Upping The Intensity of My Run or Increasing the Time?

ehte_h
ehte_h Posts: 297 Member
edited September 27 in Fitness and Exercise
What would you reccomend? Run faster or run for longer?

Replies

  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
    What is your goal?
    My goal is to run a half marathon, so I work on running longer at lower speed.
    To run a 5k, work on speed since it's only 3 miles.
    For overall endurance, fitness, etc, do interval training.
  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
    If your goal is to lose weight and burn fat then intensity over duration. Long steady state cardio is not that effective for losing fat. Try HIIT.

    Just my opinion from my experience :wink:
  • tiffany_reis
    tiffany_reis Posts: 16
    Increase your time!!! Quality over quantity.
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  • mrstudz
    mrstudz Posts: 30 Member
    Distance and time for fat loss, intensity for performance.
  • tolygal
    tolygal Posts: 602 Member
    Depends on your goals.... If you are trying to lose fat, increase the intensity (I would even try intervals instead of steady pace). If you are trying to train for a race of some sort, I would increase your time for a longer race and increase speed for a shorter race (like a 5K).
  • ehte_h
    ehte_h Posts: 297 Member
    My goal is to weight.

    *Light bulb moment*

    I'll do both lol
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    How long have you been running?

    If you've only been running for a few months, I wouldn't try to get faster. Just running more distance/time will make you faster as a new runner.

    Even elite runners don't do the same run every day. They may do a long run on Sunday, a rest day or an 'easy run' on Monday, intervals on Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, tempo run on Thursday, etc. So they are alternating 'hard' days with 'easy' days.

    You can do a similar schedule of hard day followed by easy day if you like.
  • ehte_h
    ehte_h Posts: 297 Member
    I'm a newbie definitely, & i'm currently running on the treadmill. I'll try the schedule, it makes sense
  • ShaeDetermined
    ShaeDetermined Posts: 1,525 Member
    increasing your run time will allow u to increase your speed on shorter runs.

    on days that i head out for a long run (anything over 5 miles i consider long) i actually consciously work to slow myself down so my body doesn't fatigue and i can put in the distance. on my 3mi runs i am constantly pushing myself to beat my time from the previous run, even if just by a few seconds.

    one thing though, if u increase mileage, try not to increase by more than 10% each week to reduce risk of injury and muscle fatigue.

    good luck!!!
  • mtntrailrunner
    mtntrailrunner Posts: 57
    running fast (anaerobic HR above 160) burns mostly glycogen.
    running slower (aerobic HR 120 to 160) burns more fat than glycogen after about 20 minutes of running.
  • ilsie99
    ilsie99 Posts: 259
    Don't do both. One or the other, or your chances of injury skyrocket.
  • mikeyrp
    mikeyrp Posts: 1,616 Member
    Personally I have 3 basic programs when I run....

    Long(ish) distance, constant speed (10k at 12kph)

    Short distance, constant speed (5k - also at 12km/h but I want to increase this)

    Interval training (Outside = Sprint between markers, jog between markers, Indoors = 30 seconds or 1 minute hard, equal time jogging)

    The long distance is to increase stamina - right now I'm training for a 10 K but now I can do this at my target speed I intend to increase the distance.

    The short distance is my 'go to' program when I don't have much time to train, or at the end of a weights session. Next goat - average speed of 12.5 km/h. Actually quite tricky as I spend the first 5-10 minutes of any run slowly building up my speed, so the speed for the second half of the run needs to be above 12.5 to get the average right.

    Interval training is where you gain both strength and stamina and will improve performance in the steady state sessions but will not burn as many calories whilst you are doing it.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    Do both. Just don't do both at the same time.

    Do a longer runs at a slower pace and shorter runs at a faster pace.

    Do a long run once a week and shorter faster ones once or twice a week. The rest of the week do something in between. If you are running every day then do a few of those days at a very easy pace.

    Each type of run builds a different aspect of running fitness. The are all important at all distances.
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