How To Find Your Target Heart Rate for Weight Loss So You Can Maximize Fat Burn

We know burning calories is essential for weight loss, but how can you be sure you’re expending enough energy to reach your goals? Monitoring your heart rate is key, as your beats per minute (BPM) measurement directly correlates to calories burned. But while you want to get the most out of your workout, you also want to do so safely without overexerting yourself—this is where calculating your target heart rate for weight loss comes into play. 

What is a target heart rate for weight loss? 

Your target heart rate is the range where your heart rate should be during exercise, explains Stephen Sheehan, Certified Personal Trainer at BarBend. It’s used to gauge the intensity of your physical activity and whether you’re working in the best way to reach your fitness goals, he says. 

“Training within your target heart rate keeps you in an optimal fat-burning and 

calorie-burning zone,” adds Nicole Davis, Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach at Garage Gym Reviews. “Staying too low may not be effective, while going too high can lead to burnout or the body relying on carbohydrates for fuel instead of fat.”

There are five main heart rate zones. Zone 2 exercise (at 60-70 percent of your heart rate max) burns fat as fuel, making it a sweet spot for weight loss, says Milica McDowell, PT, DPT, a certified exercise physiologist and VP of operations Gait Happens. 

“If you are in the carb-burning zone, you’ll just burn the available carbs in your bloodstream or your stored carbs (in the form of glycogen, stored in muscle), so it doesn’t change your body composition,” she notes. “Also, fat is worth more calories than carbs, so you can lose weight faster by burning fat, too.” 

How to calculate your target heart rate for weight loss

Your personal target heart rate will depend on a few factors, but it’s relatively simple to find. First, you have to know your maximum heart rate (the fastest your heart can beat per minute), which you can find by subtracting your age from 220. 

Then, multiply that number by around 60-70 percent—this will give you your ideal fat-burning heart rate zone during moderate-intensity exercise, says McDowell. Once you hit zone 2, she suggests staying there for at least 30 minutes. 

An example, If you’re 50 years old, your max heart rate is about 170. That means your target heart rate for moderately-intense physical activity is approximately 110 BPM. 

How to tell if you’re in your target heart rate zone 

A wearable heart rate monitor (like a smartwatch) is the most reliable method for BPM readings, says Davis. However, if you don’t have one, you can estimate using what’s known as the talk test. As a rule of thumb, if you’re doing moderate-intensity activity, you’re in the right zone if you can talk without struggling but not sing. 

Another option? Check your pulse manually for 15 seconds and multiply the number of beats you get by four. For step-by-step instructions, take a look at how to check your heart rate manually.

How to reach your target heart rate for weight loss

The target heart rate zone for fat-burn aligns with moderate—not intense—exercise, McDowell explains. If you are in the vigorous intensity zone 3, you won’t be burning as much fat as possible. 

According to the CDC, moderate-intensity exercise options to keep your heart rate in that target zone for fat loss include brisk walking (3 mph or faster, but not race-walking), water aerobics, bicycling slower than 10 mph on mainly flat or level terrain without hills, tennis, dancing and gardening. 

For optimal weight loss, McDowell suggests engaging in moderate-intensity exercise roughly 45-60 minutes per day, five days a week.