Cardio calories burned?

mbern1008
mbern1008 Posts: 7 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I know there is a big difference between weight training/resistence and cardio. I am curious more about cardio though. Is all cardio the same? for example is burning 450 calories walking 3.5 MPH for 4 miles the same as if I ran the same 4 miles in a shorter amount of time. I am new to this whole exercise thing and am not really sure what to do to vary myself. I do 4 miles on the treadmill every morning while watching TV. Is there anything wrong with that? Will my body get used to it and not have it be effective anymore or is calorie burn, calorie burn end of story?

Replies

  • LornaRodda
    LornaRodda Posts: 20 Member
    Great questions, I look forward to seeing the answers.

    I try and vary my cardio day to day, not necessarily the type but the time at which I do it.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I know there is a big difference between weight training/resistence and cardio. I am curious more about cardio though. Is all cardio the same? for example is burning 450 calories walking 3.5 MPH for 4 miles the same as if I ran the same 4 miles in a shorter amount of time. I am new to this whole exercise thing and am not really sure what to do to vary myself. I do 4 miles on the treadmill every morning while watching TV. Is there anything wrong with that? Will my body get used to it and not have it be effective anymore or is calorie burn, calorie burn end of story?

    No, your net calories burned per mile running are double that of walking
    Your Total Calorie Burn/Mile Your Net Calorie Burn/Mile

    Running .75 x your weight (in lbs.) .63 x your weight
    Walking .53 x your weight .30 x your weight

    Adapted from "Energy Expenditure of Walking and Running," Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise, Cameron et al, Dec. 2004.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning?page=single

    and it's the net calories you're interested in , if you count gross calories you're double counting calories already included in BMR
  • mbern1008
    mbern1008 Posts: 7 Member
    According to this my net is 234 calories burned for 4 miles even though my fitbit and treadmill both say about 450? How fast do you need to go MPH before it is considered running. I know by 4 MPH I am doing a light jog but I cannot keep it up for too long. My ankles start to hurt and I start to get tired and want to quit unless I drop the speed back down. I would like to get to the point where I am at least jogging though
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    According to this my net is 234 calories burned for 4 miles even though my fitbit and treadmill both say about 450? How fast do you need to go MPH before it is considered running. I know by 4 MPH I am doing a light jog but I cannot keep it up for too long. My ankles start to hurt and I start to get tired and want to quit unless I drop the speed back down. I would like to get to the point where I am at least jogging though

    Strictly in terms of locomotion you're walking if one foot is constantly in contact with the road, running if both (even briefly) leave the ground at the same time. If you think you're running, you're running.

    Ankles could be your shoes or conditioning. Assuming you have the appropriate footwear try running for very short periods of time mixed in with walking intervals and gradually build your distances up. You should also consider strength training (calf raises, squats, lunges) as part of your fitness program too - provides improved injury resistance (don't forget core & upper body too)
  • linsey0689
    linsey0689 Posts: 753 Member
    Well a calorie burned in a calorie burned to me for the most part with cardio. But what you have to keep in mind is as you get smaller your body doesn't have to work as hard to do the same things. Like I have lost 45 pounds so when I first starting my body had to work a lot hard to do thing. Now it is easier so I am not burning as many calories. If I want to burn as much as I did before I would have to carry a 50 pound bag of dog food around which I don't plan on doing but you get the point..

    With strrength training the goal is not to burn calories but to get stronger muscles so it does matter what you are doing. Like if you want better legs go for the leg exercises to build those muscle and so on and so forth.


    Hopefully this makes clears it up a little for you :)

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