How do you burn the most fat? Karvonen's formula gives you the answer. With this formula you calculate the ideal heart rate that you should maintain during your training. So do you want to get the most out of your cardio session? Then try training using the Karvonen formula .
Who or what is Karvonen?
Martti Karvonen is a Finn. Born in Finland in 1918. He studied in Helsinki and then Cambridge. He once started as a physiologist. As a physiologist he studied men who worked in the Finnish timber trade.
This study made him interested in the differences between the men. Among other things, he controlled cholesterol and found that it was higher in men living in eastern Finland than in men living in the west.
And so he and another researcher started a study on the risk factors for heart disease. That research was included in a larger, important study that eventually concluded that there is a relationship between lifestyle and arteriosclerosis.
Heart rate and fat burning
Your body doesn't just burn fat. Initially, it will turn to a different energy source. So it takes a while for the fat burning process to start. How long you exercise, but also the intensity play a role in this.
You want to be able to maintain a certain intensity for a longer period of time. At least 20 minutes. During your training your heart rate will go up. The harder the training, the higher the heart rate. Your muscles then need more oxygen.
The hardest possible training is not necessarily the best. With a very heavy workout, your body cannot switch to fat burning . You then cross the anaerobic threshold . This is approximately 80% of your maximum capacity.
In order to burn fat optimally , you want to avoid passing this threshold. And so you have to make sure that your heart rate does not get too high. For that you have to know what a good heart rate is. Because you certainly don't want to train too light.
The formula
Karvonen also developed a formula: the Karvonen formula. The formula calculates the best heart rate for certain activities, such as jogging and cycling , to burn fat. It assumes different intensities.
The Karvonen formula was distinguished at the time because it included the heart rate at rest. You can calculate this yourself by counting the number of heart beats in a minute. Then you calculate, for example, what your anaerobic threshold is.
In the formula you can adjust the training intensity. If you want to do a long, quiet workout, then you assume an intensity of about 40% and use the formula to calculate how high your heart rate should be.
A good intensive training is between 50% and 70%. 70% to 85% is a very intensive training. You have to be able to maintain the intensity for at least 20 minutes to start burning fat. Training at 80% makes no sense in this case, if you only keep it up for 10 minutes. Then choose a lower percentage.
If Stefan wants to do an endurance run of 2 hours, he will have to reduce the intensity. His desired heart rate is then: (220 - 27 - 60) x 0.7 + 60 = 153.
Comments
The formula is certainly useful, but it remains an estimate. It is therefore not the case that your training or combustion is less if you are a few heartbeats off. In addition, there are even more factors per person.
For example, the resting heart rate and the maximum heart rate differ per person. One person's heart rate will rise faster than another. Health, how much you exercise, stress and all kinds of other factors influence this.
So with the formula you can get an idea of your ideal heart rate. It can also certainly be useful to use a heart rate monitor to see if you are close to your ideal heart rate during your training. If you are far below that, you may be able to train a little harder.
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