Re: How easy to maintain a constant heart rate for fat loss?

#100846

Mountaindan, grabbing an MTB to play on the trails you hike and still maintain an aerobic heart rate, will be a challenge for sure.
At 125BPM you’ll be tapping body fat vs glycogen and would be able to ride for a long time..on the ROAD but any good grinds will send some good spikes into the ticker. Understanding what your Lactate Threshold is, may provide a better guide and a more appropriate range of HRs to apply, while riding an MTB on your desired trails.
HR monitors are pretty inexpensive and accurate these days and a properly spec’d bike for what you want to do will get you closer to that HR target. Ala..hardtail carbon 18 LBS vs a 35LB Long Travel Full Suspension monster with platform pedals…then again you need to monitor your heart for price shock too if you want to go light.

For those poster’s seeing stars….my stars start to set at about 210BPM from a resting HR of 50….I will usually avg 165 on a solid ride and race day regularly spank 190s on climbs.
HR targeting has so many pitfalls IMHO, as it is greatly effected by sleep, fatigue, diet and how many brews you had before you ride.

So get that bike you want, don’t get hung up on the 125…your real target may be higher.

Cheers