workout question

ChristyMomx3

ok everyone was sooo helpful on my last post i thought i would ask for more help! (don't ask for much do i?)

Ok like i said in my other post i am working out for 40 to 60 mins 5 to 6 times a week. This working out is on the treadmill at home. I usually walk on 3 mph and do a mile per 20 mins. Sometimes i jog a bit in 5 mph. I can push and do that for 3 mins but then im burnt out. I do 1% to 3% incline. Its hard for me to do much else like videos because of my knee.

Anyways, my question is:
Is it better for me to try to keep my heart rate up to where its hard to talk but make my workout shorter or keep what im doing and workout longer? And how do i check my heart rate with out a monitor? My treadmill has where you squeeze the small bars but it says my heart rate is like 65 after jogging for 3 mins so i don't think its accurate.

Once aging sorry for typos, as i am on my cell.

gmvanloo

A good appraoch is to do what people would refer to as Interval training. I would say stick to the treadmill for the same amount of time (40-60 min) but do short burst of higher intensity. For example. Warm up for 10 minutes (by walking at your 3mph). Then throw in 1 minute of higher intensity. That can be running at 5mph or walking faster at an incline. If one minute is too long then only do 30 seconds and work your way up from there.

Maybe you can switch off and on. So one day intensity by doing incline with a faster walk and the next day do running at 5mph. You'll be surprised at how much easier it gets and how fast you improve. Start slow and work your way up.

You're a rock star for getting on the treadmill 5-6 times a week!

SHBoss1673

While I agree, interval training is a great exercise, if you specifically want an answer to your question, most people will agree that, even though you burn a higher percentage of fat at lower exercise heart rate, you burn more total fat (as well as giving your muscles some actual conditioning) at higher heart rates, so with that in mind, try for the higher heart rate.

Course Interval or better yet HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a very worthwhile activity as it not only burns tons of calories, but it forces muscles to work dynamically and with less repetition, which reduces muscle memory (which reduces calorie burn). it also allows recovery periods which allow more high heart rate periods, which of course burns more calories.

-Banks

ChristyMomx3

Thanks sooo much. It is really hard to convince myself to do the treadmill. It sooo boring and i have three kids under 8. But i suffer from depression and exercising makes a huge difference in dealing with it. I don't take prescriptions. Anyways, i am going to start trying to up my intensity some. I would love to jog a mile. Right now i push to do quarter mile.