How to walk to burn?

staciecrooks
staciecrooks Posts: 11
in Fitness and Exercise
I've learned so much in the past couple of days on these forums. I've upped my calorie goal and hopefully that will kick start the weight loss, it appears I was wayyyy under the intake I should be at.

I am 5'7 226. I am doing 30 min at least a day on the treadmill...usually about 3 mph at a 9 inclinr. I am in a full arm cast so I have reduced the incline a bit bc I'm nervous.

What is a good treadmill pace/incline to burn effectively? The heart rate monitor on my treadmill isn't accurate at all so I'm just looking for some suggestions. I haven't worked out in years so I'm starting off with baby steps!

Replies

  • Karmachka
    Karmachka Posts: 28 Member
    I heard that yo should walk at a speed that makes you sweat a little bit and be lightly short of breath. 3.0 mph seems a bit low to me. I takes me at least 3.9 to feel I am getting a good workout.
  • stephaniemejia1671
    stephaniemejia1671 Posts: 482 Member
    Well we all have our intensity level, I'm sure you are going to be hearing a lot of different answers as time goes by. I just set it to a specific time and focus on that instead of intensity. If you haven't worked out in a long time start out slow and build up. See if you can increase the speed since you need to decrease the incline. The speed should be at a pace that feels like fast walking but *this* close to running. After a few minutes I'm sure you will feel the burn lol.
  • Karmachka
    Karmachka Posts: 28 Member
    A good advice someone once gave me about the speed at which you should be walking to burn fat, is to walk like you're late for an appointment.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Walk at the fastest pace you can safely maintain for whatever duration you plan to walk for. Ignore anything about heart rate zones or fat burning zones as that's just make believe stuff that won't help you at all.



    *Sorry, I have no links to prove this so you'll have to take my word for it.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    Walk at the fastest pace you can safely maintain for whatever duration you plan to walk for. Ignore anything about heart rate zones or fat burning zones as that's just make believe stuff that won't help you at all.



    *Sorry, I have no links to prove this so you'll have to take my word for it.

    This is pretty much what I'd say. Go by feel. One gauge I've heard of is to try talking. I think (of course, my information is in my office) that the guideline is to try to go at a pace where you can still say a sentence or two before needing to pause, but it takes effort.

    My personal experience (which may not be for you) is that, when I take a walking cardio test, I'm usually going between 4.5 and 5.0 miles per hour on the level road.
  • wikitbikit
    wikitbikit Posts: 518 Member
    I walk 3 miles a day on the treadmill. It generally takes me between 65-80 minutes, which includes warmup and cool down. Some days I go as fast as I can stand, some days I go slower with more incline, some days I throw in some jogging, some days I just take it fairly easy. I burn about 550 calories no matter how I do it, per my BodyMedia. Going faster, increasing the incline, these things will do more for your overall health, but in just burning calories, they're all going to be pretty much the same--not exactly the same--obviously, the more you work, the more you burn. But... your body stats are very similar to mine, and I don't know how much exercise you were getting before, but I find that doing something at a speed and intensity that is challenging, but not... trying to kill me, you know? ...keeps me interested, and allows me to progress at a natural rate. If I were always to go ALL OUT, well, in about 3 days I would probably quit.

    The main thing is to MOVE YOUR BOD. :) And our bods are carrying enough extra weight that even going at 3mph at a 2 incline is going to a very goodly number of calories.

    Good luck :)

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