This is for everyone, but especially for frankm7 who had a question about his diet in another post. It is about how to determine your training intensities.
This is important, as it will give you a zone to shoot for so you can maximize your fat burning potential. To tell the truth if you don’t know it you have no idea if you are actually burning body fat or not. Without it you are just guessing. This is a science. There is no reason to guess. It to is going to be a real pain but you will get use to the feeling of how to determine when you have hit your training zone because you will know how hard you had to push yourself in the past top reach it. This is unless you are at a machine that will automatically calculate it for you. Following about 2 months of training you may have a considerably lower resting heart rate. (About 10 to 20 beats per minute slower) Therefore, you should recomputed you target zone periodically. I will show you how to do this. You already know how to figure your resting heart rate. But I will include it as well in case you forget.

1) Maximum Heart Rate ( MHR) = 220 - your age = MHR
If you were at 20 years of age…
220 - 20 = 200 beats per minute ( bpm) This is actually your MHR

2) Resting Heart Rate ( RHR ) = 45 bpm ( You need to count the number of heartbeats that your heart beat beats in a 30-second time period. Multiply that number by 2. This represents the number of times your heart beats in 1 minute = beats per minute =bpm Or simple put your resting heart rate.)

3) Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) = MHR - RHR = HRR
200 - 45 = 155 bpm

So your MHR = 200 bpm
Your RHR = 45 bpm
Your HRR = 155 bpm

Now we will figure your training intensities at 40%, 50%,60%,85%
This will make sense in a minute. Just keep reading.
This is how you figure up your training Intensities using the information from above.

Training Intensities (T I ) = (HRR x %TI) + RHR = TI
Note. Here it is important to convert the percentages into a decimal. So 40% will equal .40

40% TI = ( 155 x .40 ) + 45 = 107 bpm
50% TI = ( 155 x .50) + 45 = 123 bpm
60% TI = ( 155 x .60 ) + 45 = 138 bpm
85% TI = ( 155 x .85 ) + 45 = 177 bpm

The recommended cardio respiratory training zone is between 60% and 85% training intensities Individuals who have been physically inactive or are in poor or fair cardio respiratory fitness may have to start off at the 40 to 50% training intensities until they have worked their way up to the 60 to 85% training zone.

In the middle of your cardio routine take a few minutes out of your time and find your pulse. You need to count the number of heartbeats that your heart beat beats in a 30-second time period. Multiply that number by 2. This represents the number of times your heart beats in 1 minute = beats per minute =bpm ( That is unless the machine you are on has a counter that will calculate this for you.)
Now compare that number with the numbers above. This will tell you if you are burning body fat or not. Using the example above one would need to keep their heart rate up to 138 to 177 bpm for 30 minutes to burn their present body fat. You need to eat, as you want to increase your lean muscle mass and burn off only your body fat.

IC