What is the most effective running method to lose weight?

S

someone666

New member
Hi,
I noticed that different trademills have different behavior when you set them to fat burning mode. I am curious as to which is the most effective to lose weight?
1. Run at a constant speed for 30 mins?
2. Do intervals. Run at flat slope, increase slope, go back to flat, increase slope... etc for 30 mins
3. Start flat... increase slope slowly... increase slope again... etc until you reach halfway through, then start to lower slope gradually
4. Intervals again (similar to 2) but with speed (high speed/low speed/high speed/... etc)
5. Same as 3, but with speed instead of slope?

Any ideas which are the most effective? I have a hunch #1 is really the worst of the whole bunch. Is this true? Your help is sincerely appreciated.
 
I believe that most people preach intervals, but also, the treadmill is only half o fit, you have to weight train as well if you want to keep your lean mass, which is what burns your calories.
 
The highest intensity you can do without doing yourself injury ;)

So if you're heavy and have possible knee issues - slower steady state, possibly upping resistance/incline to increase the intensity.

If you're lighter & in better shape, you can go with the intervals - I don't think it really matters if you're doing gradual or instant slope or speed changes. And I'm not sure there's a difference in terms of weight loss in whether you increase intensity by speed or slope. I think increasing slope may be easier on you, and there may be sport specific reasons for one or the other, but really intensity (which you can use a heart rate monitor to estimate in a pinch) is more important than whether you're doing intervals or slopes or gradual changes or whatever.

And actually getting on the treadmill in the first place is the biggest step :D

I personally would start with a standard walk or with the elliptical - I say this because years ago I didn't, and started running on a hard track, and screwed my knee up. If I could go back in time I'd tell myself this "You don't run to get in shape - you have to get in shape to run."

If you're really interested in more detail on the difference in steady state vs interval training, here's a nice summary article courtesy of Lyle McDonald -
 
Intervals with resistance is best, but for best results you have to determine your safe maximum heart rate (MHR) and stay in this heart rate zone during your exercise. Running steady but low pace, or low intervals don't give you an optimum calorie burn.

On this site and through Google you can find out how to calculate MHR.
 
The most effective running method is one which you can do everyday, or realistically 5-6 days a week. This depends on how much you weigh, what kind of shape you're in (are you starting out? etc). #1 isn't the worst of the bunch by far, the worst is doing nothing, or getting injured from trying to overdo it. As long as you can keep yourself sweating and your heart beating for ~30 minutes you're going to be making progress.
 
All good advice on running, but I want to add this - if your goal is to lose weight, you MUST manage what you eat. Running is great exercise, it's great cardio, and you can burn a few calories, but you could run miles a day and if you eat more than you burn, you won't lose any weight. You may be in great cardio-vascular shape at the end of the day, but you'll still be carrying extra pounds.

What you eat is key to weight loss. Exercise is the bonus that makes it faster and healthier.
 
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