Advice on running?

Macacadopai

Hey!
I run for 30min on level 8, in the morning, and I first thought that was enough to loose weight in the long run, but now I read that u only start burning fat 30min after ur heart rate's up. Does anyone know? I run 6 days a week, but should I up my 30min? It's really challenging as it is, but if 40 min would burn 20% more, id love to know.

bigmang

Sounds about right, but even 30 mins running will burn plenty of calories, whch will have an effect, I wouldn't worry about the science too much. I do some running but my partner only walks the dog for excercise, she eats properly and she loses weight.

superninjatam

Interval training is supposed to be several times more effective at burning calories than constant jogging.

When i hit the gym, i often do this which I made up:

5 mins at 5mph
3 mins at 6.5mph (i.e. add 1.5mph each time)
2 mins at 8mph
1 min at 9.5mph

total = 10mins

Repeat 3-4 times (believe me you will feel it!)

That is pretty fast though. Experiment and adjust to your comfort zone. I find it's easy to keep track of, it takes a lot of the boredom out, and your left with a high drive for several hours after.

jane77

You burn fat all day even sitting at a desk! that fat burning stuff gets crazy for the ave person to deal with. work hard all the time than increase. for a few minutes each time you work out push yourself that you feel just uncomfortable for 30 sec to a 1 min every 5 mins you are working out. Exercising harder burns more calories than the so called fat burning zone Also add weight lifting to what you are doing. Lean muscle takes up less room and you will look slimmer.

Wakx

I'm no real expert, but 30 min 6 days weekly is a very decent level of activity, probably much more than the vast majority of people.

It's often said that you first need to burn up your ready to use energy stored in your muscles before fat reserves are taken on. But it's even more often said that ultimately the one and only thing that counts is to have a net calorie shortage on a daily or weekly basis.

That makes best sense to me, because stored energy also needs to be replaced after your run. So this 20-30 minute period is not really that relevant.

Perhaps you can up the level a bit (assuming that level 8 is 8km/hr and not 8 miles/hr).

Beyond 45 min of cardio, it is believed that the body starts to break down muscle tissue to fuel the run, so you don't want to go beyond that.

Better still, so it is often said, is to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): 5 min at 8km, 1 min at 11km, 3 min at 8, 1 min at 12 etc.

And the most often thing said is that its best to do a bit of cardio to warm up (10min), then do strength training as intense as you can for no longer than an hour and only then cardio (such as running).

Macacadopai

Thanks u guys! There is an interval option on the treadmills at the gym, i guess it speeds up and slows down by itself. I'm going to try it next week when I'm in a bit of a better shape. I've been on such a great roll now, Im a bit scared to up it, but if I start with that next week, and maybe even add in 5 more mins every month or every other 2 weeks, I'll get better, faster and more fit Finger crossed!