Target heart rate and Running??

**en1222** · 12-29-2005, 07:47 AM

I am trying to keep my MHR between 60%-70% for 35-45mins because i read this is the best for fat loss... That makes HR to be about 134 bpm... If i run on the treadmill at 6.0 MPH my heart rate is higher than that.

Could i run for 3 mins then walk at 4.0 for 3 mins and repeat until i hit 45 mins?

By doing this lest say my heart rate would fluctuate between 155 and down to 120 but the average for the 45mins would be 135 , Would this be the same thing as keeping my heart rate at 135 for 45mins?

I want to run but i want to burn fat also

**KeyMastur** · 12-29-2005, 08:49 AM

why not just walk a steady pace up an incline ? or do the elliptical machine ?

**en1222** · 12-29-2005, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

why not just walk a steady pace up an incline ? or do the elliptical machine ?

I do that now but i feel like i get more out of running.. maybe its just in my head

**Flexor** · 12-29-2005, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by en1222

By doing this lest say my heart rate would fluctuate between 155 and down to 120 but the average for the 45mins would be 135 , Would this be the same thing as keeping my heart rate at 135 for 45mins?

I want to run but i want to burn fat also

If you run at anything higher than 70% of your MHR, you will be burning more total calories and perhaps more total calories from fat. However, it is in the 60 and 70% range when the most fat calories are burned as a proportion of your total. So at higher than 70% you will burn more calories, but you will be using other energy sources such as protein and carbohydrates and so fat loss is not optimised.

So the answer is, it is not the average heart rate that counts, because if it fluctuates wildly like you said, you will burn less calories from fat. It is also good to maintain a stable heart rate to achieve optimum performance, otherwise the internal physiological processes of the body have to change and this reduces efficiency.