New to MFP & need exercise advice

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kw2cute
kw2cute Posts: 2 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm just getting started with my weight loss journey. I used to be an avid runner & ran many races a year. The past 4 years I've done a little less running & races each year. I've gained weight and haven't tracked any foods. My Dr says I should be doing AT LEAST 30 minutes of cardio or weights 3-4x a week. Here's my issue: should I focus more on the amount of time I'm running/lifting weights or just focus on the mileage. In the past I only focused on the mileage because that's what my training plans focused on. For example, I ran 2 miles yesterday in 21 minutes. I stopped and thought I should have kept going to get in at least 30 minutes done. I've started tracking my food and trying to stay under my allotted calories. Any advice?

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  • victory68
    victory68 Posts: 76 Member
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    It depends on what your goals are. Do you want to go back to racing? Then begin training for races and don't worry about the time as much as the distance. Do you want to run for weight loss? Then don't feel bound by distance and instead focus on continuously running for a set amount of time. That time will depend on where you are at. If you can run comfortably for 20 minutes maybe try for 25/30 minutes for a week then up it to 30/35 for a while until you are comfortable there. However, if your goal is weight loss be sure to track your food. Otherwise you will accidentally sabotage yourself. If your goal is distance/racing tracking your food won't matter as much as making sure it is the right fuel. Once you get up to half marathons and marathons you burn a TON of calories but it will suddenly matter to you if those calories can sustain you or if they are empty.
    Either way whatever your goals are make sure you take at least one day a week that you run just for the fun of it. Don't loose sight of the joy by always trying to accomplish something. Have fun out there runner!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,694 Member
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    Have you been running regularly? It's hard to tell from your post. If so, the answer is a bit different than if you are essentially starting over. The main thing is to not injure yourself by increasing your mileage or intensity too much. If starting from zero, then two miles is a good run. If you have been running 20+ miles a week, then it is safe to increase your runs in either distance or duration. Figure out what your starting point is (average for the past couple of months) and increase gradually (about 10% each week). If you have been used to running 5 miles twice a week, then try adding a day, but doing less on each of the days you run i.e. 3, 3, 4. If you have been doing that already, then try 3, 3, 3, 2.

    As Victory said, what you do from there depends on your goals. If you just want general fitness, then running 30-45 minutes three or four days a week, plus other exercise on two or three other days, is fine. If you want to go back to racing, then you'll want to increase your base mileage so you can improve your speed. It's not a good idea to focus on speed if your base is low, because you increase your chance of injury. A reasonable rule of thumb is no more than 20% of your running should be fast; the rest of your running should be at an easy conversational pace.
  • kevinkehres7
    kevinkehres7 Posts: 13 Member
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    Lift weights a couple-3 times a week to help maintain muscle mass as you’re losing weight. I do 30 minutes of elliptical or row every workout for general cardiovascular fitness, and alternate upper and lower body weight training for another 30 to 40 minutes. Probably once every 2 weeks, I just do cardio, but I also hike 3+ hours once or twice a week in lieu of the gym. Make sure you’re eating adequate protein. And don’t eat back your exercise calories.

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