how long to exercise: Which is better... - Weight Loss Support

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how long to exercise

maljames profile image
8 Replies

Which is better for losing weight: 150 minutes/week of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes/week of vigorous exercise. Psychologically I am attuned to vigorous exercise (I get bored just walking or jogging along). But I will do what is best to lose weight - need to lose 2 stone. Also is there any advantage to doubling the workout time, say 300 minutes of moderate exercise?

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maljames profile image
maljames
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8 Replies
rosyG profile image
rosyG

health advice is to do at least 30 mins 5 times a week - for heart help. I think you'd need more if this is to lose weight. Could you listen to music while jogging>>>>

maljames profile image
maljames in reply torosyG

Yes I figure diet of 1600-1800 cal

moreless profile image
morelessAdministrator7 stone

Welcome back, maljames :)

I'm no expert on these matters, maljames, so I'm going to tag Hidden who is, but you'll never be able to outrun a poor diet, so I suggest that you address that first. This may help phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...

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Lytham profile image
Lytham3 stone

Hello, im no expert but I would guess at vigorous because thats the science behind hiit training that they are recommending at the moment , good luck

S11m profile image
S11m

I found walking 50km a week over about 15hours helped me lose weight... that is about the "standard" recommendation of 10,000 steps a day. Having been disabled for five years, and being 69 I have now cut down to 20 or 30km/week.

Vigorous exercise over shorter periods is good for the heart.

Weight training tends to build muscle.

There is a theory that short-term exercise can burn calories after you have stopped exercising. I wonder if this was invented by gym companies?

My son cycles from near Wimbledon to Canary Wharf most days - I think it is about 12 miles each way.

Naz_mi profile image
Naz_mi

H.I.T ( High intensity training) is great if you have a little time a day to do exercise .. 20mins a day should be enough for this to get more out of your time.

It involves high intensity training in intervals followed by a minuite break inbetween

SloopJohnB profile image
SloopJohnB

Hi, I managed to lose weight and get fitter by combination of dieting and excercise. But I didn't do it alone. I joined ManVFat Football which helped by making it a team effort.

Build exercise up slowly to improve fitness, then increase to as much as you can. Walking is good and you can get app to measure this.

You can do it, and see if you can join a group as exercising on your own can be difficult.

Good luck.

TheAwfulToad profile image
TheAwfulToadVisitor

Exercise and weight loss are loosely related - in the sense that being fitter means you're likely to utilize stored bodyfat more efficiently - but exercise does not directly translate to weight loss, at least not in the simplistic sense of "burning off" food calories.

If you enjoy vigorous exercise, then do that. As far as cardiovascular performance goes, interval training, HIIT, or variations on that theme are far more effective than just plugging away for hours at low intensity. The low-intensity route would only be advisable for people who are seriously unfit or very overweight; you don't seem to fit into either of those categories.

There is (was) a theory that bodies have a 'fat burning zone' somewhere around 65-75%max heart rate. Although it's technically true that the respiratory quotient varies depending on activity level, it turns out that this has no bearing on long-term weight loss or weight maintenance. So, again, better to just focus on cardiovascular performance by keeping the intensity high.

As Hidden said, make sure you allow enough time for recovery. If you're doing intense exercise, it's neither necessary nor desirable to prolong that to the point where you're completely wiped out; giving it 95% (as opposed to 110%) will achieve the desired result and significantly reduce your recovery time, so you can get back in the gym sooner.

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