Running a fast mile as cardio?

[highlander555]

Thats more of what I get too, and I can see my abs. It's all about metabolism.

I'd even say that the amount of calories you burn inside the gym isn't near as important as the amount you burn outside (as in your resting metabolic rate).

 

[billfred]

I'm 5'6" and 147 pounds. I want that lean and mean look and I'm down from 210 pounds from September 2007. I want to keep losing weight and hopefully get to the single digits in bf % (not sure what I'm at right now, but I'd guess around 13-14%). I currently lift twice a week, and do cardio three times a week. On Tuesdays and Fridays I do a one mile run to kickoff my 45 minute cardio session. I've always been dissapointed with my mile time back from middle school in gym class so to get a fast mile has always been one of my goals from losing weight. Right now I run the mile in a little under 7:30. I've heard mixed things on doing such an intense run as my heart rate gets pretty up there. I seem to be stalling on the weight gain so I want to know if maybe running is the problem.

For me info...

my Fitday profile:
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=mcFreid

my most recent picture (around a week ago):
http://www.freidproductions.com/images/bodybuilding/6-26-08.jpg


Thanks much,
Michael

I am going to read this a little different than what you are putting out there. Running a mile fast is a good goal as it will take a lot lean body to get it done.
Looking at your pictures - I think a 6:00 minute mile would be a good goal.

Running a fast mile and doing a 45 minute cardio are two different workouts. Get those on different days.

Here is what I would suggest, not touching your weight training, have one day of cardio being your Long Slow Day (LSD) of 45 minutes. Have another cardio day being some interval training - 6 -7 minute mile pace. You pick the distance but make sure you don't go anarobic. Then have another day as tempo day - say 3 miles at 7:30 - 8:00 minute miles.

OK - then start entering in some mile road races to see if you can hit your goal time.

Good luck and congrats on the weight loss.

 

[keasbey]

i agree with the 10lb of muscle idea. at your weight with 10 more lbs of muscle i think u will get more of the look your going for then trying to cut now. id say jump on a 3x a week full body workout program maybe the 3x5 and start aiming for a solid 150-200g of protein a day with mod carbs and mod fat. tbh your at a good weight now and anylower i think wouldnt do you justice. thats my 2 cents

 

[Buddybot111]

I'm getting tons of good information from this thread! In fact I'm learning much more than what I originally asked for and am really glad to have started this conversation. Right now I'm traveling pretty much all of summer (I start my first year of college in late August). For that reason, just for now, I am not going to change up my diet or exercise plan drastically as I'm having a hard enough time right now just staying with a consistent schedule while on moving around from place to place over the United States. With that said, it definitely seems unequivocal, at least on this board, that I should increase my calories and gain some muscle before cutting again. I will try this as soon as I get back on stable ground.

A few things mentioned here on the side... As for eating protein & "MEAT", I do! I'm not sure where I ever gave the impression that I don't, but 50% of my calories comes from protein. This means I'm eating around 200-250g a day of protein. This comes from whey powder, cottage cheese, cheese (in general), chicken, turkey, and tuna (that is in no particular order).

As for running and why I do the 45 minute cardio on the same days as I do the one mile run. At first I thought logically as you did and tried to do the one-mile high intensity run on the same day as my 20 minute HIIT session on the elliptical. It simply didn't work. Either the HIIT would tare me down so much that I couldn't complete the mile at a decent pace or the other way around. For this reason I split up the two so now I do the really intense run followed by a low to moderate intense elliptical session for 20 minutes and then a 4mph walk on an incline for the last 10 minutes. Then on the HIIT days I just do a 10 minute walk as before to end the session.

You also talk about running 3 miles at 7:30 - 8:00 min paces. I don't think so! My fastest mile right now is a little under 7:30, and I can guarantee you that afterward there is no way I could keep going for even one mile let alone two!

For interval training, configuring the treadmill is always a pain for me while running so I like to use the elliptical. It goes by RPMs instead of "mile pace" so I'll describe my HIIT in detail using it's units. I start by warming up at 70rpm. I do a "level 1" resistance for 2 minutes than switch to "level 2" for 2 minutes. At the 4 minute mark I up the machine to "level 3" and sprint at 85-90rpm for 1.25 minutes. I then rest for 45 seconds at 70rpm. At the 6 minute mark I up the resistance to "level 5" and go on with the next interval. This goes up to the last interval, "level 10", which ends at the 20 minute mark.

I want to say thanks again and I will keep constantly checking this thread and the rest of the forum for more information. I'm learning tons and am interested in anything else anyone has to input.

 

[timtim]

time to add some muscle now. your too skinny. add the muscle and the fat will come off and youll be lean and mean. not enough muscle there to be lean and mean.

 

[jiggagold]

squats deadlifts bench rows and pull ups/dips is all u need for now and FOOD

 

[keasbey]

i think the running idea he talked about with the 730-800 min mile could be a goal to aim for.. maybe now that u have a good mile time u should try seeing how low u can get a 2 mile time and then a 3