Question for DonutsNCoffee - Weight Loss Message Board

cav33 · 04-18-2003, 05:13 PM

I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on my workout plan that I started since you seem to know a lot about fat loss. I am walking 4.0 mph for 45 minutes before breakfast. Then after work I am jogging for 20 minutes about an hour before dinner. I am doing strength training everyother day as well. Your advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

CobaltBlue · 04-21-2003, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cav33:
I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on my workout plan that I started since you seem to know a lot about fat loss. I am walking 4.0 mph for 45 minutes before breakfast. Then after work I am jogging for 20 minutes about an hour before dinner. I am doing strength training everyother day as well. Your advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

Cav,

Looks like you have had this posted a few days, so I will chime in with my praise

I am not Donuts, but I do agree with the advice that I have seen Donuts post. In my case I am a 5'10" M that dropped from 227 to 156 from Mar 15,2002 to April 20, 2003. My current exercise consists of the following on most days:

1. 3.1 mile run prior to breakfast, which takes about 25 min--I do this at 4:30 am. Its cooler then, so its less demanding. I get back at about 5 am, cool down for about 10 min, then hit the shower. I eat breakfast at about 5:30 am.

2. 2.6 mile walk at about 4.0 mph, which takes 36-38 min. I do this right after lunch.

3. 1.4 mil walk at about 4.0 mph after dinner. (20 min).

The reason for my order has everything to do with the heat of the day in Florida. I used to run in the afternoons and did nothing in the morning. Psychologically, running in the morning helps me too; I go to work with a clear mind, and feel like I accomplished my hardest task. I do my weights later in the morning on Thursdays, and in the late afternoon on Tuesdays.

Looks to me like a good plan, if you don't mind the heat of running later in the day.

cav33 · 04-21-2003, 07:34 AM

I appreciate your response. The weather doesn't bother me because I always walk inside on my treadmill. I live in an urban area and I don't really feel safe walking or running outside in the morning when it's dark out. Thanks for your input

DonutsNCoffee · 04-21-2003, 08:44 AM

cav33,

Don't worry too much about your speed. What's fast for one person could be slow for another and over time, your body will get used to a given speed. Instead focus on your heart rate.

When it comes to cardiovascular exercise, there are two kinds, low intensity and high intensity. Low intensity cardio is where your heart rate is 75% of its maximum. High intensity is where it's 85% or higher. To figure out your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.

Low intensity cardio will burn stored fat during your workout. However, this only happens if your blood sugar is low and your muscle glycogen (stored sugar) has been depleted. This is why doing cardio first thing in the morning is ideal. Since you're already walking in the morning, then all you need to worry about is keeping your heart rate around 75% of its maximum for 45-60 minutes. Don't worry about how many calories you're burning. The real value in doing morning cardio is that it revs up your metabolism so that you burn fat for several hours after you're done.

High intensity cardio will not burn fat during the workout. It will use glucose instead. But as soon as you're done, the body will suddenly release a lot of stored fat into the bloodstream and your body will burn that, provided you don't eat anything for 30-60 minutes. Jogging after work but before dinner is the right idea. If you do it fast enough, then you'll enter into the high intensity cardio zone so it won't matter if you're blood sugar isn't low. And you're waiting an hour before eating which is also good since you're giving your body time to burn the fat that was just released into the bloodstream. The nice thing about high intensity cardio is you don't have to do it as long as low intensity to get the same benefit. I usually do 30 minutes an hour before dinner.

The strength training is also good. Some people like to do low intensity cardio right after a weight training session. The thinking is that the weight training will lower their blood sugar and deplete their muscle glycogen so the cardio will then be forced to burn fat.

It sounds like you've got a good plan. The timing, the duration, and the conditions all sound right. Just focus on where your heart rate is and forget about things like speed or incline.