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How to Calculate Your Fat Burning Zone

The highly disputed "fat burning zone" refers to the target heart rate range that is supposed to help a person lose weight faster. During low-intensity but longer workouts, about 60 percent of the calories you burn come from fat rather than carbohydrates. During high-intensity workouts, only about 35 percent of calories burned come from fat. According to Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D., chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise in San Diego, "Low-intensity workouts do promote fat loss ... You just have to do them for a longer period of time."
For the body's health, alternating between low-intensity and high-intensity workouts will allow for recovery and optimal health as well as promote weight loss distributed in a way that would please most people. Jeffrey R. Stout, who has a Ph.D. in exercise physiology, explains it simply stated, "sprinters have that muscle on muscle look, while the average treadmill walker has skinny arms and a gut? It's simple. When you sprint, you use your muscles to such a powerful extent, they respond by growing bigger and stronger." So the fat burning zone combined with exercises of higher intensities will result in the results most people are trying to achieve.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper or journal
  • Calculator (optional)
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Instructions

  1. Calculation for the Fat Burning Zone Under the Lactate Threshold

    • 1

      Start with 180 minus your age (a) for the fat burning zone upper limit target heart rate (z). This equation is 180 - a = z.

    • 2

      While exercising, take your pulse for 15 seconds (p), then multiply this by 4 to get your heart rate (h) for 1 minute. This is your heart rate during training or exercising. For example, (p) x 15 seconds = h.

    • 3

      Stay in the fat burning zone. Your heart rate must stay below or at z (fat burning zone upper heart rate limit during training) calculated in Step 1. Many exercise machines have calculations that will give a range (the zone--an upper and lower limit) depending on your age.

    Calculation for the Karvonen Formula: Fat Burning Zone

    • 4

      Calculate your MHR (Age Predicted Maximum Heart Rate). Take 220 minus your current age = MHR.

    • 5

      Calculate your RHR (Resting Heart Rate). When you wake up in the morning or have been fully relaxed, take your pulse (p) for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4 to get your resting heart rate for 1 minute.

    • 6

      Plug your MHR and RHR into this formula using 85 percent. For a fat burning zone, 65 percent to 85 percent can be used.

    • 7

      Plug 85 percent into (percent of max) for the upper limit of your fat burning zone and 65 percent or 75 percent in the (percent of max) for the lower limit of your fat burning zone. Now you have calculated a fat burning zone or range to aim for during your workout.

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