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- Strengthening Your Legs
- Working Out on Empty Stomachs
- Making Cardio Less Painful
- Avoid Crashing
- Coping With Sweets
- Increasing Metabolism
- Organize Your Training
- Eating Habits
- Visceral Belly Fat
- The Best Running Shoe
- Strength or Aerobic Capacity?
- Toning Legs with Cardio
- My Doctor's Scale is Off
- More Reps and their Effects
- 04/24/08: Newsletter
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- 10-03-07: Newsletter
- 8-29-07: Newsletter
- 6-20-07: Weight Loss
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- 5-08-07: Friendly Pressure
- 4-27-07: Running Routines
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- 4-10-07: Back Injury
- 4-03-07: Lunges Quads Butt
- 3-27-07: Running Off Fat
- 3-27-07: Runners Diet
- 3-23-07: Eating Late
- 3-13-07: Abs for the Obese
- 3-07-07: Supplements
- 2-21-07: Carbs Weight Gain
- 2-14-07: Accurate Bodyweight
- 2-07-07: Weight Fluctuations
- 1-30-07: Best Oatmeal
- 1-21-07: Winter Cardio
- 1-14-07: Training Children
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- 2006: Archives
- 2005: Archives
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08-29-07//Burn Fat
Is a mile enough cardio to burn fat?
Chris:
First of all I would like to say that I love your new web site. I have spent most of the work day checking out the articles you have written about fitness. Wow there is a lot of information there. It seems you have already answered a lot of the questions I was going to ask you.
However I still have one left but first let me give you some back round. I am 43 year old female that starting working last January. I started out at a body weight of 156 and am now down to 143. Although I feel much better I believe I should be making more progress. The area that confuses me the most is how to do cardiovascular training correctly. A trainer at my gym told me to time myself in the mile run on the treadmill and try to beat that time every time I workout.
My problem is I just don’t see how a mile is going to get me in the best possible shape. I have read many times that you have to do longer cardio workouts in order to burn fat. Is this true? I can run the mile in about 10 minutes. Don’t I need more time than to make progress? Can running a mile and trying for a better time help me achieve the results I’m looking for?
Joanne
Joanne:
First of all let me thank you for your compliment on my web site. It took a long time to get it up and running but I am very pleased with the results.
Secondly unless you are planning on racing Carl Lewis in the next Olympics you are going to have to rethink you cardiovascular philosophy. Let’s face it how can you possibly do a personal best every time you run the mile? I can tell you right now it’s not going to happen. Therefore you will have to come up with other ways to challenge your body.
To quote an old cliché, “There is more than one way to skin a cat.” and your trainer has given you limited information on just on of them. There are many other variables to consider when making a cardio program. Here are a few things that I believe will help you make better progress.
Add time to your cardio session. Running a mile will bring you success at first because you have been sedentary for a long time and just about anything will work but after a while you will have to come up with more clever ways to challenge your body. I tend to think in terms of time not distance. I try to keep my clients between 15-45 minutes depending on their level. I start them low and increase their sessions 5 minutes at a time. Keep in mind this doesn’t happen over night. I usually make a change every 2 weeks depending on their progress.
Increase the intensity of the cardio. As you get better you will be more capable of doing harder workouts. If you have doing your runs on level 5 for a long time without making any changes your body will get used to your workout and will cease making progress. It’s unrealistic to think that you can do a personal best every time you workout however if you are feeling good try going up a level or two. It may be just what you need to stimulate your metabolism again.
Track your calorie burn. I am always surprised at how many people do cardio but have no idea of how many calories they burn per session. After all your calorie burn is your blueprint to success because it tells you how hard you are working. If you have been running a mile and burning two hundred calories per session for the last six months I can guarantee you will eventually hit a plateau. Make a change so that you burn three hundred calories per session and I’ll bet you will continue making gains.
Try doing different types of cardio. Running is great but there are many other options out there. One of the most important lessons in learning to workout properly is the body responds very well to change. Try the elliptical, arch trainer, stairmaster or rowing machine instead of limiting your workout to running only and you will be sure to shock your body into better results.