How much cardio for weight loss

Greg · 12-Jul-05, 05:42 AM

Hey.

Ive started doing 30 mins cardio (stationary bike) using the bikes "weight loss program" every morning before breakfast. Before this I drink two expressos to get my energy up. After 30 I just seem to give up. The program says taget heart rate is 134 i think, but mine is always around 150 according to the machine. Ive been doing it for a week and a half now, 4 times last week and two this week so far, but have not lost any weight! I am overweight at 17 stone 11 and 6'4" large build, and roughly 27% bodyfat.

My question is: How much cardio should one do to lose weight and at what intensity.

thanks in advance for any advice!!

**threenorns** · 12-Jul-05, 05:53 AM

rule #1: read the stickies.

rule #2: it'll take more than six times on the bike to effect fat loss, especially if you're not paying attention to your diet.

that being said, why two espressos? slight case of overkill, methinks.

never mind the "fat-burning zone"/target heart rate bit. the rule is, the harder you exercise, the more fat you will burn. true, at higher intensities, you burn less fat on the bike while actually working - however, your metabolism jacks up and stays jacked up longer, so you end up burning more fat over the next 24 hours.

try this: take your vital statistics (resting heart rate, measurements, bodyweight). for the next week, record *everything* you eat - you can use a site like www.fitday.com. that will give you an idea how much you're eating and in what ratios (protein/carb/fat). each workout, go just a liiiittle bit more intense - only a bit, mind. do this for six weeks, then redo your statistics and compare the numbers.

quick 'n' dirty version of results you might get:

no improved CV health, no reduction in measurements, no weight loss = you're eating too much and not putting the effort into it.
improved CV health, no reduction in measurements, no weight loss = you're eating too much but effort is adequate.
improved CV health, reduction in measurements, no weight loss = you've lost fat and gained muscle equally, diet is excellent
improved CV health, reduction in measurements, some weight loss = you've lost more fat than muscle gained, diet is okay
improved CV health, significant reduction in measurements, significant weight loss = you're not eating enough and you're losing muscle as well as fat, this is not good.

Greg · 12-Jul-05, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by threenorns

rule #1: read the stickies.

rule #2: it'll take more than six times on the bike to effect fat loss, especially if you're not paying attention to your diet.[/list]

Thanks for the reply threenorns,

Would training for longer at the same intensity e.g. 45 minutes be the same as training harder for the same time of 30 minutes.

**threenorns** · 12-Jul-05, 06:16 AM

you'll burn more fat doing the exercise, but less in the succeeding 24 hours, so no, it's not the same. sorry, you're just going to have to put out the effort, lol:

http://exercise.about.com/cs/cardiow.../aa022601a.htm

Greg · 12-Jul-05, 06:41 AM

not really a problem as long as i know its the right thing to do!!

Its like i go to the gym with the intention of doing something, then ten minutes into the exercise im thinking to myself " but what about that article i read last week, it says i should do the oposite", then i lose focus and it all goes apear shaped!!

I really apreciate your imnput, thanks.

**threenorns** · 12-Jul-05, 06:48 AM

oh, lord, no - you can't do that because for each and every single thing you do, there'll be a study or an expert telling you it's all wrong.

pick a system and go with it - it's consistent effort that gets you the results. if you go lower intensity, it'll take you longer to reach your goal; if you go higher intensity, you spend less time doing the exercise and more time being tired, lol.

if, after four weeks, you're not getting the gains you want, try a different system.

Rad_MD · 12-Jul-05, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

Hey.

Ive started doing 30 mins cardio (stationary bike) using the bikes "weight loss program" every morning before breakfast. Before this I drink two expressos to get my energy up. After 30 I just seem to give up. The program says taget heart rate is 134 i think, but mine is always around 150 according to the machine. Ive been doing it for a week and a half now, 4 times last week and two this week so far, but have not lost any weight! I am overweight at 17 stone 11 and 6'4" large build, and roughly 27% bodyfat.

My question is: How much cardio should one do to lose weight and at what intensity.

thanks in advance for any advice!!

What is your weight in pounds? Calculate your lean body weight and eat calories to support the lean body weight as opposed to youor current weight.

It takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose 1 lb of fat. You can lose 2-3 lbs a week safely: any more than that and your body will rebound and try to counteract this; hence, plateau and eventual weight gain. Thus create the energy deficit by accurately assessing caloric intake and exercise duration/intensity. The following link is a good start to determine your caloric expenditure (based on body weight and duration of exercise):

http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspart...e/calculat.htm

You will burn more calories than a person at a similar exercise if you "weigh more". The thought being that you have more muscle mass.

A heart rate monitor is good if you want to determine your perceived exertion. However a good rule of thumb is that you will burn roughly 200 calories per mile, whether you walk or run it.

pseudonym · 13-Jul-05, 01:13 AM

Just for clarity (cause it took me some thinking to work it yout at first ... I'm possibly just slow though) that 3500 calorie deficit is not a daily deficit but an overall one i.e intake 3500 calories below your maintainence level in he course of a week and you will lose 1lb of fat.

I may just be slow but this did not jump right out at me in RAD's first (very good) post (so in the interest of avoiding somebody as silly as me trying to eat 3500 less calories every day ...

).

Rad_MD · 13-Jul-05, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pseudonym

Just for clarity (cause it took me some thinking to work it yout at first ... I'm possibly just slow though) that 3500 calorie deficit is not a daily deficit but an overall one i.e intake 3500 calories below your maintainence level in he course of a week and you will lose 1lb of fat.

I may just be slow but this did not jump right out at me in RAD's first (very good) post (so in the interest of avoiding somebody as silly as me trying to eat 3500 less calories every day ...

).

True. Thanks for picking up on that. Most people survive on 1850 calories (give or take a few hundred) a day. I you have 10 lbs to lose that is a 35, 000 caloric deficit.

**threenorns** · 13-Jul-05, 09:38 PM

keep in mind you can't go TOO low: if you drop your calories too low (approx 1500 for the average person), your body registers a famine situation and will begin emergency survival procedures: your metabolism drops (wait long enough and your core body temperature will drop, even), you get tired and lethargic, your body begins to offload metabolically-active tissue (muscle), you can't concentrate (your brain is made of fat but its fuel of choice is carbohydrates; it CAN run off ketones, but that's rather like putting low-octane fuel into a high-octane motor - runs, but you're not gonna like the performance).

basically, keeping your eating habits EXACTLY the same but increasing your activity will either slow down or stop excess weight gain or it will cause a moderate weight loss - it depends how far over maintenance you're eating. cutting back your calories a *bit* (250/day, say: that's about half a tuna sandwich or a small muffin) and increasing your activity level produces the best result.

Sarm3n · 20-Jul-05, 04:23 AM

I'm sorry if I'm repeating anyone but I did not read the responds. Intensity and all that stuff does not matter. Keep your heart rate bween 120 and 135 for best results of fat loss. Do this for 1 hour. the first 30 minutes you're just warming up but from there on you will be burning more fat. Hope it's helpful.

**threenorns** · 20-Jul-05, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarm3n

I'm sorry if I'm repeating anyone but I did not read the responds. Intensity and all that stuff does not matter. Keep your heart rate bween 120 and 135 for best results of fat loss. Do this for 1 hour. the first 30 minutes you're just warming up but from there on you will be burning more fat. Hope it's helpful.

wrong, wrong, wrong. intensity DOES matter.

you're talking about "fat burning zone" and all that - they debunked that years ago.

Sarm3n · 20-Jul-05, 03:00 PM

Quote:

wrong, wrong, wrong. intensity DOES matter.

you're talking about "fat burning zone" and all that - they debunked that years ago.

I won't argue with you about that because you probably know more about it than me. I'm just telling from my own experience.

**maverick** · 20-Jul-05, 04:15 PM

Define "debunked", preferably qualified by articles.

**cursor** · 20-Jul-05, 04:39 PM

Any exercise that's above and beyond your normal activity level will aid in fat loss. Without question, however, HIIT (or virtually any greater intensity exercise) will contribute more to fat-loss than lower intensity (in)activity. Doing in-the-zone aerobics, while effective for fat-loss, will result in lower efficiency fat-loss (particularly when considering the personal time invested).

A number of studies/articles have been posted in previous threads. If needed, we can probably fish them back up again.