# Is running worth it?



## Jubba (Jul 14, 2018)

Hello,

I could've posted this on some fitness forum or something but I think the people here are great.
About a month ago, I started doing exercise. I run on my treadmill for one hour every two days or so. I only run the first 40 minutes. Basically, I walk 4 mph for 5 minutes, then the next 5 minutes I run 6 mph and repeat, until 40 minutes. The next 20 minutes I just walk at 4 mph because I get super tired. I tried doing 2 min of 4 mph and the next 2 min of 6 mph and I felt a bit more comfortable. Is this method better?

Anyways, let's get to the point. The thing is, this exercising for one whole hour burns only 130 calories according to the treadmill... Even an egg has 155 calories. The amount of calories I lost by spending one hour could be regained again in a span of a few seconds. A piece of bread has 80 calories. If I eat a sandwich I will gain 160 calories. So is this one hour of getting exhausted a waste? Is it really worth it? It's been one month and I haven't seen any noticeable change in my body.


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## SofaKing (May 9, 2014)

I think so assuming your body can absorb the impacts on your joints.

You can't judge the benefits purely on calorie burn.


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## Chevy396 (Jul 10, 2017)

There are way more benefits to exercise like cardiovascular health and curing depression. I believe that most mental health issues come from an unhealthy lifestyle and lack of exercise. Over time your body and mind adapt to your environment, whether it's a bad or a good environment determines how you feel.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

It depends on what you're running from.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Also, the amount of calories you burn doing exercise is not the whole story. Your body also burns plenty of calories just doing nothing. So the amount of calories you burn doing exercise is on top of the calories that your body would already burn in one day. 

Also, I am not sure about this but I think when you do a certain amount of exercise at a certain intensity, your body will continue to burn more calories even after you stop than it would have if you hadn't done anything.

And...it seems to me that if you build your muscles on top of doing some kind of cardio, larger muscles will likely burn more energy for a given time/exercise than smaller ones. So...I would think stronger legs would burn more calories than weaker ones. (Someone correct me if I'm off on this)


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## twitchy666 (Apr 21, 2013)

*seeing runners everywhere*

puts me off

I stride about, faster than anyone in town. I have a destination & mission to get.

hate walking.

Bike always

Bike to gym
weights first cos uphill cardio done

need my personal space
biking often through a bust walkspace outside a mall. avoiding people. following behind anyone til space available

running tough for me. just for numbers. treadmill √ no need for numbers when outside on bike.

rowing concept II was main activity

treadmilling 1 hour, 1000cals get me striding thru town all days. next hour after more weights between, 1000cals climber machine too


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## JH1983 (Nov 14, 2013)

Worth it for what?

To get better at running? Yes.

Heart health and improving endurance? Yes.

Losing weight when you're nowhere near a calorie deficit? No.

Losing weight when you're just barely in a calorie deficit through diet and you're adding cardio to increase that deficit? Yes.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Eleonora91 (Aug 3, 2018)

Jubba said:


> Hello,
> 
> I could've posted this on some fitness forum or something but I think the people here are great.
> About a month ago, I started doing exercise. I run on my treadmill for one hour every two days or so. I only run the first 40 minutes. Basically, I walk 4 mph for 5 minutes, then the next 5 minutes I run 6 mph and repeat, until 40 minutes. The next 20 minutes I just walk at 4 mph because I get super tired. I tried doing 2 min of 4 mph and the next 2 min of 6 mph and I felt a bit more comfortable. Is this method better?
> ...


A medium egg has around 68 kcals. The higher your heart rate gets, the more calories you burn.
It's very unlikely that you would only burn 130 kcals after running for 1h.

Get a heart rate monitor to measure your burned calories more correctly.

You also need to track your calories so that you have enough of a deficit to see a weightloss. Have you tried MyFitnessPal?


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## andretti (Jan 2, 2016)

Running at a 5mph pace for a half hour burns 350 calories . Don't know where you getting your info from . 

Running is worth it. I've been running nearly daily for over ten years and I love it. I'm addicted


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## Raies (Nov 3, 2016)

Is running for the sake of burning calories worth it? I would say no, screw that.

Find a hobby you enjoy doing and do it for the hobby itself, and the calories burn while you're having fun.


I personally hate gyms etc, but I do a bit longer runs outside. (There's quite a few good forest paths for running here!).
Walking, too, even though I hated it in the past.. Well.. I still do in town, but in the forest it's alright.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

Cardio isn't worth it for weight loss no, not really. That is precisely the problem, you exercise, it ramps up hunger, you eat in a few seconds double the calories you burned off.

It can be worth it for other benefits though, fitness, mood and so forth, but if you are looking to lose weight only, and you dislike it, you would probably be better off making the deficit through diet alone.

Not a huge fan of running anyway tbh.

Resistance training - great for strength, mood, appearance and probably burns as many calories as cardio through post exercise burn
Low impact steady state cardio - addition to resistance training and diet can be helpful later on, doesn't impact much on recovery
HIIT - meh, might as well do resistance training, same deal and eats into weights recovery
Running - ****s your joints superbly.

Something like that.

A combination of caloric restriction, resistance training, plus some low impact steady state training (e.g. walking) is probably the best option for weight loss (and you only _need_ the first, full stop).

People seem to be very resistant to this idea. At my doctors surgery I was speaking to a consultant GI dude who noticed my weight loss and asked how I did it, I said "I ate at a deficit for a long time", and the nurse (who i know a bit) chimed in "you increased your activity a lot though too" (because she used to see me walking). It's like yeh, I went on some walks, but they burned 300 calories, probably worth 1/3 of a lb per week max over time.


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## funnynihilist (Jul 29, 2014)

I'm becoming convinced that exercise is not as beneficial as we have been led to believe.
And as you know it is suggested as a solution for just about everything these days.
That's not to say that being totally sedentary is a good thing either but this idea that you have to push yourself into a froth is absurd.
When I exercised hard a few years ago I might have felt slightly more limber but it also made my anxiety worse.
I think the key is to find an exercise that you actually enjoy doing then do it in moderation.
The average person simply has no need to have the body of an athlete other than for vanity sake.
As far as mood goes exercise does help me *while* I'm excersizing but the "high" wears off quick. And as I said before, rigorous exercise made my anxiety and sleep problems much worse.


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## 3stacks (Sep 27, 2014)

Totally worth it for if you ever get into a police chase


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## Lohikaarme (Aug 28, 2013)




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## Ominous Indeed (Sep 6, 2015)

Lohikaarme said:


>


I don't get this. What is running?


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## f1ora (Jan 5, 2016)

yes


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## Chevy396 (Jul 10, 2017)

In Colorado it only matters if you can run faster than the person you are hiking with. So if you get chased by a bear it will eat them first and you can get away. You don't want to be the slow one of the group.


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## VanDamMan (Nov 2, 2009)

Split it. Better to do 4 days at 30 minutes than 2 days at an hour.


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## kesker (Mar 29, 2011)

VanDamMan said:


> Split it. Better to do 4 days at 30 minutes than 2 days at an hour.


very much agree with this, perhaps shooting for as many as 6 days but not running exclusively.

also agree with those listing benefits other than weight loss. Without running I honestly don't know of I'd be around today or, at least, able to keep it relatively together.


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## Lohikaarme (Aug 28, 2013)

Ominous Indeed said:


> I don't get this. What is running?


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## firestar (Jun 27, 2009)

funnynihilist said:


> I'm becoming convinced that exercise is not as beneficial as we have been led to believe.
> And as you know it is suggested as a solution for just about everything these days.
> That's not to say that being totally sedentary is a good thing either but this idea that you have to push yourself into a froth is absurd.
> When I exercised hard a few years ago I might have felt slightly more limber but it also made my anxiety worse.
> ...


Agreed. I used to be overweight. Now I'm average. I would probably have regained everything if I hadn't found out what worked for me. I hate gyms, so I don't go to them. I work out using dumbbells at home, mostly to build and maintain upper body strength, which I know will become increasingly more important as I get older.

I've also found that I'm not fond of exercising for the sake of exercising, so when I walk I try to make it purposeful. I'll walk around a mall and then do some shopping, for example. Or I'll walk to the store and carry groceries back, even though I could do it much more easily using my car. I know exercise is important for my health but I also hate exercising, so this is the "deal" I've made with myself to keep doing it over time.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

C137 said:


> I've started running recently. If you can I would start running outside. It burns more calories. Gives more variety and is more challenging because of different surfaces depending on where you're running. I joined a group near my city. They train for 1/2 marathon, full marathon, and 5K/10K runs. I've started to lose weight far more rapidly running. And of course keeping a good diet helps greatly as well.
> 
> I've been doing 4 miles with a jog/walk pace. 2Min Jog/ 1 min walk. And I keep that up for the 4 miles. During the meets with the group well do longer runs. Yesterday for example we did 9.5 miles. And I only started running again back in late July. ANd I hadn't run in almost 10 years prior. So I was quite surprised of my self that I was able to even do this at all. But I had started some form of exercise before running. I think that helped me tremendously.
> 
> So yeah running is very much worth it. I've started losing more weight and I feel better in general.


 OT but isn't a C137 like a cargo plane or something?


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

WillYouStopDave said:


> OT but isn't a C137 like a cargo plane or something?


C-130.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MCHB (Jan 1, 2013)

No pain no gain! If 6mph is to easy either up the slope or up the speed....


Or you know...realize that running sucks and get a bike lol.


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## BeamingNow (Jun 12, 2018)

Yeah it’s not the most efficient way to burn calories, but running has become one of my favorite things to do over the last couple years. It’s almost therapeutic for me at this point, and I definitely notice a difference in my mood and overall anxiety on days I don’t run.


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## Chevy396 (Jul 10, 2017)

I didn't do cardio for about ten years, just lifted weights and I had a stroke. Has to be related.


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## Maslow (Dec 24, 2003)

If you want to lose weight, eat less and eat less fatty foods. 

If you want to get in shape, exercise.

Trying to lose weight by exercising doesn't work.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Maslow said:


> If you want to lose weight, eat less and eat less fatty foods.
> 
> If you want to get in shape, exercise.
> 
> Trying to lose weight by exercising doesn't work.


 Actually, it does. But it helps if you exercise and modify your diet at the same time. 2-3 years ago, I weighed about 210 pounds. Today I weigh 147. Eating is a big part of it though. Technically, you can eat garbage and still lose weight if you wear yourself into the ground exercising but it will still have a negative impact on your health even if you look amazing.

I know because I have done this. I used to eat deep dish pizza every day and then burn all the calories off on an exercise bike. It worked to keep me skinny. It didn't do good things to my long-term health, however.

IOW, the quality of the food you eat is more important than looking great. Though it's good to stay above water on the body fat thing.


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## LampSandwich (May 5, 2012)

*If it's your thing and you enjoy it, why not? *


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## mobc1990 (May 24, 2011)

LampSandwich said:


> *If it's your thing and you enjoy it, why not? *


Do things you enjoy,it can help out your life in general...how I love it if I enjoy my job


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## Kanarko (Apr 8, 2018)

Running isn't really about burning calories, it's about your body feeling good. Don't push yourself too much, make it simple. I'm sure that you need a professional diet and a course of exercise to burn calories, just running alone won't do it.

Running is worth it ,though.


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## twitchy666 (Apr 21, 2013)

*I prefer Climbing*

all stairs everywhere for speed without elevator or escalators

I beat everyone in malls and underground train stations

offices too

max incline treadmill 15

shock horror when I see runners in town
I've failed. I stride & strut around in my treadmill mode for determination for destination

often my bike (climbing motion to add speed!) when seeing runners I feel humble cos it's a challenge for me

overall: scared of my knees and feet! must call quits on treadmill not to wear feet out - tactile - OW! feedback

max incline earns me more cals 1000 per hour. uphill. not wanting to rattle, juggle, shake up/down tear knees

not old-dear bike mode to make walking easier by using wheels... no basket on handlebar. speed enhancement priority! pump it, dual piston upright


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## bsmith114 (Dec 5, 2018)

I see what you mean, but the amount of calories burned is not the only reason to work out. It is great for preventing cardiovascular disease and can make you feel better. Maybe if you don't like running you could try other exercises? I wouldn't say running is the best way to exercise. Or you could just break it up so that you run for a shorter amount of time. Even 20-30 minutes would be great.


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## Sheeratty (Jul 31, 2013)

I've been thinking about getting into running for a while. I have been walking a lot lately and love that so I was thinking about going further. My fave exercise is swimming but access isn't easy and it costs for each session, whereas walking/running costs nothing once you get the stuff you need. I don't know though as I don't want to knacker my knees/joints.


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## Musicfan (Mar 4, 2017)

Hella fun when you get in the habit, running through the streets and watching life revolve around you is one of the most stress relieving things ever. But it makes the knees feel old and achy. Don't overdo it.


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## coeur_brise (Oct 7, 2004)

I would say being bipedal is healthy for the most part so whether it's bipedal running or walking, it's all good. I don't know about running though, seems rough on your joints to do one repetitive exercise. Climbing stairs or doing sprints might be better fare. Jump roping, now that will not only get you good wind but will get your cardio in...but I'm no doctor, I'm just a slob who knows to exercise but doesn't. Meh.


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

You can hurt your knees if you dont do it right. You have to learn how to absorb the impact and push off the ground using the balls of your feet.

Aside from that, I think cardio is great for anxiety. It's as if my body is too worn out to get anxious.


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## andy0128 (Dec 19, 2003)

I enjoy running but Ive had a nagging injury since september and god knows when I'll be back running again.


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