Am I working hard enough

jrumph3982
jrumph3982 Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I recently purchased a recumbent stationary bike and my goal is at least 60 mins a day every day (sometimes broken up into two sets). My question is if I average about 16-18mph would it benefit me more to do 30 mins (or as long as I can) at a higher resistance (~5) or stay at 4 and do the full 60 mins (for some reason there is a big difference between the two settings). I get a nice burn in my legs currently and work up a sweat, but I am not short on breath or tired when I finish. Also side note I have a personal trainer that I see three days a week for strength training.

I guess my questions is which is better for fat burning duration or intensity?

Replies

  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    Both can burn the same number of calories. If that is all you care about, do whichever you prefer. Some would say just go with higher speed and shorter duration purely for time efficiency, but do what you like.
  • jrumph3982
    jrumph3982 Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks for the reply and is there any other benefits to do one over the other for things other than fat loss?
  • Amabuela
    Amabuela Posts: 24
    Most of the information I've read is that alternating is the key. That is, use a more moderate pace for a few minutes, and use maximum speed for a few minutes. That's supposed to strengthen the heart and speed up the metabolism in walking. I assume it would be the same on a bike.
  • BellaFe
    BellaFe Posts: 323
    My understanding is that High intensity intervals are way better than just doing the same speed for a longer period of time
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Exercise, regardless of the type, doesn't burn fat. It burns calories. Where those calories come from depend on a variety of factors, with recent diet probably being the biggest one.

    Do whichever you prefer, and which ever you are more likely to keep doing. Hell, change it up sometimes... do an interval style workout one day, a low intensity longer duration one day, shorter duration/higher intensity one day, etc.

    On a side note... if you are doing the bike every day and seeing your personal trainer 3x week... chances are you're not working out hard enough.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    Don't worry about how much fat you're burning during exercise. What's going on over an extended period of time is far more important (i.e. calorie deficit over time)
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    Thanks for the reply and is there any other benefits to do one over the other for things other than fat loss?

    Building cardio endurance
  • jrumph3982
    jrumph3982 Posts: 6 Member
    Exercise, regardless of the type, doesn't burn fat. It burns calories. Where those calories come from depend on a variety of factors, with recent diet probably being the biggest one.

    Do whichever you prefer, and which ever you are more likely to keep doing. Hell, change it up sometimes... do an interval style workout one day, a low intensity longer duration one day, shorter duration/higher intensity one day, etc.

    On a side note... if you are doing the bike every day and seeing your personal trainer 3x week... chances are you're not working out hard enough.

    You are correct I don't mean fat but calories and I like the suggestion to change it up I think I will start implementing that starting tomorrow. And so far with the trainer it has been working out pretty good and it feels like i'm working hard enough. When I leave its usually a struggle just to walk up the stairs or hold my arms up to keep them on the steering wheel. I go at 9am after work (30 min cross fit session) then I will ride at 7pm before I go into work so I have the entire day to rest in between.
  • rvicini
    rvicini Posts: 252 Member
    Polar has an interesting concept called Smart Training. you can check it in. I am however, needing the cals, not for fat burning but for my daily cal budget...
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    I think either is good. I usually will do 30-40 minutes of 1 minute intervals of 1 minutes as hard as I can, then 1 minute of lower intensity but still going hard, back to 1 minute as hard as I can, and so on :smile:
    Sounds like you're doing great. Good luck!
  • MelStren
    MelStren Posts: 457 Member
    I would like to recommend that also work in a rest day once a week too. Regardless of what cardio you decide to do.

    ***edited to add****
    Yes, I think you are working hard enough but change is slow and all of that lifting will cause your body to retain water so give it 2 months to see any results.
  • CoCoRedRider
    CoCoRedRider Posts: 47 Member
    On a side note... if you are doing the bike every day and seeing your personal trainer 3x week... chances are you're not working out hard enough.

    Really?! How do you figure this?

    OP: You've got a great plan. Keep it up!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    On a side note... if you are doing the bike every day and seeing your personal trainer 3x week... chances are you're not working out hard enough.

    Really?! How do you figure this?

    OP: You've got a great plan. Keep it up!

    Recovery issues. OP originally asked about fat loss, so I assume he's trying to lose weight. If that's the case, I assume he's on a calorie deficit. 10+ workouts per week at high intensity is A LOT, even on a calorie surplus. If he's recovering well and feeling good on a day to day basis, I'd bet he's not working hard enough.

    But he could have incredible genetics that allow him to recover from a workout in a matter of hours while it takes most people a day or two to recover.
  • jrumph3982
    jrumph3982 Posts: 6 Member
    Recovery issues. OP originally asked about fat loss, so I assume he's trying to lose weight. If that's the case, I assume he's on a calorie deficit. 10+ workouts per week at high intensity is A LOT, even on a calorie surplus. If he's recovering well and feeling good on a day to day basis, I'd bet he's not working hard enough.

    But he could have incredible genetics that allow him to recover from a workout in a matter of hours while it takes most people a day or two to recover.

    Other than being extremely sore I haven't experienced anything physical that has kept me from being able to do it. there have been plenty of times when mentally I have been beyond tired, but then I push through it or break it up into multiple sets if need be. Either way the goal is weight loss and toning and every little bit counts so to nit pick on the details is irrelevant to the end goal. I am in it for the long haul and life changer.
  • jasonces3
    jasonces3 Posts: 1
    I've contemplated this before too, so I reached out to various people in the training arena. What I found works the best is both intensity and duration. Intensity followed by steady cardio seems to work well for fat loss. They call it HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). So what happens is you do high intensity for a minute, then go steady for a minute, then go high again, then steady, etc. Do this for a total of 10-15 mintues. Then do about 15-20 minutes of steady cardio. I do this 4 days a week, and on 2 of those days I also do heavy lifting with small reps. So for instance, Incline bench press (trying to tighten my chest) starting at 170lbs for 4 reps, then 180 for 4, then 190 for 4, then 200 for 4, then 210 for 3, then 220 for as much as I can do.

    I've found that by working out like this, I lose fat, build strength, and my body looks more 'toned'

    Just don't forget the diet. One can work out as much as they want, but if their food intake is not healthy, you won't see results.

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