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You are here: Experts > Health/Fitness > Exercise > Aerobics > Heart Rate
Expert: Brandon Briggs, MS - 10/26/2009
Question
I have been working out at my local gym. I had a consultation with one of the personal trainers, who helped me set up a workout plan for myself. My goal is to lose weight (5-10 lbs) and tone up. I am lifting weights 3x a week and doing cardio 5-6 times a week. He instructed me to not let my heart rate exceed 140 bpm if I want to lose weight even though I usually work out with my heart rate at about 170 bpm. I have been doing the routine he instructed for about a month and haven't lost a single pound. I don't really feel like I'm exerting myself during my cardio and I don't have as satisfying of a feeling when I'm done. Is this really what I should be doing to properly lose fat without losing muscle?
I am a 23 yr old female, 5'3", 135lbs, in good health
Answer
Hi Shelby,
For your age a HR of 120-140 bpm would be a good range for fat burning. However 85% of your age predicted max is 167 bpm. The idea for weight loss is to expend more calories than you take in. One pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. That means to lose one pound of fat a week you have to expend 3500 calories. That's about 500 calories a day for 7 days. I would recommend that you track your calories burned doing cardio and continue doing weight training. Your weight training should be done with light weight and high reps to maintain muscle mass. I hope this helps out.
Brandon
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