Fat Burning Zone Myth 2

Many of you will have heard of the "fat burning zone" (FBZ) and some of you may have been instructed to train in the fat burning zone for optimum results

The FBZ is a moderate intensity level of exercise (corresponding to around 60-75% of maximum heart rate) in which high levels of fats are burnt as well as carbohydrates. That’s great, you might be thinking. Why don’t I just cruise through my workouts in the comfort of the fat burning zone and get maximum results?

Unfortunately for us all, as we explained in a previous bulletin < http://www.the-tonic.com/bulletin_f04.htm > , the FBZ is not as effective at burning fat and losing weight as training at harder intensity levels (corresponding to 75-88% of maximum heart rate).

For those who are not convinced, new research from Birmingham University shows that FBZ is definitely not a useful training guide. They found that the actual exercise intensity that produced the peak rate of fat burning varied extremely widely. Some people were burning peak fats at an easy 54% of maximum heart rate, and others were still at peak fat burning at a high powered 92% of max heart rate.

This research shows that the FBZ heart rate guidelines are ill-founded and do not help anyone to improve their fitness or get into shape. Without going into a laboratory and analysing your metabolic profile it is impossible to know at what level you are burning peak fats or not.

Do not bother training inside the FBZ, unless you want to take it easy and de-stress. For best results, focus on training hard and burning as many calories as you can each workout. The best way to do this is to push a little harder and aim for heart rates around 80% of maximum.

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