What heart rate to maintain when trying to lose fat, but maintaining muscle mass?
I think you’re a bit confused on your numbers. Everyone is different, but I’d be really surprised of you could maintain a 180 heart rate for more than a few minutes. You probably have your estimated max heart rate (220 – your age) confused with aerobic threshhold. Maximum heart rate is as fast as it will go. Period. No one can operate at that level very long. Lactic acid quickly builds up in your muscles and its game over. Even attempting to go at this level if you’re out of shape with high blood pressure is a bad idea, unless you’re doing it as part of a stress test with your cardiologist looking over your shoulder. . Aerobic threshold is the heartrate beyond which you start building up lactic acid, because your cardiovascular system is at its limit for oxygen delivery. For the average schmoe, that’s around 80% of max. Trained endurance athletes can push this as high as 95%. A simple approximation is a pace you can maintain for an hour or more – like you would use for a 10 mile road r
