advice, longer or harder

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lambertj
lambertj Posts: 675 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been building up my endurance on on the threadmill and stairmaster and now i'm not sure which is better. Should I jog longer or should I go for the same length of time but make it harder. For instance, I do a level 7 on the stairmaster for 25 minutes or a level 8 for 20 minutes. For jogging, I can now jog at an incline of 1.0 at 4.5 mph for one mile, should I increase the incline to 1.5 or should I for 2 miles at 1.0 incline. I'm just confused as to how to proceed. Should I go longer at the pace i'm at or make it more difficult for a shorter period of time.

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  • myukniewicz
    myukniewicz Posts: 906 Member
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    I'm curious as well...

    Bump

    ♥melissa
  • momof3and3
    momof3and3 Posts: 656 Member
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    LOL...do both!
    One day go longer, the next go harder...mixing it up is great for your body and it helps build endurance.
    After you do this for awhile (about 4-6 weeks), go harder a bit longer and go longer at a faster pace...
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    depends on your goals. If your goal is simple calorie burn, then longer is probably better, but if you're looking to increase performance/ body shape, then harder is going to work the muscles harder and produce better "shape".

    You need to figure out what your real goal is, doing both muscle enhancement and fat loss at the same time usually means either activity will be diminished to a degree, better to focus on one and then the other as it's easier to maintain over the long term.
  • david_swinstead
    david_swinstead Posts: 271 Member
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    a higher incline on a treadmill does a lot for extra calorie burn.

    like the other guy said, it eends really on what your goals are. maybe try both and see which burns most calories.

    i like the other suggestion too, of doing both on alternate days.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    To burn more calories quicker, look at doing higher intensity intervals, which could be a higher incline and/or faster speed with recovery jogs in between. However, to burn more calories overall, go for longer sessions at a slower pace as you'll be able to keep it up longer.

    For overall fitness, include both, but have a goal in mind for each session before you start.

    For example, for a runner I'd recommend the following sessions:

    Long, slow run
    Sprint intervals
    Tempo (race pace over a middling distance)
    Steady recover run
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
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    Thank you for all the responses. My goal is fat loss (still have about 13 lbs I want to lose). I like the idea of a hard day for a shorter period of time and then a day of easier for longer. Perhaps do my weight training on the shorter days and just cardio on the harder days.
  • missy_1975
    missy_1975 Posts: 244 Member
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    Personally I prefer harder, oh hang on, are we talking about exercise? My bad...:tongue:
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
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    ^LOL
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
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    id do both - increasing incline, time or speed will all burn more cals.
    1 day keep incline at and increase your time, other day keep your time and increase incline.
    when you get really good, youll be able to do long time on a high incline!
  • armon403
    armon403 Posts: 30 Member
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    LOL...do both!
    One day go longer, the next go harder...mixing it up is great for your body and it helps build endurance.
    After you do this for awhile (about 4-6 weeks), go harder a bit longer and go longer at a faster pace...


    PERFECT! DO BOTH!

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