Incorporating running into my workout routine? Will it help?

[Anonymous]

Now I usually work out 3 to 4 times a week, for about an hour to an hour and a half, at the gym.

I usually start off on the elliptical, sometimes the kind that has moving bars for your arms and sometimes the kind that is only for your legs. I will go on it from anywhere from 10 to 50 minutes, obviously the longer I stay on here the shorter I keep the rest of my routine.

If I did 50 minutes I will probably just finish off with some weights.

If I did a shorter amount I will supplement the rest of my time with a combination or at least one of the following: Stairmaster (brutal!), Stationary bike, Sitting bike, or another machine similar to the elliptical but a little different. Something that will still keep me sweating, all of these do.

I usually sweat a lot. But I want to up my workout more. I was never one for running. But do you think if I incorporate the treadmill into my workout routine and cut back on some of the other cardio, I will lose more weight? (I don't want to shrink my butt though, it is big and toned and I want to keep it that way, but I would like my legs and hips to get leaner)

I don't think I can manage an hour on the treadmill. But what about if I do 20 minutes of that and then 30-40 minutes of other cardio? Will that help me lose weight if I am running for at least 10 minutes of that treadmill time?

Also, the reason I don't like running on the treadmill is because I don't think I am good at pacing myself. I want to burn the calories so I up the speed too fast, but then it is so fast that I can barely breathe, so I have to drop the speed drastically and this hurts my muscles and my side.

Any advice?

[Firework344]

Seems like you're doing a lot already. I wouldn't change too much. If anything, just up the cardio, cardio is really what helps to make a difference. I've had a personal trainer for about a year or so now, I told her I wasn't loosing weight, and she said to pick up on the cardio. So maybe if you wanted to incorporate something different into your workout, do 15 minutes on the tredmill with a two-four minute interval on it with running. Meaning you walk for about 2-4 minutes then run for 2-4 minutes. It's tough, but it really works. And you can still do what you usually do too, and if it seems like too much, then cut out some of the elliptical. OR even alternate days, one day you do the elliptical and weights and another day you do the tredmill and weights. I usually try to mix up my work outs so I don't get bored of it. I enjoy Zumba too, it's very active and great cardio, maybe you can try that. Also, an hour and a half of a workout seems like a lot. I heard somewhere the bare minimum of a workout is 20 minutes and that's only if your in a rush and need to get something in, otherwise it's between about 30 minutes and about an hour. Maybe a little more. But you're working out 3 to 4 times a week. Maybe you could put up to five times a week, and workout an hour each of those days. Just a suggestion.

[Asker]

Thanks! My workout is generally like an hour and ten minutes. I want to up it to 5 times it is just hard because I am busy. I used to always do 4 and for the past few weeks it has fallen to 3 which sucks. But I am going to try and up it again.

[Firework344]

Awesome good luck! Don't forget to give yourself a rest day every now and then if you up to 5 times a week, you don't want to push yourself too too hard, you'll end up hurting yourself.

[WoIIie]

Avoid doing cardio at a pace that allows you to exceed 45 minutes without having to stop and slow down.

So basically you want to do cardio that is so intense you have to stop some time before 45 minutes are up. Any longer than that, and you're obviously not running hard enough to where you create a metabolic deficit and burn fat. You'll burn calories but it won't be nearly as efficient.

While running is a good cardio exercise, you should also try mixing it up and do full-body cardio routines such as the M-100.

[kheserthorpe]

It doesn't really matter what machine you use, what matters is the intensity level you're going at.