Seeking some input on running - which scenario is better?

huffy

I've been at the weight loss thing for just over a year now and I can't believe how far I've come. I started at 265 pounds and weighed in today at an even 191.0. My goal weight is 180 and I'm having a heck of a time breaking into the 180's! I saw 199 way back in July and had a lot of fun over the summer, so I've been losing weight at a much slower pace. I got away from myfitnesspal for a few months and put a good 15 pounds back on over the holidays, so I started fresh again with a new workout regime and counting calories starting in February or so. The moral of the story - myfitnesspal WORKS!!

Anyway, my question is this:

I can now run at 6.2mph for 60 minutes straight on the treadmill. However, that is pretty boring. I like to mix it up and bump it up to 8.5 for a minute or two and then walk for a minute or two to catch my breath. According to the treadmill, I'm burning the same amount of calories, but I"m thinking there has to be an advantage to making your heart work a little harder by mixing things up.

Is it better to run straight through for 60 minutes at an even pace or is it more advantageous to mix speeds and get a good burn going from time to time with walks mixed in to catch my breath?

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

lisanxd

There is proven research now that interval training is what is best for your body. So the mix of speeds has more advantages than just an even pace. I did two rounds of "body camp" at my gym and we did interval training.. it worked great (and now I miss camp!!!)!

Here's an article I read the other week: http://www.thatsfit.com/2011/03/07/america-youre-exercising-wrong/

Tiana405

You should definitely change the speed.... confuse your body a bit. I don't always trust the calorie burning features on equipment, b/c everyones body will react differently to certain exercises, etc. Try changing the speed more often. Start off at a jog, to a sprint, to a walk, to a sprint, to a jog, and so on. Maybe your treadmill has a feature where you can program it or find a program that it has that will fit your needs. good luck! hope this helped! : )

Rocki_

Which way to go depends on what you are trying to get out of it. For endurance, a steady pace is recommended as you continue to build your ability to go longer and longer distances, whereas for building speed, intervals are the way to go. Intervals are also the best for weight loss as it prevents your body from 'getting used to' what you are doing.

I would mix it up. Run at a steady pace, but increase your time one session, then do speed intervals the next. This will give you improvements in both areas, while building both your strength and endurance and your speed and cardiovascular health at the same time. I hope this is helpful.

Congratulations on getting back on track and sticking with it! You've made some great progress and I am sure you will continue to do so!

Rocki

Tkhk0514

First off, congrats on the weight loss!

We have been working with a trainer and he says that it is better to change it up. He said you will burn more calories that way. Pushing yourself a little harder increases the heart rate thereby burning more calories. Again this is per our trainer at the gym. I personally am not an expert.

Very envious that you can run that long at that speed.

arp1217

Yea, running at the same pace gets very boring, I know what you mean. What I do to change it up when I have long running days is change up the speed with intervals. If you go to runningworld.com, there is a place where you can generate an interval training program. I find that when I do intervals, my heart rate is changing all the time and that helps me with my heart rate, calorie burn, and endurance.

Hope that helps

kelsully

Depends on your goals etc. I would say play with your workouts. I love to run and my long runs are a slower steadier pace. My shorter runs are with greater intensity. It keeps it fun and interesting and I get a great burn either way.

Adsnwfld

If you want to increase speed run for a shorter time and do interval training. Try running at 6 mph for 2 minutes then push it up to 7 mph for 2 minutes. Then back to 6 mph to "rest" for 2... You get the idea. slowly increase your bottom speed and before you know it you'll be running at 6.5 or more for the hour.

You don't have to run a 10 K every work out mix up some long runs with shorter fun ones, change up speeds etc.

AndreaWyland

Im not an expert, however, I have done a lot of research and got a lot of feedback from others on this and what I have found is its actually really good to do a little of both:) long easy runs and shorter faster runs. Its great for your heart and cardiovascular to get your heart rate up to its max. Theres a lot of fat burning going on though on long easy runs and with high intensity intervals theres a lot of sweat and cal burn:) I personally enjoy both kinds of workouts. Good job with your weight loss:)

teri_cmc

Great job so far! I agree that it depends on what you want out of it, but also that it is best to change it up. Every training program I have ever seen has both elements in it. Extended runs at an even pace for endurance as well as interval training. Your body will adapt to anything you do over and over again, so variation is the key - over time. Even running outdoors versus on the treadmill is a good variation, or changing the incline on the treadmill too. Good luck and keep it up!

huffy

Thanks for the responses! This place is great!

I like the concept of doing a little of both - running at a slow steady pace and mixing it up from time to time. I'm going to try that route and see how it goes.

I'm actually getting really addicted to running 5k's, so the interval training definitely sounds like it will help me in that area. I ran one this past Sunday 25:02 - just over an 8:00 mile pace. Perhaps this is a topic for a separate discussion, but I'll ask it here anyway.

Have any of you "trained" for a 5k with the goal of improving your time? If so, any tips other than interval training? I know that is probably what I need to do, but if any of you have actual routines that have actually worked, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks again for the input. I love this place!

JennyG73

Congratulations on your weight loss!

As everyone else has said, interval training is the key to keeping the treadmill interesting. Adjusting the speed and incline will keep your body guessing and will push you. If you want to improve your 5k time, intervals are the way to go. We have a local running store that does track sessions one day a week that does just that. They do different workouts every week to keep challenging runners.

Runnersworld.com has some great workouts that will help you increase your speed as well. After doing an interval workout on the treadmill, my next run I always try to increase my speed for either 400 or 800 meters and then back to my usual pace. It's a good test to see if I can hold a faster pace and I've seen an improvement. I think it also has helped that I will run at a 3-4 incline at my normal pace or a bit slower. Once I hit that level ground, it seems so much easier!

Good luck!

scottb81

The best way to improve your running speed is simply to run more.

I ran a 21:00 minute 5k (47 yrs old) three years ago immediately after doing nothing but marathon training for six months. At that time, most of the runs were at an easy pace but I was running between 60 and 80 miles a week.

Most running (if you are training five or more times a week), should be done at easy pace. A couple of times a week you can do hill repeats to increase leg strength and tempo runs of around 20 minutes to increase stamina. Tempo runs should be at a pace that is hard, but sustainable for the time.

1/4 to 1 mile intervals at hard pace are also good for increasing pace.

Short bursts to maximum speed for a hundred meters or so (striders) can be done at the end of any run.

Just don't do the hard stuff too often or your body will not recover fully between workouts and you will not get faster at all.

sofaking6

Just last night my boot camp did a HIIT program. Our trainer said that although you may burn the same calories *during* your workout, the major difference is that *after* a HIIT workout you keep burning at a very elevated rate for up to 3 hours afterwards. I cannot vouch for the accuracy but what I've looked at online says similar stuff.