Short and hard, or long and slow?

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krishildy
krishildy Posts: 23 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I started exercising a week ago -- I have been hitting the treadmill and trying out the elliptical machine. I'm wondering, is it best for us to exercise hard for a shorter time period (i.e., jog for half an hour) as opposed to long and slow (i.e. walk for 7 miles over two hours) -- Or should we just do what works best for us and our schedule, and just focus on calories burned?
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Replies

  • Cella30
    Cella30 Posts: 539 Member
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    Dang, this is about exercising? Bummer! :laugh:
  • ruhimaach
    ruhimaach Posts: 171
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    I read somewhere that short and hard burns more fat % due to the higher intensity.
  • junebug523
    junebug523 Posts: 196
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    Weeeellll, both are good. I like to alternate. Keeps my body guessing, and keeps me from getting bored. I just started putting a little more emphasis on shorter, more intense workouts, with high intensity intervals. This finally busted me out of the plateau I've been on for 3 months. The important thing, I feel, is to keep challenging myself.
  • lulu1962
    lulu1962 Posts: 210
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    Just couldn't get past the topic....what was the question?:smokin:
  • Twylyght
    Twylyght Posts: 224 Member
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    Dang, this is about exercising? Bummer! :laugh:

    I was thinking the same thing!!
  • timeforme23
    timeforme23 Posts: 461
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    Lol the title threw me off as well. Go at your pace, but keeping your heart rate up helps you burn more fat, so tune it up if you can
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,738 Member
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    I like to alternate too. But I believe that short and hard actually increases your metabolism for a long time after you stop, while long and slow does not.
  • bellawomenswellness
    bellawomenswellness Posts: 99 Member
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    On days where you have the energy bust it out with a HIIT workout 30-45 minutes. On days where you are just lucky to have made it into the gym and not feeling "in the mood" listen to your body and do a more leisure workout 45-60 min of moderate exercise.

    All in all listen to your body, but challenge yourself! Most often people stay in their comfort zones and do not increase their "fit"ness levels. The body is highly adaptable so mixing up your workouts is critical to seeing results and preventing plateaus.

    Set your goal of XXX calories per workout. That is a great way to ensure the "work" gets done.
  • aguindon
    aguindon Posts: 1
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    Short and hard. But also try a little muscle confusion by doing something other than the treadmill.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I'm planning on a 5.25 mile run tomorrow, so I guess I like it longer, faster and harder. :smokin:
  • 2bFitNTrim
    2bFitNTrim Posts: 1,209 Member
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    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    I'm sorry. I thought this was going to be about something else.
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
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    Oh my filthy little mind!!!!!

    smiley-rolleyes004.gifsmiley-rolleyes004.gifsmiley-rolleyes004.gifsmiley-rolleyes004.gifsmiley-rolleyes004.gifsmiley-rolleyes004.gifsmiley-rolleyes004.gif
  • alecta337
    alecta337 Posts: 622 Member
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    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    I'm sorry. I thought this was going to be about something else.

    ditto, Lol!!
  • annastacia10
    annastacia10 Posts: 106
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    This topic got me all set for totally a different topic of conversation. Uhoh....gotta go now!
  • Mahlissa
    Mahlissa Posts: 128
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    :laugh: Love the Title.. you got my attention!!

    Try Hiit (High Intensity Interval Training) I think it's good to switch up the gears,

    Good Luck!
  • cris12
    cris12 Posts: 90
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    that's what she said...
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
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    Long hard and slow....oh wait what are we talking about?
  • muriah2
    muriah2 Posts: 143 Member
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    I would think somewhere in the middle, leaning toward short and hard.....lol. I think the important thing is making sure you get your heart rate up to fat burning levels and keep it there. Your body sort of tells you what to do...when we're out of shape it doesn't take much to get our heart rates up and keep it up, and when we get into better shape it takes more work to get our heart rate up and keep it up. For example...my target heart rate is 145-155 and since I'm...well...totally out of shape, I reach my target rate quickly, doing about 3-3.5 mph. A person with a more conditioned heart and body may have to go 5mph or so to hit their target rate. I hope that makes sense...I'm no good at explaining these kinds of things lol!
  • tolygal
    tolygal Posts: 602 Member
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    Intervals are the best as far as I understand. I used to do long workouts (60 minutes) and pushed myself to a high intensity the whole time. Granted, I lost a lot of weight doing that, but from everything I've read recently, and from what the trainers at my gym told me, shorter workouts with high intensity interval bursts are the better way to go. So now I'm doing 20-30 minute workouts but instead of maintaining one intensity level throughout, I do 1 minute pushing myself as hard as I can and then 2 minutes at a much slower pace to get my HR back down - then back up for 1 minute, etc. It makes the workout go so much faster, and I sure feel like I'm working just as hard as I was before! So for example, on the elliptical, my bursts are 100-110 RMP and my "rests" are at 65 RPM (or so). And on the treadmill, my bursts are at 8.5 MPH and my rests are either at 6 MPH or walking at 4MPH (depending on how worn out I am - generally toward the end of a workout 6 MPH isn't allowing my HR to come down far enough so I walk fast instead).
  • Cella30
    Cella30 Posts: 539 Member
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    that's what she said...
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

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