Hey all,

Long time member, been away from the site for a while, but still dieting and going to the gym 5x per week. I hit a plateau recently, but I've changed the bulk of my cardio from cycling to running and that seems to have done the trick for the minute. I'm new to running really though, and I have a question: for the purposes of burning fat, is it better to run intervals (2 minutes fast, 1 minute walk) or to jog somewhere in between continuously? I tend to do 2 minutes at 7mph, then 1 minute at 3mph for 24 minutes at the moment, but I'm hoping to build the time up to 30 and the speed up to 8/4 within the next couple of months. I just want to check that this is the best way to go about things - if a mid speed (~6mph) constant jog is better then that's what I'll do.

Thanks
Mike

I am no expert on running, in fact I suck at it. But from what I hear all the time is that your body always likes to be shocked. I believe intervals would be much more effective. If you ran at the same speed the whole time your body would probably just get used to it. I might be wrong but just figured I would give me two cents.

Rob: thanks very much for your input - my instinct is the same, but I just wanted to check.

All: Any other running programs you can recommend would be much appreciated.

Mike

I am having great success with the elliptical machine at the moment. I don't run/treadmill because my joints hurt way to much and I think I need new shoes. I can go longer/harder/faster on the elliptical than I can the treadmill. Give that a whirl.

Hey Mike,

As you may be aware from previous posts I am the team leader for the UK team to take on America at a running competition. The US team is headed up by the dynamic Glovia L. It is supposed to start on Feb 1st though it may slightly be pushed back.

We are looking for people who want to get started into running and the winner is the team that runs the most miles. Times are not important.

Fancy signing up and kicking some US Butt!!

Sweet! Team US in training; I'm currently doing the couch-to-5k program

Mike, it is definitely better to do intervals. Also, from what I've read and the advice I've gotten (and this is quite a bit lately), it is best to concentrate on increasing your time running and not worry so much about the speed; that will come. The most important reason for this seems to be avoiding injury. That said, the median of the advice seems to be to get up to around 30min straight running before trying to add on any speed.

@Edit - I definitely recommend the couch-to-5k program at the Cool Running site

Hi Mike! Congrats on your progess thus far. I definitely agree with Dave. The couch-to-5k program at the Cool Running site is fantastic. I HATE to run, but the program made it tolerable. It does include intervals which everything I've ever read suggests is the best type of running workout. Best of luck!

Podrunner will be starting a new podcast on February 1st for intervals. I'm pretty excited about it!

i just recently went on vaca, aka sat on two 5 hour plane rides, AKA read looooootttts of magazines - most of which mentioned at some point or another, that INTERVAL training is what most celebrities do to shed extra pounds and generally keep in shape. Just figured i'd throw it out there!

I've read some extensive articles on HIIT (high intensity interval training) and from what I understand the time is less relevent than the intensity. Rather than concentrate on going for 30 minutes I would try to get your run speed up to 10mph and your jog speed up to at least 4.5mph. Of course you'll need to shorten your intervals, maybe start at 30 seconds run and 1 minute jog.

The key to the weight loss is the afterburn. Because the workout is so intense your will continue to burn energy long after you've stopped running. This is why intensity is more important that length. I wish I could give you some concrete evidence of my success but I was only able to keep up such a workout for a couple of weeks. If you do it right you should be exhausted after 20 minutes.

Get yourself a heart monitor and some good shoes... it helps. I'm actually going to throw in a couple of HIIT sessions into my running routine. I really need to get my speed up for the half-marathon I want to do in the spring so I'm hoping this will lower my weight as well as get my legs used to going fast.

Also, for the people who HATE to run or who SUCK... keep at it, eventually you will love it when you get good at it. I hate it when I'm out of shape, it's hard, it's frustrating and you feel like crap the whole time. Once you get better you start getting "runner's high" on longer runs and you have more energy so you don't always think about how much pain you are in.

There are two different subjects here; burning the most calories/fat through HIIT and becoming a better runner.

The key to HIIT is the heart rate - don't worry about how fast you're running as long as you're still getting your HR up around 85% of the max for a bit. Excellent point on the HRM, Dan - that's imperative for keeping track of your intensity.

The reason you shouldn't worry about your running speed so much is to avoid injury - if you get injured and can't exercise for a few weeks you won't be burning any calories.

The point of concentrating on running for 30 minutes is to improve your running - check out the Runner's World guide/introduction to running as this is mentioned in nearly every chapter (as well as most online introductions to running). Advice to become a better runner unilaterally suggests to concentrate on adding more time to your run and NOT more speed. I'm not trying to just throw an opinion at you here, but valid advice to keep you injury free and see the best results from what you're doing.

I started the couch to 5k plan around 6 months ago. Well I wore some tight shoes back then when I was running and it caused a bad ingrown toe nail. I got surgery on it thinking that it would be the end of it. Well the infection came back right after the surgery and I have had it on and off since that initial occurrence. Now every single time I do cardio my foot can't handle it after a while.

The doctor had mentioned I can permanently remove the nail. If this keeps happening, I might have to. As gross and weird as that is.

Rob, one of the running tips is to get a bigger shoe size. I got black nails when I started the running program before. My running shoes are 2 size bigger than regular shoes. Perhaps, this tip is too late. Sorry for your toe problem!

Mike, I agree with Dave also. Don't go for speed for now when you are beginner. Try to maintain a good form first. It is just like all sport activity, proper form can avoid injury.

I am practicing Galloway program. It is a run-walk program. I started with 1:1 (1 min run, 1 min walk) for 2 miles. After weeks of getting used to running, I increased the run interval to 2:1 (1 min run, 1 min walk). I believe this type of run-walk program is considered HIIT and it is a good way to burn fat. Now, I can do 10:1.

Dean and I are recruiting beginner runners for a US vs UK challenge. If you are also an English, you can be in Dean's team. I have at least 3 members in my US team already. Any beginner US runners want to join me to challenge Dean?

I've just recently started going back to the gym religiously this week after several years of inactivity and weight gain; I'm up to 255 at 22% body fat right now (from 190/7% at my peak).

The added weight and bulk has made running a lot harder and I start feeling shin splints pretty early on a run so I resigned to get my legs (and heart) back into it by starting with a 5/6mph run as long as I can (usually around 8 minutes), then walking for long durations (~3.5-4mph to get a total of an hour). This has been somewhat successful for me in the calorie burn/weight loss category but inevitably my goal is to be able to get myself back up to running form and cut the cardio down to 30 minutes.

Does that seem like a reasonable plan or am I doing myself a disservice by walking that much when my goal is to run eventually?

That's an excellent plan, Clifford - it is even what the editors at Runners World suggest for beginners to experienced runners alike.

@Glovia - I wish you'd posted that yesterday morning! I found a sale on running shoes last night and picked up a pair exactly in my size

I would definitely recommend going to a specialty running shop and having your running analyzed.

I went to my local RoadRunner store and they do it for free. They analyze where you put pressure on your foot, what kind of pronator you are and they video tape you running on a treadmill to show you what kind of gait you have.. all this for free! They'll also measure all the regular stuff, like shoe size and arch type. After all this they'll recommend a bunch of shoes for you.

Granted you're going to be spending at least $80-$100 on a pair of shoes, but if you're serious about running you should probably be getting a high quality pair of running shoes anyway.

Dave, sorry about that. Actually, I have similar discussion in one of Cardio's forum about running shoes. Chris has good tips.

Let me share my experience in getting a good/cheap pair of running shoes:
1. Go to the local runner shops (not Big 5, WalMart,...etc. It has to be the stores specialized in running gear)
2. Do a free test (details in Chris post above). It takes about 30min. It can help to figure out the type of shoes you need. I am sure they will tell you to get a bigger size.
3. Go to Runnersworld.com to read their shoe lab review to narrow down a few choices
5. Go to the manufacture site (such as Nike, Mizuno) to check out the retail $.
6. Buy it in a factory outnet.
I got a pair of AddiStar with $22 while its retail price is $130.