The "Fat Burning Zone" Myth

You've probably heard it, "You have to exercise at a lower intensity to burn more fat... to get in the "fat-burning zone". Guess what? It's a myth!

Here's how it got started. Your body is always "burning" a mixture of carbohydrates and fat for fuel. This mixture tends to contain a little more fat during lower intensity exercise. Somebody took this to mean that a lower intensity workout was best for losing weight.. not so!

It all comes from the same "pot". It doesn't matter if you're burning a little more fat or a little more carbohydrate at any particular time in your fuel mix. It all comes from the same calorie pool. What really matters is the number of calories you are burning.

Moderate intensity exercise actually burns more calories in a given time period. For example, you may burn 200 calories during a 30 minute low intensity exercise session and 300 calories during a 30 minute moderate intensity exercise session. Bottom line... burning more calories is better for weight loss.

Moderate intensity exercise increases your basal metabolic rate (BMR) more than lower intensity exercise. This means that you'll burn more calories 24 hours a day.

Here's the one I like! Moderate intensity exercise gives you a better "high"! You know, the "exercise high" you get when your body releases endorphins and adrenaline. This can really elevate your mood and is great for people who are depressed.

So, how can you know how intense your exercise is? Your heart rate is your body's "speedometer" and an excellent gauge of exercise intensity.

Here's how to calculate your target heart rate range for moderate intensity exercise:

In this example, your target heart rate range is 126 to 153 beats per minute. Thus, you should try to stay within this range for most of your exercise session.

Get movin'!