How much fat you burn depends on how fast your heart rate is going. Exercising hard enough to get your heart going at 60% – 70% of its maximum capacity will make you burn the most body fat. This is considered the “fat-burning zone“.
To make sure you’re exercising at the right pace, you should purchase a quality heart rate monitor. It will beep at you if you’re not in the “fat-burning zone” so you can get the most out of your workout.
Try wearing it while scrubbing the tub or picking up your kid’s toys. You may be in your “fat-burning zone” and not know it. You can count these daily activities as part of your regular exercise routine.
To determine what your fat burning zone is, subtract your age from the number 220, then calculate 70% of that number for your target heart rate.
[...] Cardiovascular exercise is basically exercise that works out your heart and lungs which raises your heart rate. If you’re in your target heart rate zone, or your ‘fat burning zone‘, you should be able to carry on a conversation but with some difficulty. A lot of people associate cardio with burning calories, which is correct. You’ll burn calories more efficiently by hitting your target heart rate. [...]