Will running at a comfortable pace thirty minutes a day, everyday, keep you in shape?

Question

Need to get into shape NOW!

Answer 1

Not if you eat like a horse. You have to manage both your calorie intake and exercise regularly to get in shape. Also, just doing aerobic exercise will not keep you in the best shape. You need to alternate it with weight training with light weights to tone, or heavier weights and lower reps to build muscle. Good luck! :)

Answer 2

YES!

Here are some tips:

Buy a GOOD pair of running shoes from a running store (not a mall store). A running store will analyze your run and suggest a good shoe for your needs, based on your foot, your running style and the surfaces you will run on. Pay the money, it's a good investment.

If you have never run before, start off slow. No one is chasing you, so don't pay attention to your pace. When I started running, it took me longer to run 3 miles than it did to walk 3 miles. It's OK to walk when you need to. You'll build up to a solid run in no time.

Keep healthy foods in the house (fruits and veggies). Running will make you hungry.

Vary your terrains. I run on the sand at the beach, in the foothills, and on asphalt. Oh, that's another thing, running on concrete hurts, so run in the street as much as you can. Running different terrains will condition your body better.

Drink at least 10 glasses of water a day, and take a multivitamin. After your runs you will sweat like a mangy pig, and you may have some visible salt on your body. That's good, but just replace it.

When you increase something (distance, incline, etc.) slow down or you will get winded very quickly.

Answer 3

Running could cause you heart trouble if you are not already in good shape...You would be better off just doing a good paced walk. And if you can do 2 half hours of this a day you'll be in great physical shape soon (Especially if you also eat wisely...Because if you go walking or running then return home to a double burger and a chocolate shake, you're wasting your time!
You need lots of fruit and veggies!
Low fat foods and not too many carbohydrates!

Answer 4

once you are eating right physical exercise will burn off those extra pounds.. how quickly will you be losing tho!? totally depends on how much you diet based on that 30 minute walk.. since its moderate walking you can bring it up to 45 minutes in you second week and an hour after a month.. you can split your hour into two.. 30 min in morning 30 min in evening etc. after a while your body gets used to what you do and your weight loss, however little it may be, will decrease so it good to change up what you do by increasing the time or the pace.. remember to stretch before and after. drink water and you can lift 2-4 lbs dumbells every other day to build a bit of muscle. not to get buff but just to gain some lean ones. remember, the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. hope this helps

Answer 5

im doin wat ur doin...i run at 5 mph for 30-50 minutes on a treadmill.. yea i no its a slow speed but im short...4' 10"....so i take smaller strides....i lost bout 14 pounds in bout 3 months...i didnt run everyday n some times i didnt run 4 lik 2 wks in a row..but i think that if u keep doin tat u ll eventually lose weight...dont make mistake i did...dont eat lots of crappy foods cuz then the runnin will cancel out cuz ull burn calories from runnin n then ull eat sumthin lik french fries or sumthin n so it wont let u lose weight..u wont gain weight but u wont c a loss.....good luck 2 u...im tryin 2 lose another 10 lbs...hopefully this stuff helped!!!!!!! :) oh yea...i good website bout runnin is runnersworld.com!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

Walking for Weight Loss

Walking helps you shift your attitude toward health, fitness, and weight loss.Take a year to move through the following 3 steps to make gradual but positive lifestyle changes.

Walk : weight loss
1. Just get out there and walk a little. Build a daily habit. Let’s call it being active. Don’t think about changing clothes, going to a gym, jumping around for an hour, or changing clothes.
Just take a short walk to the bus stop, the corner mailbox, or the convenience store for a gallon of milk. Find ways to add an extra 2,000 steps into your daily routine.

Buy and wear a pedometer to measure your steps. A 20-minute walk is about 120 steps per minute, or 2,400 steps. You can break that up into 3 walks of 800 steps each.

How far you walk or how fast you walk aren't important. It’s simply walking in short spurts most days of the week. Be careful. Once you start paying attention to walking, you’ll want to walk farther.

Add a simple 4-minute stretch routine a few days a week after your walk to maintain your natural range of motion. Just stand up, even if you’re at work fully dressed in work clothes. Put one leg back, bend the front knee, and lean forward to stretch the calf muscle. For thighs, grab your ankle from behind, keep your knees close together. Lean forward to stretch your lower back.

Eventually add a simple 2-minute warm-up before you walk: Hold on to a railing for balance and circle your ankle, one leg at a time. Then swing each leg, forward and back. Put your hands on your hips for a circular trunk rotation. This gets the blood flowing and leaves your muscles less prone to injury.

Goal: You’ll realize you don’t have to hurt to feel better. After a walk, you’ll feel invigorated and happy.

2. Walk longer, build strength. Start increasing your walking distance, and you’ll begin to see weight loss. During this second phase, increasing distance means increasing time to 45-60 minutes 2 days a week.
Walking for weight loss

You can cover serious distance in an hour of walking and walk even longer on weekends. Build up to a half-day or day-long hike. This increase in duration increases weight loss, burns more calories, and builds strength as you get off the beaten path and hike up and down hills on a challenging course.

Hike 2 miles somewhere and back at a brisk pace. Ask at any outdoor shop about the best places to hike, such as conservation land, state parks, a waterfront, or rail trail. Go for a full-day trek through a bird sanctuary, take a picnic to a waterfall, or go on an organized hike with a group.

When the weather outside is frightful, many people turn to treadmills. Admittedly, treadmills are boring, but spice up a complete treadmill workout by using elevation to give the sense of a trail. You don’t have to follow the preprogrammed courses. Create your own interval training with hills. Make it a mental game. Life isn’t automated, and your treadmill workout shouldn't be either. Ascend and descend by varying your elevations and speeds.

Pick 5 of your favorite CDs for your portable Walkman – classical, country, rock and roll, even rap. Hit random play, and whatever song comes up, go that tempo. Start and end with an easy one. Put a fan in front of the treadmill to create natural cooling from the wind you’d normally get on a trail.

Keep an activity log. Noting your daily activity is a great motivator, especially when you see those miles start to build up. Tally your daily, weekly, and monthly totals. You’ll hate to write down “0” for any day.

Goal: Walk vigorously for a longer period of time twice a week. If you don't see dramatic weight loss, it may be because you are building muscle.


3. Walk faster and seek variety. In this 16-week segment, you’ll find the athlete within. Speed up your walking and you’ll see total body fitness improvements. A couple days a week, go fast enough to break a sweat and breathe hard.
walk for weight loss
Use the 1-to-10 scale of perceived rate of exertion to measure endurance. Think of 1 as watching TV; 10 is sucking air (you can’t go any farther). Daily walks, for example, are 5 or even 6-6.5 sometimes. Twice a week, crank it up to 7, 8, or 9 on a steep hill for a few minutes. Now you’re burning serious calories and building real aerobic fitness through interval training.

Need variety? Complement your walking with a counterbalancing exercise such as martial arts, yoga, water aerobics, or a court sport like tennis.

Goal: Walk in a 5K or 10K event such as a corporate cup run/walk, a fund-raising race for the cure, or other organized community activity.

How to measure progress: Other than simply feeling great and watching the scale, you can actually measure what fitness walking is doing for your body. Before you begin your activity program, have your doctor check your cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose (high levels can be a sign of early or undiagnosed diabetes), and your body mass index. BMI is a number that reflects your height-to-weight ratio (simply take your weight in pounds, multiply by 703 and divide by your height in inches squared—keep this number under 25 for optimal health).

Measure again at 26 and 52 weeks. You’ll see marked improvements, but not necessarily on the scale. You may be turning fat into muscle, which weighs more than fat. The best measure is how you feel—about yourself.