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Is there an ideal fat-burning pulse?

3.2.25
06 minutes

Author:
Raphael Jung
Determining the so-called training pulse for ideal fat burning...

For many athletes, this appears to be an opportunity to manage their training more sensibly and effectively. Since even smart watches can now determine the training pulse on the wrist, more and more are using heart rate measurement during training. We explain what really makes sense and how you can really determine the ideal fat-burning heart rate.

General determination of your fat burning pulse using formulas

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A simple determination of your pulse range with maximum fat burning based on calculations is often found with the 5-zone model, which is frequently used in German-speaking countries. Your pulse ranges are determined based on the (previously determined or calculated) maximum pulse. Based on the maximum heart rate, the following training zones are calculated:

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  • Health zone: 50 to 60% of maximum heart rate
  • Fat burning zone: 60 to 70% of maximum heart rate
  • Aerobic zone: 70 to 80% of maximum heart rate
  • Anaerobic zone: 80 to 90% of maximum heart rate
  • Maximum zone: 90 to 100% of maximum heart rate

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The problem of generalized calculations

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As is so often the case - as you may have guessed - the problem lies in schematic generalization. Everyone is different and the function and regulation of our fat metabolism during exercise is quite complex. Have a look at the following article to understand How your metabolism works and where this fat burning actually takes place. Why do we think it is critical to stick strictly to certain pulse values during training? Or even: In the following sections, you will find out why you shouldn't always stubbornly follow schematic heart rate zones.

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The training pulse varies within a workout

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It's a well-known phenomenon. With consistent efforts, the heart rate often rises during a session. And that even though you don't change the load. Figure 1 shows one of these examples from a small study. During a steady bike ride at 180W, the heart rate rose from initially measured 125 bpm to 140 bpm after 60 minutes. That makes a 15 stroke difference, 12.3%!

Figure 1: Course of the training pulse over 60 min at a constant 180W

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Anyone who is now looking for their fat-burning pulse should realize that 15 beats definitely make a difference! Conversely, if you train very strictly on your fat-burning pulse, you would have to accept that the pace and load would have to be reduced more and more in order to hit the target fat-burning pulse range (as in Figure 2).

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Figure 2: Drop in performance with a constant fat-burning pulse

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But can that make sense? No Apart from the fact that it's probably no fun to run slower and keep looking at the clock, it's much more about setting the right exercise intensity for optimal fat burning. And the heart rate, as a “passive load parameter,” is not the appropriate variable here. Instead, it makes more sense to set and then maintain a PACE or a subjective sense of stress. It is not only useful that the organism adapts to the situation and reacts to the load at a corresponding different heart rate, but also completely normal.

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There is therefore no ONE FAT-BURNING PULSE, but this value fluctuates from training to training and even within a session. There is another example of this here...

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The fat burning pulse varies from day to day depending on the form of the day and nutritional situation

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Many people who look at their training pulse in detail will also have experienced this phenomenon. The heart rate sometimes behaves very differently from day to day, although the load appears to be the same.

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Reason 1: Influence of diet

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Depending on how many carbohydrates the organism currently has available and which hormones are acting at the moment, changes the body's metabolic state. This plays a decisive role, especially during fat burning training. For example, if you have stopped eating carbohydrates for a long time, fat burning is increased during training. Since the metabolism of fats in the muscles takes place exclusively with an increase in oxygen, the organism must therefore provide more oxygen. The result is increased respiration and a higher fat burning pulse in order to achieve an increased oxygen supply.

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Reason 2: Influence of training status

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Like our working muscles, our heart is also a muscle that adapts to repetitive training loads. The heart muscle can grow and thus increase its stroke volume. In addition, long-term training also economizes the centrally regulated control of the heart by the autonomic nervous system. The result is a more efficient heart muscle which, after a few weeks, can pump more blood volume through our system with less “effort” (= beats). With the same load, the fat burning pulse may well be slightly lower after a few weeks. This also explains the phenomenon that you no longer get the same training pulse after a few weeks of hard training.

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The fat burning pulse varies from person to person

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The ideal training pulse for maximum fat burning is very individual and is very difficult to calculate a flat rate. Similar to the maximum heart rate, the behavior of the heart rate during low-intensity exercise is very individual and depends on many influencing factors. Due to the different physiological profiles of individual runners, there are considerable individual differences in the ability to burn fat. Not everyone has their fat-burning pulse at 65% of their maximum heart rate. And apart from that in general, the necessary training methods that would be needed to expand fat burning can be very different.

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In the examples presented here, it is clear how differently lipid metabolism can be regulated. It can also be seen that the ideal fat burning pulse was very different in all three cases. Individual deviations of up to 10% (this may be 20-30 strokes) are not uncommon. A rough initial adjustment of the training pulse for the fat burning zone is obtained from the heart rate zones presented in the first part. However, this information is so rough that unfortunately it is often not possible to effectively assess the pulse range with ideal fat burning.

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We investigate in the Twaiv app The physiological profile of every individual and therefore not only determine the pulse range of maximum fat burning more precisely, but also provide the perfect workout to effectively increase fat burning.

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