C25K - Where do you run AND how many calories are you loggin

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ksquared0710
ksquared0710 Posts: 36 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Those of you doing C25K are you running on a treadmill or outside? If outside - where are you at and how are you coping with the warmer weather? I'm in Tampa and it's really warm in the afternoon but this morning it was pretty humid out.

Also, I'm just logging calories based on the minutes ran/walked based on MFP's calcs. Anyone doing the same or are you logging more than that?

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  • NateDad
    NateDad Posts: 55
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    I'm on a treadmill, but I'm in a hilly part of Massachusetts, and it's still pretty cold here (currently 43º). For calories, I got a heart rate monitor. I really like knowing exactly how many calories I'm burning, since it's often different than what MFP says (which is not that surprising, since MFP has to make a lot of assumptions about your exertion level and fitness level). The HRM was $66 from amazon (Polar FT4) and I love it. It's great for figuring out calories from P90X as well - since that's really hard to judge from comparisons to other exercises (I've been anywhere from 650-950 calories, depending on the day and the workout.,.. some of the highest calories were from Arms and Shoulders / Ab Ripper X, believe it or not).

    For reference I burnt around 375 on a half hour session of C25K week 2. I'm 175lbs and was walking at 4mph and running at 6mph, at a 1% grade on the treadmill. I've heard running outside is harder, but I don't know how it translates to calories burnt. Maybe I'll do a side by side comparison one of these days.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    Treadmill. I also use a Polar FT7 for my calories. I completed week 4 (but am repeating it to build speed/stamina before the dreaded week 5 LOL). Last night I burned 351 calories in my 33 minutes (I kept walking while my last song finished LOL).

    I don't live in an area that I can run in so I'd have to drive somewhere to run outside. I also don't like the heat, or people judging me while I run so I'll stay in my basement for a while yet LOL.

    ETA: I've heard LOTS of talk on the forums about MFPs calorie burn estimates being overstated. I have found the opposite. I'm burning MORE calories, sometimes significantly more, than MFP would say. I suspect it's because of my weight/fitness level and perhaps MFP overstates for more fit people.
  • ksquared0710
    ksquared0710 Posts: 36 Member
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    Nate - That is great info! Especially about the P90X part! MFP gives you maybe 100 calories burned for that workout but I always log it as 40 minutes instead of 45/50 b/c Tony talks far too much between exercises. I just blare the music over him now :)

    Omma - I think it underestimates too. After week 3 runs outside it said I only burned about 260 calories. I'll have to look into that little doodad to start keeping a more accurate count. I'm afraid I'm expending more calories than I thought and not making enough up in what I eat. I found running in the heat makes the nicer day runs seem sooooooo much easier and I actually have a small cheering crowd that's always at the same spot. They don't know it but it makes me much more accountable! :)
  • michmill98
    michmill98 Posts: 83
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    My C25K app has a built in calculator - I put in the appropriate walk/run speeds and my weight and it calculates calories. It's usually pretty close to what the treadmill calculates and what MFP calculates so I just use the MFP #s instead of digging my phone out and looking up that info again.

    I'm currently using the treadmill since I work out first thing in the morning and the hubby worries about me running outside on our poorly lit walking path in our subdivision that early. It's not so much personal safety as it is that I can be a complete klutz sometimes and he doesn't want to worry about me falling in the creek that runs along side it! :smile:
  • alliesun53
    alliesun53 Posts: 160 Member
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    I did week 6 day 2 yesterday. I did the first 2 weeks on the treadmill, 2 more weeks on the indoor track, and now I'm running outside at the local high school track. I like to keep track of my distance, it makes it easier at a track. Also, my sister is a runner and a few weeks ago she was running on the road and got attacked by 2 loose pit bulls. Scary, so now I don't want to run on the streets.

    I log it as the amount of minutes ran/walked. I do about a 12 minute mile so I log my runs as a 5.0 run/jog, and my walks as a 3.5. If the calories that MFP logs are LOW, that makes me happy bc I thought it was a pretty good burn for about 30 mins.
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
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    C25K groups on MFP:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/30-couch-to-5k-running-program-c25k
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/2410-c25k-doing-the-impossible
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4064-c25k-friends
  • Ironbear
    Ironbear Posts: 15
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    He actually only talks about 1min between sets which is standardly an excepted interval rest period for strength training. As you will notice he tlaks very little between Kenpo/cardio etc type workouts.

    Also, keep in mind while you may not be technically moving your heart rate is up and thats part of the workout. INterval training (spiking heart rate up and down) burns more calories than a steady state style.
  • BlackKat75
    BlackKat75 Posts: 210 Member
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    I've been running outside, but I may end up on the treadmill at the gym soon because of the cold weather. (I'm in Minnesota, and we got our first few flakes of snow this morning.) I've done C25K before on the treadmill and I *far* prefer running outside. I've mapped a route from my house that is a little over 4 miles which is perfect for warm-up and cool-down. The one thing about running outside for me is that it's not completely flat - I have a fairly big incline right in the middle of my run, which is a challenge, but it keeps me on my toes! I have a clip-on flashing light to warn drivers that I'm out there, but I'm going to get a headlamp as well because I'm worried about turning my ankle because I can't see my footing too well in the dark.

    As for calorie counts, I go by MFP and I haven't found that it understates or overstates exercise calories. I eat all my exercise calories back and I'm still losing weight. I use a run-tracker app, so I know my pace and I just use that to input into MFP. If you're worried about your calorie count being off, you can just up your calories. I was religious about logging everything in September and even though I only wanted to lose 1 pound a week, I lost nearly 10 pounds that month sticking to the MFP suggestions. After calculating my BMR and TDEE, I upped my calories from the 1210 recommended by MFP to 1400 (and still eat my exercise calories). I'm still losing, but at a slower pace (which I'm much more comfortable with).

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