Some Basic Questions Regarding Cardio

[Wuffus]

This might be quite elementary, so please forgive me. Last year I wanted to bulk up and I did quite a bit, but in the process gained some fat, especially around my waistline and sides.

I've now started on a strict diet with Thermorexin and cardio while still lifting in the hopes of losing some of this fat. My question regarding cardio is I have 2 choices. At have at my disposal either a treadmill or an eliptical trainer. If I want to do strictly fat burning, which one should I use and what would my target heartrate be? According to the chart on the machines, at my age, 27 years old, my target rate is about 114 BPM on the fat burning chart. The cardio chart has my heartrate much higher. So I'm assuming I should follow the fat burning chart correct? I have been doing moderate cardio for at least 30 minutes per session with my heartrate sustained around 114-120 BPM. Am I doing the right thing if I want to burn fat?

I'm a little confused about the differences between the fat burning and the cardio chart. I say this because in my mind, I think that the harder you work, the more calories you burn and the more fat I'll lose but the chart is telling me to go moderately. Is this right? When I hit the higher BPMs does that catabolize my muscle instead of fat so this is why the fat chart has my BPM lower? In the past, when I did cardio I always ran for 30 minutes with my heartrate around 160-170BPM and I always saw results.

Sorry for so many questions but I just had to get it all out. Thanks for any advice or suggestions in advance!

 

[Smurfy]

I would try to switch it up as much as possible and also try doing intervals to avoid muscle loss as much as possible. Dont do one kind of cardio all the time.

 

[njlw226]

bump

bump, im curious as to more input on the difference with fat burning and heart rate. also, can anyone give me details on how i check my BPM? thanks.

 

[bigstve12]

take 220 minus your age, this is your max HR...times that by 70-75% and this is the best HR for your fat burning zone.

Intervals are definetly good to break up the monotony of boring ass cardio. I would do like two days of fat burning and two days of intervals personally. But if your looking to drop some of that unwanted weight, your best bet is to clean up the diet, that will get you much furthur than just cardio alone. hope this helps

 

[macrophage69alpha]

So I'm assuming I should follow the fat burning chart correct? I have been doing moderate cardio for at least 30 minutes per session with my heartrate sustained around 114-120 BPM. Am I doing the right thing if I want to burn fat?

yes and no.

the chart is correct that low intensity excerise used fat more preferentially, though a greater amount of calories and elevated BMR result from high intensity.

individuals will also vary in what works best for them.

may reccomend interval training. 1-2 min low intensity with 30-60sec of high intensity.

btw- lifting before cardio will burn more fat. There are several studies on this.

though generally reccomend a light, 5-10min low intensity, cardio warm-up before lifting.