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

[mountaindan]

Hello,

I’m brand new to the prospect of mountain biking. I’m a disciplined and dedicated hiker, but have always hated hiking downhill; there’s no workout to speak of, and it’s hard on the knees. I’ve lately been considering buying a mountain bike so I can enjoy myself going both ways. The main reason I hike is to keep the fat off my body; my goal is almost always to hold my heart rate at a rock-solid 125 BPM all the way to the peak, no matter which mountain I’m climbing. If I’m climbing a very steep slope, I slow down to keep my heart in the right range. The target heart rate would remain the same if I were to switch to using a bike. Is this doable?

A road bike might seem a more logical choice, considering my aim, but my heart would break if I had to leave my wild trails behind. Maybe I’ll bite the bullet on a mountain bike even if the answer to my question is, "Hell no, you won’t keep a steady heart rate in that zone."

[GoldenGoose]

Maintaining a steady heart rate on a mountain bike is a lot harder for me than on a road bike. The incline changes happen much more rapidly and they are also typically a lot steeper grades as well. If fat burning were your goal and you didn’t want to hit the paved roads, long fire road stretches would probably be your best bet to maintain a steady heart rate on a mountain bike. Unfortunately, forest roads are not trails so you’ll lose the aspect of really feeling deep in the woods on secluded singletrack.

It really depends on the topography in your area, but most mountain bike trails will have your heart rate spiking up and down as the terrain changes back and forth. You can always try to control your effort and HR but I think you’ll eventually find that you are not enjoying the ride as much.

The good thing is, mountain biking typically burns more calories than hiking; because of the increased HRs. It’s much more of an interval style work out. There’s been a lot of recent research that suggests that interval training is actually better for fat burning because it keeps the body off balance an constantly trying to readjust.

[ollysj]

When I get back into biking, my main goal was burning fat too, so I purchased a computer with a heart rate monitor, but never could manitain an constant heart rate. Finally I decide to stay fat and have fun 😉

[fat_billy]

I stopped running a heartrate monitor for a couple of reasons. Looking at a heart rate monitor can cause you to make a dent in the singletrack. When in a hard climb it looks as if you are going to hit the rev limiter close to the top. When I get loss of some side vison and the little sparkley things I know to slow down. I’ll rest till my heart rate is @120 bpm and go again. I use the old fashion way to check, count pulse beats for 6 seconds and multiply X10 and that is your heart rate. Check your fitness by checking your heart rate at wake up. Lower when you wake up tells you your fitness, as it lowers you are fitter. 😄 Later,

[Jared13 ✓ supporter]

"fat_billy" wrote

I stopped running a heartrate monitor for a couple of reasons. Looking at a heart rate monitor can cause you to make a dent in the singletrack. When in a hard climb it looks as if you are going to hit the rev limiter close to the top. When I get loss of some side vison and the little sparkley things I know to slow down. I’ll rest till my heart rate is @120 bpm and go again. I use the old fashion way to check, count pulse beats for 6 seconds and multiply X6 and that is your heart rate. Check your fitness by checking your heart rate at wake up. Lower when you wake up tells you your fitness, as it lowers you are fitter. 😄 Later,

I have the same thing happen when I get close to my rev limiter 😄

And you mean multiply by 10

[fat_billy]

You are correct I fixed it. 😄 Later,

[ollysj]

"fat_billy" wrote

You are correct I fixed it. 😄 Later,

But it helps you, to maintain your heart rate at a lower level 😉

[Suvacrew]

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

[JSatch]

"ollysj" wrote

When I get back into biking, my main goal was burning fat too, so I purchased a computer with a heart rate monitor, but never could manitain an constant heart rate. Finally I decide to stay fat and have fun 😉

lol. same here.

went from a 4" 25lb bike with a hr monitor and odometer. now have a 38lb bike, no hr monitor or odometer. i smile more.

[bsheidler]

Dunno about anyone else, but I would find it impossible to do any serious riding at all (road or trail) with my heart rate at a constant 125 bpm, and don’t know why I would want to.

I believe you will burn more fat at a higher heart rate — yes, a bigger percent of your energy expenditure will be glycogen rather than from body fat, but still more fat in a given time. Of course, I suppose it is possible that at 125 bpm you can maintain that pace for longer times, but who has that much time?

Just as an example, on Friday, I did a moderate length, relatively flat (ie perhaps 1,500 ft of elevation gain) road ride where I averaged a 155 bpm rate for two hours, and I could certainly done longer (might have needed at least a sports drink or gel to maintain blood sugar, but….).

Normally, I do not look at my hrm on mountain bike trails — just check it afterwords — looking at the monitor is too big a distraction, and in any case, I know I will sometimes run it over the top of the scale and would rather not know at the time!

[apothideus]

I just ran last night for 105 minutes. I don’t have a bike where I am living and I wont’ have one for the next few months, so I run XC again. I’m 5’8", 140 lbs, 26 yrs old. My heart rate stayed between 165 and 170 and that is pretty typical for a LSD. During long races I can keep it above 175 if I have good training and nutrition behind me… but that’s running.
On the mountain bike I can’t keep anything steady due to all the climbs and downhills. I can go from above 200 for a couple minutes to below 150, just ebb and flow all day.
I agree with bsheidler in that you’re going to burn more fat overall at something above 125 BPM. I don’t even start workouts until I am warmed up (signaled by my HR being above 145).
Whatever the case, enjoy the ride.

R

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