5k a day?

amymckmuffin

Morning MFP

Im slightly worried im not doing enough exercise. I have been trying to do 5k 5 days a week on my indoor bike, i have trouble walking with back pain. But to do the 5k it only take me about 20-25 minutes, sometimes i do 3k have a few minutes break and do the last 2.
I read somewhere that in order to burn fat you need to work out for atleast 30-40 mins.
Am i not doing enough here? should i try to strech it out or just go for longer? and how long whould i start with because im bugger'd after 5k.

cadency

They say that it does take 30 to 45 minutes to burn through glucose stores to get to fat. One way to counter your issue / concern, would be to workout prior to eating. Or eat something very small / light so you don't drop a blood sugar and then workout. Really, though, the fact that you're doing activity is beneficial period. The other thing you could look into is HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training. You can do this during your workout and you will burn more calories throughout the day and studies are showing having better results!

NotGoddess

If you are doing a 5k every day you aren't giving your muscles time to rest. Take a day or two off excercise to get yourself back to feeling normal, then run every other day and do something else on the alternate days. I'd suggest strength training or a circuit-training video like one of Jillian Michaels.

Di3012

Morning MFP

Im slightly worried im not doing enough exercise. I have been trying to do 5k 5 days a week on my indoor bike, i have trouble walking with back pain. But to do the 5k it only take me about 20-25 minutes, sometimes i do 3k have a few minutes break and do the last 2.
I read somewhere that in order to burn fat you need to work out for atleast 30-40 mins.
Am i not doing enough here? should i try to strech it out or just go for longer? and how long whould i start with because im bugger'd after 5k.

Aw sweetie, please do not damage you back trying to obtain some distance that somebody, out there has deemed it necessary for you to do in order to burn fat, you could end up damaging your back further if you try to push through like that :frown:

If you are pushing yourself like that and you sometimes have to rest because you are knackered, believe me you are doing just fine.

Are you able to do other exercise, such as swimming, or is that a no-no? :flowerforyou:

amymckmuffin

thanks for the responses folks.
I only workut 5 days a week, having sat and sunday off. there is no where near me where i could get access to a pool, my other options are walking with is very limited and video's like the 30 day shred which i do sometimes.

JoolieW68

If I read your first post right, you are BIKING 5K a day, not running 5K per day.

That is not overdoing it..... but what is 'enough' for you may be different for others. If you can do more, then do more...but build up to it. Perhaps bike for 1.5K, rest a couple minutes (or pedal very slow) and then do another 1.5 to 2K. At some point you could try doing 2K, rest/pedal slow, another 2K, and build from there.

Just because you take a break it's not going to sabotage your progress. Any amount of exercise, even with breaks, is better than none, so keep up the good work.

ishallnotwant

How is your diet looking? Are you keeping track of your intake? It's very hard to try to put the brunt of your weight loss on exercise. It's much easier to consume a couple hundred less cals per day while starting out than it is to burn them back off.

amymckmuffin

I log my food every day, if not as often as possible. I never really go over my calories, mostly i just go over the fat intake which im trying to fix. I have cut down alot on carbs, trying to eat more meat and veg than anything.

I do bike the 5k, walking is a problem and i find using the indoor bike i have no back pain so can actuly do more with out getting too sore (apart from my tail bone lol).

Thanks for all the responses, i like to do the 30 day shred vid, for strength and interval training, but can only do 10-15 minutes before it becomes a strain on my back, but still its great!

Ant_M76

If you are doing a 5k every day you aren't giving your muscles time to rest. Take a day or two off excercise to get yourself back to feeling normal, then run every other day and do something else on the alternate days. I'd suggest strength training or a circuit-training video like one of Jillian Michaels.

You really don't need to worry about building in rest days, following 25-30 min rides. Consider stretching after the rides, if experiencing soreness the next day. Quads and Hamstrings, especially. Take day 2 a little easier then back even stronger on day 3 ;-) *Do the stretches immediately after the ride, to hopefully prevent pain the next day*

OP - if you are pressed for time, I would consider sticking to the 5 days of 30 minutes but perhaps mixing in some higher intensity, during this time. Maybe do 5 minutes easy, 1 minute hard, 2 mins easy, 2 hard etc? Maybe it will give you more 'bang for your buck' during the relatively short period of the ride. Worth a shot!

Oh yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about doing 30 minutes and it not being worthwhile because it doesn't go into some kind of magic fat burning 40 minute zone. You are burning calories and this will work out just fine, along with watching the calories, of course...