I was at the gym today and did cardio for just over 95 miniutes. After this i noticed that i had burned nearly 650 calories, which seems very low for what i should be burning. Does anyone have any imput on if this was a good/bad amount for me? I realize that it was only brisk walking (4.5 on the tredmill with no incline) but this seems very small when compared to many foods.
Sport burning calories (many questions here)
- Thread starter Ba-Zing
- Start date
Sport Fitness
A bad amount is 95 minutes of cardio!
Unless you are training for a marathon, there's no good reason to do more than 45 mins of cardio. 95 mins pushes you catabolic and you start tearing down muscle fibers.
Mix up your cardio...ride a bike, use the stairmaster, hop on the eliptical. GET YOUR HEART RATE UP! Its not cardio unless you get the heart rate up enough to actually get a cardiovascular workout.
Slow, plodding cardio isn't nearly as effective as 'real' cardio.
As for the heart of your question though, yes 600cals at a slow inclined walk for 95mins sounds right...in fact it sounds a little high. When I do the eliptical for 40 mins and maintain a heartrate above 140bpm (not exceeding 165bpm) I burn about 300 cals, and that's with varying resistence and incline.
You can't fix your body with exercise alone...yes it makes a huge difference, but diet is key. If you aren't creating a 500calorie deficit through diet, the cardio isn't going to shed much fat. It may give you a strong heart, but it won't shed a lot of fat.
Unless you are training for a marathon, there's no good reason to do more than 45 mins of cardio. 95 mins pushes you catabolic and you start tearing down muscle fibers.
Mix up your cardio...ride a bike, use the stairmaster, hop on the eliptical. GET YOUR HEART RATE UP! Its not cardio unless you get the heart rate up enough to actually get a cardiovascular workout.
Slow, plodding cardio isn't nearly as effective as 'real' cardio.
As for the heart of your question though, yes 600cals at a slow inclined walk for 95mins sounds right...in fact it sounds a little high. When I do the eliptical for 40 mins and maintain a heartrate above 140bpm (not exceeding 165bpm) I burn about 300 cals, and that's with varying resistence and incline.
You can't fix your body with exercise alone...yes it makes a huge difference, but diet is key. If you aren't creating a 500calorie deficit through diet, the cardio isn't going to shed much fat. It may give you a strong heart, but it won't shed a lot of fat.
For the work you put in, walking at an incline, 650 cals sounds damn good to me. You really could be doing much more productive training with your 95 mins. In that time you could burn more calories, alternating between machines, AND work on gaining muscle, or at least toning the ones you have.
Also, if you think 650 cals is not much compared to some foods, then I reckon you should be revising the type of foods you eat.
Also, if you think 650 cals is not much compared to some foods, then I reckon you should be revising the type of foods you eat.
Re-read Malkore's post. Excellent advice. Are you a tri-athlete? 
No need to workout for more than an hour any day. And stop eyeing those "Calories Burned" calculators on the maches. There has been study after study that they are inaccurate and grossly over estimate.
Your best bet... stay on a great strength training and cardio routine as well as a great nutrition plan. It's not hard to do and you will see results.
No need to workout for more than an hour any day. And stop eyeing those "Calories Burned" calculators on the maches. There has been study after study that they are inaccurate and grossly over estimate.
Your best bet... stay on a great strength training and cardio routine as well as a great nutrition plan. It's not hard to do and you will see results.
The calories burned reading on machines is only a rough estimate. The machine has no way of knowing how many calories you're burning.
95 minutes of cardio is a LOT. Cardio over an hour is ok once in a while if you're going on a long hike, or something like that. But as said above, it will start to break down muscle and burn that off instead of fat. Not a good thing. Overdoing the cardio isn't going to help with fat loss.
Sarah
95 minutes of cardio is a LOT. Cardio over an hour is ok once in a while if you're going on a long hike, or something like that. But as said above, it will start to break down muscle and burn that off instead of fat. Not a good thing. Overdoing the cardio isn't going to help with fat loss.
Sarah