Target Heart Rate For Weight Loss: How To Calculate It?

If you are planning to lose weight, knowing the fat-burning heart rate will be helpful. We often hear fitness trainers and professionals talking about a target heart rate for weight loss. But what exactly is this?

Target heart rate for weight loss or fat-burning heart rate is the rate at which your heart beats per minute to gain maximum fat-burning or weight loss effects. Now dive into this article to find out more details regarding the target heart rate for weight loss and how to calculate it effectively.

Heart Rate: An Overview

A definition of heart rate can be provided as the number of times that heart beats per minute. Your body has a natural capacity to control your heartbeats as per the activity that is done by you. It can also change based on the happenings around you.

When you are scared, active, or excited your heart beats more than normal. But when you are calm and composed, your heart rate comes back to normal. That is why doctors check your heart rate to diagnose any irregularities in your body. When your heart rate is speedy or very low, it can signify the presence of any underlying conditions.  

Heart Rate And Pulse

Even though your heart rate and pulse are connected, there is a slight difference between the two. While your heart rate is the number of heartbeats at a given time, the pulse is the feeling you experience as your heart rate. 

When your heart beats, the blood is propelled through the arteries inside the body. While pulse is the phenomenon of the pressure inside your arteries that ups and downs as the blood circulation is conducted.

You can sense your pulse through certain points in your body where the arteries are very close to the skin. Some of these points through which you can calculate your pulse rate are provided below:

• Wrist– Your radial artery can be found here through which you can check the pulse rate.
• Neck– The place where your carotid artery is found. By placing your finger just below your jawbone, you can sense your pulse.
• Inside the elbow– Another place to check your pulse are inside of your elbows. Your brachial artery is found here and by placing your fingers here you can sense your pulse. 

What is a normal resting heart rate?

Generally, the normal resting heart rate for adults is considered as 60 to 100 beats per minute. The intensity of heart rates indicates certain facts about your body. Having a lower heart rate can indicate efficient cardiac function.

If you want to check your heart rate, you can evaluate your pulse. By placing two fingers between the wrist, you can calculate the pulse. Many factors can affect the heart rate. Some of these factors are

• Activity levels.
• Age
• Smoking
• Having a heart condition
• Temperature
• Position of your body
• Stress levels and emotions
• Size of your body
• Medicines

Normal levels of heart rate are considered healthy. But if you have a higher or lower heart rate that is not in the required rates, consult your doctor. 

What Is The Fat-Burning Heart Rate?

By checking your heart rate, the intensity of your physical activity can be analyzed. Normally, when you lie down the heart rate falls into the 60-100 beats per minute category. But when you do some exercises, this can increase. During high-intensity exercise, the heart rate can reach maximum levels.

Fat-burning heart rate is achieved when a person burns fat during a specific level of heart rate. Your fat-burning rate is usually estimated as 64% to 76% of your maximum heart rate. But this can depend on a variety of factors such as age, fitness level, and diet. 

Discover: Can Heart Failure Cause Weight Loss? All You Need To Know

How To Calculate Your Target Heart Rate For Fat Loss?

Before determining whether you are in the fat-burning zone, you need to know the maximum heart rate aka MHR. At one age, the maximum heart rate can get lower.  So age is considered a crucial factor in determining MHR levels.

To calculate your MHR levels, subtract your age from 220. This will help you to figure out the target heart rate for fat loss. You can use the target heart rate for exercising on a recumbent bike, treadmill, or elliptical. These machines can monitor your heart rate and optimize your activities accordingly.

Fat-burning heart rate by age

Here is a chart that can help you to understand your fat-burning heart rate. As you get older, the fat-burning heart rate decreases.

Age	Fat-burning heart rate
18-20 Yrs	140 bpm
21-25 Yrs	136-139 bpm
26-30 Yrs	123-136 bpm
31-35 Yrs	129-132 bpm
36-40 Yrs	126-129 bpm
41-45 Yrs	122-125 bpm
46-50 Yrs	119-122 bpm
51-55 Yrs	115-118 bpm
56-60 Yrs	112-115 bpm
61-65 Yrs	108-111 bpm
66-70 Yrs	105-108 bpm
71-75 Yrs	101-104 bpm

Also, certain drugs can affect the heart rate. If you have any doubts regarding this, contact your doctor.

Methods to calculate fat burning heart rate

Researchers have developed four methods to calculate fat-burning heart rate. If you want to find your fat-burning heart rate or target heart rate for weight loss, you need to identify your maximum heart rate first.

• Fox formula– This is a relatively accurate formula to find out the maximum heart rate. You need to subtract your age from 220 to find the BPM. 
• Gulati formula– Multiply your age with 0.88 and then substance from 206.
• HUNT Fitness Study– Multiply your age by 0.64 and subtract the number from 211. This will give you the highest heart rate.
• Tanaka formula– This is considered more accurate than the Fox formula. Multiply your age by 0.7 and then subtract it from 208. 

How to measure your heart rate?

Modern technology has introduced many methods to measure your heart rate. There are wearable devices that can track your heart rate on the go. Some of the tools that can measure your heart rate are:

✅ Activity trackers: These are also known as fitness trackers. Activity trackers are devices that measure your walking count, calorie consumption, and heartbeat. You can wear them on your body and connect them to your smart mobile. 

✅ Chest straps: This is one of the oldest ways to measure your heart rate accurately. Chest straps work by the principle of electrical activity by your heart.  You can use these devices to measure heart rate during aerobic and anaerobic activities. 

✅ Smartwatches: These are wearable computers that can provide biomonitoring benefits along with performing simple tasks such as time, games, calculations, etc. Almost all smartwatches have an electronic visual display and these devices are powered by lithium-ion batteries. 

✅ Counting pulse: This is the manual way of calculating your heat beat during exercise. You can count your pulse by placing the thumbs on the wrist and counting it for 15 seconds. Now multiply the number by 4 to understand your heart rate. 

The Bottom Line

Going through the article, you can find that the target heart rate for weight loss can differ for each person based on many factors. One of the main factors that affect this is age. As one age, the fat-burning heart rate can decrease. Also, the impact of certain medications can lower the target heart rate for weight loss.

There are many methods to calculate the target heart rate for weight loss. One of the commonly used methods is the Fox formula where you are suggested to subtract your age from 220 to find out the target heart rate for weight loss. If you want to increase your fat-burning rate, contact your doctor or fitness trainer. 

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