Increasing Your Workouts??

How do you know when to increase distance or intensity when walking on the treadmill,Eliptical or bike?   I started out at the gym walking on the treadmill for 17 min at 2.5 mph.  Last week I bumped it up to 20 min at the same speed.  Today I did 20 min at 2.8 mph.  I felt winded but not exhausted. I actually felt like I could go longer and a little faster.    How do you know when to increase time and distance?   And which is better, time or distance?       I'm working out 4 to 5 days a week. I feel better and I'm starting to see the results. However, the scale is NOT moving.

A good way to determine the effectiveness of your workouts is utilizing Target Heart Rate.  Target Heart Rate is 60 percent to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.  Maximum heart rate is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity. Working out within your target heart rate zone can help boost your fitness level.  Check your pulse periodically to see if you are exercising within your target zone.  In the beginning ideally you should exercise at the lower end of your target zone.  As you get in better shape, try exercising within the upper range of your target  zone.  To check your heart rate during exercise you can check it by stopping momentarily, taking your pulse for 10 seconds and then multiply your pulse rate by 6 to get your Beats Per Minute (BPM).  There are also several heart rate monitors on the market which you can buy at stores like Target, K-mart, GNC or even Ebay that look like a wris****ch which will do the work for you and provides the information real-time without the need to stop exercising to get a reading. Not the only way to determine how well the workout is going, but is a method many use successfully.  Hope this helps! Cards Fan Springfield, MO

Thanks Cards Fan!   That's great info.  I'm going to be checking my heart rate on my next workout.

Hey Barbara, You're doing great! I usually don't answer the cardio questions but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. If you increase your time, you're automatically increasing distance. I think everyone should work up to at least 45 minutes of cardio a day...at least. Gradually work up to 45 minutes, then gradually increase the pace and intensity (angle on incline). You don't always have to go full out either. Push the pace one day then back off and just get the time in the next kind of thing. Good luck. Earl

"You must do the things you think you cannot do"

Hi Earl,  Thank you .  I'm trying hard to keep myself motivated and to keep my workouts to at least 4 days a week.  Any less then that and I start to get lazy.  I guess I should have asked about time not distance.. and intensity.   I have gradually increased my cardio time over the last few months.   I have noticed that the eliptical is getting easier.  It about killed me the first few weeks! LOL   I almost took that out of my workouts but I'm glad I've kept with it.  I have days where I'm going full out  then other days where I just do what I can.  I guess that will keep me from getting bored.  

Check out the following article.  http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/fitness/cmsID,2277/mode,co ntent/

WTG barbara! I know that when it comes to running, it is best to increase our time (or distance, whatever method you use... personally, I'm a time kind o' gal) by 10% per 1-2 weeks. This week I'm running for 35" per workout and next week I"ll bump it up to 38+ minutes, etc... This allows an increase in our exercise capacity while diminishing opportunities for overtraining and potential injury.