How does your heart rate come into play when working out?

I notice on most machines at the gym they have heart rate monitors so you can check your heart rate. How does your heart rate affect your work out? What%26#039;s a healthy heart rate and how much should it be when working out? In general, mine tends to be around 150-185 depending on how hard I%26#039;m working out. ...Is that good or bad?

How does your heart rate come into play when working out?

If your goal is body fat loss then your heart rate needs to be between 60% and 70% of your Maximal Heart Rate. The machine will calculate it for you when you put in your information. Between 60% and 70% is when your body burns fat as fuel. You are still conditioning your heart to work more efficiently.

Above 70% you are training at the aerobic level. At this level, you are conditioning your lungs to work more efficiently. You are also still conditioning your heart.