knew my SW would help clear things up! I was thinking, "But I WANT to burn fat! Wtf is going on?" LOL. I also had no idea that cardio helped with metabolism for the rest of the day... I always just thought that it only accounted for the calories burned at that time.
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

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    Featured Member aussiebelle's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    Having your heart rate at the cardio level will also increase your fitness in the long term which will allow you to see progress in your workouts and allow you to increase the pace and intensity burning more fat.

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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    Ah thanks Bella for asking this question. I had the same also. Someone at work told me that I should only be doing the "Fat burn" and not the cardio. Seemed very counterintuitive as the "fat burn" is way too easy.

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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    ^yeah, that's what my friend told me! I believed her too because my heart rate was up higher but her calorie counter showed she burned nearly twice that I did! Maybe because she is heavier than I am?


  9. #9
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    ^^^ Yes, the heavier you are, the more calories you burn. It takes more energy to move your body when you're bigger. I am constantly having to remind K of this fact because he likes to gloat when he burns twice as many calories as me on the elliptical machine... der, it's because you've got twice as much muscle and you're a big burly Irishman!

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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    For the most effective fat burning, you should be utilizing HIIT. If you can do more than 30-40 minutes on any cardio machine, using HIIT, then you are not working out hard enough.

    Setting your cardio machine for one "set" level will only work for the first week or so. After that, your body is just coasting and not doing anything. Your body will actually work harder to conserve energy if you do not change up your workout...which is why people plateau. If you plateau you are encouraged to shake up the workout...and it'll usually blow you past that.

    Shake up your workout...and, yeah...doing cardio isn't going to "bulk" you up. It MAY give you a bit more definition as the less fat you have on your body, the more people notice your musculature. But, it won't bulk you up...you need to do weights to bulk...and even then you have to do heavy weights (although, a woman will NOT bulk up like a man...unless she's taking supps).

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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    ...and if you are going to bother doing HIIT, go visit a park and sprint.

    To clarify the fat burn thing, At a moderate pace, your body more easily uses fat for energy, say 50% of your calories burned will be from fat. At say a 70% pace, you might only use 30% from fat.

    While the percentage of fat being used is higher, because the intensity of the work is lower, you end up using less altogether(30% of 200cals versus 50% of 100cals, for example). Plus sitting on a machine for 40 minutes is boring anyway.

    One confusing aspect of it is "who is asking the question?" If you are a natural bodybuilder already at 5% bodyfat, 40 minutes of running to remove 200 calories of fat is a big deal. It can often mobilize "the last bits" that other methods haven't yet. If you are a normal guy or even worse, a woman at 20% bodyfat, those 200 calories are probably best taken care of by eating 200 calories less. What is best for one is not always best for somebody else.

    Another problem is that it takes a fairly solid fitness base to being doing higher intensity workouts.

    If I woke up tomorrow and decided to quit MMA to become a fitness model or male stripper or something, this is what I would do:

    Alongside bodybuilding style weightlifting at all times:

    For the first month, I would follow the coupled with (as I am already a very well conditioned athlete).

    After the first month, I would follow a , also coupled with HIIT in the form of windsprints.

    For those who have the discipline to do it, I can't really think of anything better barring the use of drugs or surgery.

    Good luck with your goals in regardless of what path you choose.

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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    HIIT?
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

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    Default Re: Cardio/ Heart Rate Question

    HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training

    High Intensity means close to maximum effort. Sprinting is high intensity, for example, contrasted with jogging, which is moderate intensity.

    Interval because we can't use our full power for very long. So sprint 50 yards, recover by walking 50, repeat.

    Compare the physiques of endurance athletes versus sprinters. Especially for the females, sprinters are usually very muscular(in a sexy way) alongside being very lean(low bodyfat). Endurance athletes are very lean, but usually are not very muscular.

    Your metabolism rises much more when doing high intensity exercise. Additionally and unfortunately, endurance training actually decreases your metabolism over the long term as a side-effect of making you a more efficient endurance machine.

    I have links to some of the terms in my above post.

    Examples of HIIT:
    "wind" sprints
    basketball suicide drills
    Possibly using exercise bikes alternating between maximum intensity work and then recovery periods of light pedaling, but not recommended.

    If you don't mind hard work,you can get better results in far less time, but some people prefer the long duration style. Being a very impatient person, I never liked miles and miles of running.

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