When running to lose fat is it better to run slower or faster?
When you run is better to run at a slower pace to lose stomach fat or a higher pace. On my treadmill 5.6 5.7 is a jog and it says it takes a little over 10:42 for a mile. around 6.3–6.6 is faster and takes about 9:30 for a mile.
what would be better in general a slower run or faster?
October 6th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Think of it this way. A car burns more fuel going at 100 mph for 5 miles than it does if it were to go only 25 mph for those same 5 miles. It takes more energy (in this case fuel) to go faster even if you do get there quicker. The human body is the same, it burns more calories if it were trying harder and working faster. The only down part is that if you try to run too fast and push yourself, you may tire yourself out too quick and not even make it to a mile. Thats why a lot of people will say to go slow and steady because if you go fast, it does burn more calories but if you can’t keep that pace, you’ll tire yourself out before you can even burn as much calories as you would had if you’d taken it slower. So if you can keep up that pace, go for the faster pace. Good luck and I hope you understand what I’m saying.
October 6th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Speed doesnt matter … what matters is the distance and the form of running.
for example when u r just jogging u will burn less than when u r running vigorously because u will move ur arms more ( i mean more in magnitude not in speed) and generally your body will do more movements … and that’s the only reason why faster burns more …. but if fast running will not allow u to cover a good distance then run slower ..
so: run at a speed that will allow u to run the max distance in the time u dedicated for running … this optimum speed will be reached by time
good luck ..
P.S. i don’t agree with the guy above… cuz a car will use the same fuel in both speeds … what matters only is that at accelerating where u will give more energy to accelerate to the high speed .. this only lasts for seconds then the rest of the journey is the same for both speeds , except for the increased air resistance on the faster car which will cuz it to waste more energy on it … this amount of energy spent on resistance is also very few in case of runnuing where the surface area of a human isnt that big …..
October 6th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I’ve found through my own experiments that running circuits burns the most fat. The more intense the circuit, the more fat burned. For example: on the treadmill, walk one minute at 3.7mph then run 1 minute at 8-10 mph. Depending on your conditioning, you should be able to do this for 15-30 minutes 2-4 times per week. You have to watch out for injuries when training at high intensities though. Make sure you get warmed up properly first. Also, you should consider weightlifting. Nothing burns more calories and builds more muscle than hitting the weights.
October 6th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
I believe a faster, same distanced run, is more effective in losing fat. Instead of treadmills, try running on a track — the extremes of summer and winter help you build up strength.
October 6th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
what you are trying to ask is whether you should be running aerobically or anaerobically. in aerobic running, it is a fairly comfortable pace, in which you can maintain conversation easily. if you are running anaerobically, you are running at a pace that is beyond your fitness level, and it will be a struggle to hold that pace for a long time.
the best thing to do would be to run at an anaerobic pace for as long as you can, until you start to feel your legs get tired/sore (this is a build-up of lactic acid). then slow down to an extremly light jog, until your breathing is ALMOST back to normal. at this point, you then repeat the anaerobic, fast pace. i would do this anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on your fitness.
*the reason why anaerobic running will burn more body fat is because running at a pace beyond your fitness level will cause your body to burn energy much quicker. when there is no energy stores for your body to seep from, it begins buring fat.
October 6th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
The key to losing fat is to go further distance but at a good pace–so somewhere inbetween fast and slow. You go too fast, you won’t be able to go very long. But if you go to slow, it won’t be losing anything.
October 6th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
You need to run fast, but not too fast to make your run too short.
9:30 a mile is definitely not too fast, so I would go with that. It’s more intensive and overall better.
Check this out for more info:
http://burnmybellyfat.com/cardio-workouts-for-abs.html
October 6th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Ok, even if you run at a slow pace you are still burning calories and WILL still loose weight.
If your running for endurance, 6 miles and over go at a pace that your comfortable with but with every newbie runner you can’t expect to run too fast at first as your burn out.
When you run for speed you more likely to build more muscle in your legs, have you seen the athletes, the sprinter runners compared to the endurance runners they have much more muscle.
So, run at a pace that comfortable for you that you feel you can maintain. Slow for one person may not mean slow to another.