A lot of people that are beginning an aerobics routine wonder about their target fat burning heart rate. But despite all the fuss, most people don’t realize that this so-called “fat burning zone” is not where you actually burn off the most fat. So, how did this myth perpetuate itself? The reason why exercise myths are so widely known and believed is that people are always looking for a way to make their workout easier, and for their results to come faster.

Before I debunk the fat burning zone myth, I would like to discuss target heart rate calculations. First you have to calculate your max heart rate. The simplest way is to subtract your age from 220. So if you’re 30 years old, your max heart rate is around 190 beats per minute. Generally, the fat burning zone is thought to be between 60-65% of your max heart rate. Therefore, the fat burning heart rate zone for a 30 year old would be between 114 and 124bpm.

Those exerting themselves within the fat burning zone will indeed burn the greatest percentage of calories from fat stores. The problem is that higher intensity exercises like interval training workouts burn more calories and more fat calories due to a significant after-burn effect whereby your body continues burning fat after you complete your aerobics routine. Unfortunately, the truth is that there is no way to achieve effortless fat burning.

Stop the presses! Exercise as vigorously as possible? That’s it? Indeed, that is all you need to do. In order to increase the amount of calories you can burn and the amount of fat that you lose, you need to commit to an intense workout routine. Is there any relevance whatsoever to the fat burning zone concept in this type of regimen? The experts say, a lot. Low intensity cardio done in the fat burning zone allows your body time to recover. It simply is not feasible to do high intensity exercise every single day, though it is possible to incorporate lower intensity cardiovascular exercise such as walking, and also include fat burning cardio work in conjunction with interval workouts.

As I have mentioned before, my preferred cardiovascular exercise regimen utilizes high intensity interval training (HIIT). One example of an HIIT routine would be a 10 minute short interval HIIT of 15 second sprints and a 45 second job following a warm-up, before doing 10-25 minutes of fat burning cardio, such as light jogging, followed by 10 minutes of long interval HIIT, such as a 1 minute fast run and a 1 minute jog. If you do this high intensity interval training just 3 times a week you will get a well-rounded cardio workout. On alternate days your best bet is to walk.

The fat burning zone myth would have you believe that you can burn more fat by working out less intensely. The truth is that “there is no free lunch.” You can’t expect to burn more calories by working out less intensely. Though the fat burning heart rate is useful as a target range for your lower intensity cardiovascular workouts, any effective aerobics routine must incorporate higher intensity workouts in which the body’s maximum heart rate is approached. Only then will the true fat burning zone be within reach!