At what point do you "stop" listening to your body?

Janautical

I apologize in advance if this is a newbie question. Also, I swear I'm not looking for excuses to not work out more, I'm just curious.

Two days ago, I was on the treadmill at the gym. Usually I only do 30 minutes of the treadmill with 15 minutes elliptical, but since I didn't want to use the elliptical I decided to do 45 minutes on the treadmill.

Once I got to about 35 minutes, I decided that I would add on another 15 minutes to get up to a full hour. I felt great; I'd been switching between walking 2.0 mph (warm up and cool down), 2.5 mph, 3.0 mph, and jogging 3.5 mph in sections so that I wouldn't get bored.

When I finally got to the 60 minutes, I still felt great, like I could do another hour, but I decided not to only because my fiancé was waiting for me at home. But it got me wondering: at what point do we stop listening to what our bodies want to do in a work out? I've always been told to listen to my body and how it feels if I need to stop, but not told what to do if it says to keep going when I've already reached my goal.

I know that walking more than an hour is not the end of the world, but it's not sustainable for someone at my huge weight to be able to do that every other day. When I lose more weight, I would be happy to walk like that more. Not to mention I already take my dog on a walk outside my time at the gym. Should I have kept going because my body felt like I should? Or should I just work to a time goal and keep upping that as I get more and more comfortable?

Thanks in advance.

juggernaut1974

Time isn't the only variable...especially on machines like treadmills, etc.

If you're finding you're comfortable doing what you're doing for an hour - it doesn't mean you need to do it longer (though you could if you wanted to and you have the time to do so)

You could also increase the speed - up each leg by .2 or .3 mph and continue to do 60 minutes.

On many treadmills you can increase the incline to give yourself a slightly different/more difficult work out

Or increase your splits - walk less and jog more within that 60 minutes.

By the end of your workout you should feel "worked" but not dead. Tinker with some variables over the next couple weeks til you find a combination that gives you that result.

MelodyandBarbells

I don't know how much actual running you did but you may wish to do some reading on that specific activity. There's a lot of talk about resting even when you feel like you can keep going, in order to give your body a chance to adapt to this specific exercise. I do not know if this applies to a 3.5 mph jog in intervals

Janautical

That is great advice, thank you so much! I was thinking about upping the incline. I mean I do work a great sweat as it is now, but I think the adrenaline from jogging my longest time (4 minutes, I know it's laughable to some) just kept me going haha. I'll tinker around with it some more

Janautical

I don't know how much actual running you did but you may wish to do some reading on that specific activity. There's a lot of talk about resting even when you feel like you can keep going, in order to give your body a chance to adapt to this specific exercise. I do not know if this applies to a 3.5 mph jog in intervals

I can definitely see that. When I did my first jog interval, I made the mistake of stopping and my legs started spasming, so I walked a little longer and that went away. I think what I might do is up the amount of time I jog in the hour. Last time I only jogged for maybe about 10 minutes total throughout the whole time.

Chickee8586

That is great advice, thank you so much! I was thinking about upping the incline. I mean I do work a great sweat as it is now, but I think the adrenaline from jogging my longest time (4 minutes, I know it's laughable to some) just kept me going haha. I'll tinker around with it some more

IT. IS. NOT. LAUGHABLE!!!!!

It's great! I'm jogging myself and keep it to about 5 minutes at a stretch (in cycles like you are) just because my knee tends to swell up. I will gradually increase the time, but I'm not going to do it on someone else's schedule. You keep doing what you are doing and if it's working for you then don't worry about anyone else.

cherigaudet

First of all, don't apologize for where you are in your progress - you walked an hour, and jogged for 4 straight minutes, and that's a lot more than a LOT of people can do. See your profile pic? You should totally feel that way about doing that.

Second - if I have tons of energy left after a workout, most of the time I just carry it into the rest of my day. Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint, so I don't need to expend ALL my energy (or even 80% of it) on a single workout.

That said...I love a hard workout (well, I love it AFTER it's over!), and once in awhile, I do a couple in a row, just to see how far I can push myself. Just not every time.

geckospot

I agree with ceoverturf. Also, how did you feel the next day? It's no good continuing one day and not being able to move for the next 3. Gotta find the balance.

leschrotz

The rule in the running and triathlon world is, over the course of a week, don't increase your weekly volume of training/working out/whatever you call it by more than 10% or you risk overuse injuries. This is especially true in running...less so with less impactful activities such as biking or swimming.

wnt2bhlthy4me

That is great advice, thank you so much! I was thinking about upping the incline. I mean I do work a great sweat as it is now, but I think the adrenaline from jogging my longest time (4 minutes, I know it's laughable to some) just kept me going haha. I'll tinker around with it some more

4 minutes running straight is wonderful!!! I used to not be able to walk a block without getting out of breath. Now, I'm on week 7, day 1 of c52K and can run (slow run, but it's a run) for 25 mins. Keep up the good work!

ValGogo

I never listen to my body. She's a treacherous *kitten*!

Janautical

You guys are giving great advice and you really make me feel better too! I think it's tempting sometimes to compare where you are with others so to hear you guys say that my four minute achievement is awesome makes me feel great.

Thankfully I wasn't totally wiped out the next day or anything, so I think what I'm going to do is keep doing an hour on the treadmill instead of 30 minutes during my cardio days this week and see how it makes me feel.

You guys are awesome!! Thank you so much for the support!

bcattoes

Time isn't the only variable...especially on machines like treadmills, etc.

If you're finding you're comfortable doing what you're doing for an hour - it doesn't mean you need to do it longer (though you could if you wanted to and you have the time to do so)

You could also increase the speed - up each leg by .2 or .3 mph and continue to do 60 minutes.

On many treadmills you can increase the incline to give yourself a slightly different/more difficult work out

Or increase your splits - walk less and jog more within that 60 minutes.

By the end of your workout you should feel "worked" but not dead. Tinker with some variables over the next couple weeks til you find a combination that gives you that result.

This ^^ Make it harder, not longer.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

Cut that walking time in half and use it to lift heavy weights. Since you have a gym membership. I promise you'll thank me later. I would literally bet more money than I have on it.

Janautical

Cut that walking time in half and use it to lift heavy weights. Since you have a gym membership. I promise you'll thank me later. I would literally bet more money than I have on it.

I lift weights/do strength training on the other days per the guidelines of my fitness instructor at the gym! When I lose 100 pounds, I want to start doing more intense weight lifting. Thanks for the advice though!

PinkyFett

I agree with increasing speed. I started at 2 MPH... sometimes now I do 2.5-3 in that range.

If i Know I'm going to be doing an hour , i'll try for 2.5, if I know I'm doing less, I go closer to 3.

I'm still at the beginning though and I'm working up some endurance, so I'm slow.

Menix8

I just want to point out that I experience something very similar to this; the first ten minutes (sometimes 20!) are boring torture that I have to really push myself to get through. Then, I'd say about 75% of the time, I hit this sweet spot where it feels like I can just keep running forever. I call it "finding my stride", and it's a great feeling. When that happens, I don't think I've ever gone for more than 60 minutes (which is 20 minutes over my goal).

Anyway. Personal anecdote over. Keep up the great work!

kgeyser

Time isn't the only variable...especially on machines like treadmills, etc.

If you're finding you're comfortable doing what you're doing for an hour - it doesn't mean you need to do it longer (though you could if you wanted to and you have the time to do so)

You could also increase the speed - up each leg by .2 or .3 mph and continue to do 60 minutes.

On many treadmills you can increase the incline to give yourself a slightly different/more difficult work out

Or increase your splits - walk less and jog more within that 60 minutes.

By the end of your workout you should feel "worked" but not dead. Tinker with some variables over the next couple weeks til you find a combination that gives you that result.

^Agree. All my workouts are around 30 minutes, because that's what I have time for. I vary intensity and type of workout. Going longer isn't necessarily better. Endurance is a part of fitness and it's not something to be discounted by any means, but your body also benefits from shorter, intense workouts. You're doing awesome, I don't want to see you giving up down the road because you feel like you have to spend more time at the gym to get results.

treveneann

You raised a very interesting question one i never thought about. Its a good thing you have such knowledgeable friends some of the responses make so much sense.

fleetzz

That is great advice, thank you so much! I was thinking about upping the incline. I mean I do work a great sweat as it is now, but I think the adrenaline from jogging my longest time (4 minutes, I know it's laughable to some) just kept me going haha. I'll tinker around with it some more

No--this is great! This means that your aerobic conditioning can handle it. Congratulations! Now just be careful because once you get to a point where you feel like you can keep going, sometimes you will. And you know what isn't up to the task yet? Your tendons, bones, ligaments, and joints. They need time to adapt to your exercise so you don't get hurt.

Increase the time and intensity slowly.

LoosingMyLast15

That is great advice, thank you so much! I was thinking about upping the incline. I mean I do work a great sweat as it is now, but I think the adrenaline from jogging my longest time (4 minutes, I know it's laughable to some) just kept me going haha. I'll tinker around with it some more

IT. IS. NOT. LAUGHABLE!!!!!

It's great! I'm jogging myself and keep it to about 5 minutes at a stretch (in cycles like you are) just because my knee tends to swell up. I will gradually increase the time, but I'm not going to do it on someone else's schedule. You keep doing what you are doing and if it's working for you then don't worry about anyone else.

i have to second or is it now third IT. IS. NOT. LAUGHABLE!!!! you are doing so well! this is how i got started into running 4 years ago and last saturday i completed my second half marathon (13.1 miles). do no laugh at what you are doing because you are doing it right. and you should be extremely proud of your accomplishment!

if the 60 minutes is easy for you then i suggest increasing your incline just a bit but don't over exert yourself or you run the risk of injury. i would also do the exact same workout a few more times just to make sure it is getting easy for you (sometimes we all get that adrenaline high doing 1 workout then find out a few days later the exact same workout is still very difficult)