Target Heart Rate: Fat Burning Zone vs. Fitness Zone

I think one of the most frequent questions that I have been asked recently come from people that are starting to become educated in regards to cardiovascular fitness and the importance of maintaining your heart rate in your "target zone". Personally, I don't agree with the standard naming for the target heart rate zones. There are articles written regarding the benefits of working out in the "fitness zone" which is roughly 10 bpm higher than the "fat burning" zone. If you think of the zone naming regarding the minimum intensity necessary for the effect, it makes more sense. In other words, just because you are working out in the fitness zone, at a higher intensity than the fat-burning zone, doesn't mean that your are burning less fat. In fact, articles that I have read state that the higher intensity will actually burn more fat than the fat-burning zone! The anaerobic zone however will use a different energy system, so staying below 90% during cardiovascular activity is important to keep you out of the lactate threshold. So... once you have become accustomed to the fat-burning zone... kick it up a notch and get more benefits in a shorter amount of time!