Do I have to run in order to lose fat effectively?
I’ve been going to my local gym for the past month or so, but I haven’t incorporated much cardio since I have very low endurance, meaning I’m tired after about a minute or so of intense running.
My trainer recommended that I switch between running and walking, alternating between the two, and gradually adding more time to run. She told me that walking with the addition of a high level incline on a treadmill would help lose the same amount of calories as if I was running on a low incline.
Today, while I was on the treadmill, I saw this chart attached onto it that basically told me for a 16 year old, to get an effective fat loss, I should keep my heart rate about 130ish, and there was another section of the chart that said my heart rate should be about over 150ish and under 189 for cardio training, which I’m not looking for.
So my main question, would a routine of all-walking on a treadmill with a steep incline give me an effective fat loss result over time? Or do I need to run too?
Let’s say if I walk on the treadmill at 3mph with an incline of 10 on the treadmill for about 20 minutes, and my heart rate as measured on the treadmill is in the fat loss zone, will I lose fat effectively?
November 13th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
It doesn’t matter what motion your body is in, as long as your heart rate is elevated. Steady, brisk walking is just as beneficial as jogging. Don’t force yourself to run before building up your endurance a little or you’ll just get discouraged.
November 13th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Walking is actually better for weight (fat) loss because it puts less stress on joints in the legs. Also if you have bad endurance, start slow. Any aerobic exercise over the normal amount for you will help build endurance and help lose weight. Then build up to where the charts say to be.
By the way aerobic means to be “in oxygen” if you can’t talk as you walk without puffing you are not aerobic and will not lose anything except your breath.
November 13th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Your thinking on this is correct but I think you would gain more benefit from just going for a walk. When you go outside walking you have the added incentive not to give up or slack due to the necessity to actually get home. Also It is much more interesting and enjoyable to be walking out in the open. Exercise is important for weight loss more for psychological reasons than physical ones. The act of consciously taking concrete steps to regain control of your body will encourage you to control your diet and weight loss is all about diet. You cannot replace diet with exercise. You just end up fat and exhausted.