Help me take my next step

[jpetermann]

I am a runner. I have been running for about 4 years now, and have worked up to where I run 5 miles 5-6 times a week ( have been doing that for 18 months now). I am 5'6" and weigh 162 lbs. I have been pretty much stuck at that for about a year now. I do not want to run any more that what I do now, but would like to lose the belly fat I have. I am thinking I may need to do some weight training now, and maybe that would help. I am afraid if I stop running so much I will gain weight back, and I do not want that.

So, help me out here. Will I gain weight by mixing up lifting with running? What do I need to do to specifically lose that belly and tone up?

Thanks for any direction.

 

[SP33Demon]

I am a runner. I have been running for about 4 years now, and have worked up to where I run 5 miles 5-6 times a week ( have been doing that for 18 months now). I am 5'6" and weigh 162 lbs. I have been pretty much stuck at that for about a year now. I do not want to run any more that what I do now, but would like to lose the belly fat I have. I am thinking I may need to do some weight training now, and maybe that would help. I am afraid if I stop running so much I will gain weight back, and I do not want that.

So, help me out here. Will I gain weight by mixing up lifting with running? What do I need to do to specifically lose that belly and tone up?

Thanks for any direction.

Do you compete at all? Be aware that gaining muscle that increases your overall weight could hamper your times.

Otherwise, you need to hit the weights/build muscle mass if you want to lose weight. Outside of ridiculous time spent on a treadmill (hours upon hours a day which isn't sustainable), you're going to need help from muscle to burn calories. 1lb of muscle will burn about 50 calories a day, so add 5lbs of muscle and you're burning an extra 250/day just sitting there. How long does it take you to burn 250 calories for cardio, 30-60 minutes?

My recommendation is to focus on weights and do cardio on off days if you're concerned about appearance and want to slim down. Find a program and lift at least 3 days a week. Fixing your diet and getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep are vital. Try not to mix cardio and weights on the same day or you will risk catabolic muscle loss (assuming you are performing both at a longer and sustained amount of time). Most hardcore bodybuilders don't even perform cardio outside of walking or light running to warm the body up; their bodies do the calorie burning for them. Muscle also weighs more so at advanced levels you will have to expend more energy from simple tasks like walking.

 

[jpetermann]

I do the occasional 5 or 10k, but that is really it. I guess I should have said I run, not that I am a runner. I am built for distance, not speed. :biggrin:

What I was thinking of doing was running 5 miles 3x/week and lifting 2-3 days a week. My concern has always been if I do that I will gain my weight back.

Being new to lifting, where would I go to find a program/instruction to start with?

 

[Zivic]

I am a runner. I have been running for about 4 years now, and have worked up to where I run 5 miles 5-6 times a week ( have been doing that for 18 months now). I am 5'6" and weigh 162 lbs. I have been pretty much stuck at that for about a year now. I do not want to run any more that what I do now, but would like to lose the belly fat I have. I am thinking I may need to do some weight training now, and maybe that would help. I am afraid if I stop running so much I will gain weight back, and I do not want that.

So, help me out here. Will I gain weight by mixing up lifting with running? What do I need to do to specifically lose that belly and tone up?

Thanks for any direction.

diet, diet, diet. track every single thing that enters your mouth. figure out what you are eating and start by dropping it 200-300 calories a day. after 2 weeks figure out if you lost, gained, or stayed the same. make adjustments from there.

If you gain weight, it's because you are eating too much; simple as that

 

[Zivic]

and no such thing as "tone up"

 

[blackdogdeek]

You need to eat fewer calories.

What are you eating now exactly?

 

[gar655]

diet, diet, diet.

If you gain weight, it's because you are eating too much; simple as that

+1000

You can't exercise yourself to skinny without controlling your diet.

 

[pauldun170]

I am a runner. I have been running for about 4 years now, and have worked up to where I run 5 miles 5-6 times a week ( have been doing that for 18 months now). I am 5'6" and weigh 162 lbs. I have been pretty much stuck at that for about a year now. I do not want to run any more that what I do now, but would like to lose the belly fat I have. I am thinking I may need to do some weight training now, and maybe that would help. I am afraid if I stop running so much I will gain weight back, and I do not want that.

So, help me out here. Will I gain weight by mixing up lifting with running? What do I need to do to specifically lose that belly and tone up?

Thanks for any direction.

You say you run 5 miles 5-6 days a week and would like to lose belly fat?

Switch one of your days to a 7-13 mile run.
Drop breads, crap foods and any drink that doesn't rhyme with daughter
Sit back and watch 6 pack form.

Weight training is something you should be doing anyway BUT if you are training legs you may want to ease up on mileage the day before, on and after leg day.

You would be doing the same mileage overall.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

You say you run 5 miles 5-6 days a week and would like to lose belly fat?

Switch one of your days to a 7-13 mile run.
Drop breads, crap foods and any drink that doesn't rhyme with daughter
Sit back and watch 6 pack form.

Weight training is something you should be doing anyway BUT if you are training legs you may want to ease up on mileage the day before, on and after leg day.

You would be doing the same mileage overall.

Running more is one of the least effective things you can do to get that last bit of belly fat to creep off. Have you ever been to a marathon or half marathon? There are tons of people who are overweight or who have a belly that regularly run 10+ miles.

Introducing some resistance training will do much more for you. That could be body weight exercises and core stabilization up to a full weight lifting program. You've got to find what interests you and go with it.

 

[gar655]

Running more is one of the least effective things you can do to get that last bit of belly fat to creep off. Have you ever been to a marathon or half marathon? There are tons of people who are overweight or who have a belly that regularly run 10+ miles.

Not entirely accurate. Running burns around 100-125 calories per mile give or take depending on weight, pace or incline. Running is one of the more efficient ways to burn calories, but the key is you have to actually be running like 8 minute pace or better to get where it is efficient in proportion to the time spent.

As far as people who run marathons being fat or having belly fat, you won't see that on any of the sub 3 hour runners and not very likely in the sub 3:30 group either.

I can go to any gym and see plenty of guys and girls hammering away at the weights for hours that are plenty fat.

It's the diet, not the exercise that really controls the amount of body fat.

 

[pauldun170]

Running more is one of the least effective things you can do to get that last bit of belly fat to creep off. Have you ever been to a marathon or half marathon? There are tons of people who are overweight or who have a belly that regularly run 10+ miles.

Introducing some resistance training will do much more for you. That could be body weight exercises and core stabilization up to a full weight lifting program. You've got to find what interests you and go with it.

Please note the comment about food by me and my acknowledgement of OP doing weight training.
Clean diet + smart food intake + weight training + pushing more mileage will trim him down.

Fatties who run a lot are fatties because of shit diet and just because they run the occasional race doesn't mean they are "runners". All it means is that they trained to run an event and they ran it.

OP has stated that he is a runner and his routine of 25-30 miles a week seems to say as much.
For a runner 5 miles is decent maintenance but if you are looking to shed, upping mileage close to and past the double digits on a regular basis can shrink you right down.

In the absence of running, OP would need a complete nutrition plan to get rid of belly fat. Using resistance training would still require a nutrition plan.

We can sit here and try build a whole plan for him....
Would need a hell of a lot more info.

 

[schmuckley]

Umm...Doing 20 mins of highest-effort cardio raises your metabolism..
so does eating smaller more frequent meals.

 

[pauldun170]

Umm...Doing 20 mins of highest-effort cardio raises your metabolism..
so does eating smaller more frequent meals.

Doing 20 minutes of high effort cardio raises your metabolism for...about 20 minutes.

Weight training effect on metabolism is longer since the muscle repair\building process takes time.

You can eat small meals 5 times a day or or regular sized meals 3 times a day. Its the type of food that you are eating that counts the most and finding the balance between calories consumed and spent throughout the day. All while not trying to starve yourself

Whats your pace on your 5 mile runs? Are you running street or treadmill?
If you are running treadmill, what programs do you typically run at.

 

[Ventanni]

I've been a runner for going on 11 years now come February. Running is a great way to stay healthy, but if you want to lose the belly fat (especially at just 5 miles), you have to change your diet. What are you eating now? Can you give us a breakdown of your dietary intake?

Doing 20 minutes of high effort cardio raises your metabolism for...about 20 minutes.

If that's the case then why I do I have urge to devour everything in sight all the time? I may be 30 now, but my appetite is not slowing down whatsoever lol.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Not entirely accurate. Running burns around 100-125 calories per mile give or take depending on weight, pace or incline. Running is one of the more efficient ways to burn calories, but the key is you have to actually be running like 8 minute pace or better to get where it is efficient in proportion to the time spent.

As far as people who run marathons being fat or having belly fat, you won't see that on any of the sub 3 hour runners and not very likely in the sub 3:30 group either.

I can go to any gym and see plenty of guys and girls hammering away at the weights for hours that are plenty fat.

It's the diet, not the exercise that really controls the amount of body fat.

Understand that burning calories is not necessarily what will result in a flatter belly. Research shows that increased endurance exercise hones in one's hunger response. An accurate hunger response results in caloric maintenance and no change in weight. Weight training is much more effective at increase body mass and respectively reducing body fat percentage. It also gives the appearance of muscularity much sooner than just losing fat with cardio. In addition to this, any diet changes are easier to maintain because it does not stimulate the hunger response as vigorously as running does. This results in better comfort if in a caloric deficit while trying to lose fat.

 

[SP33Demon]

Doing 20 minutes of high effort cardio raises your metabolism for...about 20 minutes.

Weight training effect on metabolism is longer since the muscle repair\building process takes time.
...

This is absolutely wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong regarding HIIT cardio. There have been multiple studies that prove that HIIT cardio increases resting metabolism for around a day after the exercise, and this shit has been out since the 90's. There are also a shitload of other benefits over long distance running as well.

Since I don't have the time to pull out multiple studies, let's just wiki this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

According to a study by King,[16] HIIT increases the resting metabolic rate (RMR) for the following 24 hours due to excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, and may improve maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) more effectively than doing only traditional, long aerobic workouts.[17][18][19][20]

Additionally.

Metabolic benefits

Long aerobic workouts have been promoted as the best method to reduce fat, as it is popularly believed that fatty acid utilization usually occurs after at least 30 minutes of training.[citation needed] HIIT is somewhat counterintuitive in this regard, but has nonetheless been shown to burn fat more effectively.[14][23] There may be a number of factors that contribute to this, including an increase in resting metabolic rate. HIIT also significantly lowers insulin resistance and causes skeletal muscle adaptations that result in enhanced skeletal muscle fat oxidation and improved glucose tolerance.[23]

Timmons' group has shown that two weeks of HIIT can substantially improve insulin action in young healthy men.[24] In the aforementioned Horizon documentary, Michael Mosley, a borderline diabetic, saw a 24% improvement in insulin sensitivity after 4 weeks of Timmons' 3x20-second HIIT regimen, exactly in line with Timmons' larger studies.[13] Gibala's group reported a 35% increase in both insulin sensitivity and muscle oxidative capacity among seven sedentary people after just two weeks on the lower-intensity regimen outlined above.[12] Timmons believes that this response is due to HIIT using 80% of muscles in the body, compared to 40% for gentle jogging and cycling.[13] Similarly, in young women, HIIT three times per week for 15 weeks compared to the same frequency of steady state exercise (SSE) was associated with significant reductions in total body fat, subcutaneous leg and trunk fat, and insulin resistance.[25] HIIT may therefore help to prevent type-2 diabetes.

Cardiovascular disease

A 2011 study by Buchan et al. assessing the effect of HIIT on cardiovascular disease markers in adolescents reported that "brief, intense exercise is a time efficient means for improving CVD risk factors in adolescents".[26]

Sources:

13 "How To Get Fit With 3 Minutes Of Exercise A Week: BBC Doc Tries "HIT"". Medical News Today. 6 March 2012.
14 Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C (1994). "Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism". Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental 43 (7): 814–8. doi:10.1016/0026-0495(94)90259-3. PMID 8028502.
15 Gibala, Martin J; Jonathan P. Little, Martin van Essen, Geoffrey P. Wilkin, Kirsten A. Burgomaster, Adeel Safdar, Sandeep Raha and Mark A. Tarnopolsky (September 15 2006). "Short-term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance". Journal of Physiology 575 (3): 901–911. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2006.112094. PMC 1995688. PMID 16825308. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
16 King, Jeffrey W. A Comparison of the Effects of Interval Training vs. Continuous Training on Weight Loss and Body Composition in Obese Pre-Menopausal Women (M.A. thesis). East Tennessee State University.
17 Smith TP, Coombes JS, Geraghty DP (2003). "Optimising high-intensity treadmill training using the running speed at maximal O(2) uptake and the time for which this can be maintained". European Journal of Applied Physiology 89 (3–4): 337–43. doi:10.1007/s00421-003-0806-6. PMID 12736843.
18 Rozenek R, Funato K, Kubo J, Hoshikawa M, Matsuo A (2007). "Physiological responses to interval training sessions at velocities associated with VO2max". The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 21 (1): 188–92. doi:10.1519/R-19325.1. PMID 17313282.
19 Helgerud J, Høydal K, Wang E, et al. (2007). "Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2max more than moderate training". Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 39 (4): 665–71. doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e3180304570. PMID 17414804.
20 Esfarjani F, Laursen PB (2007). "Manipulating high-intensity interval training: effects on VO2max, the lactate threshold and 3000 m running performance in moderately trained males". Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 10 (1): 27–35. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2006.05.014. PMID 16876479.
21 Timmons et al (Jun 2010). "Using molecular classification to predict gains in maximal aerobic capacity following endurance exercise training in humans.". J Appl Physiol. 108(6): 1487–96. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01295.2009.
22 Driller Matthew, Fell James, Gregory John, Shing Cecilia, Williams Andrew (2009). "The effects of high-intensity interval training in well-trained rowers". International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 4: 1.
23 Boutcher SH (2011). "High-intensity intermittent exercise and fat loss". Journal of Obesity 2011: 868305. doi:10.1155/2011/868305. PMC 2991639. PMID 21113312.
24 Babraj J, Vollaard N, Keast C, Guppy F, Cottrell G, Timmons J (2009). "Extremely short duration high intensity interval training substantially improves insulin action in young healthy males". BMC Endocrine Disorders 9: 3. doi:10.1186/1472-6823-9-3. PMC 2640399. PMID 19175906.
25 Trapp EG, Chisholm DJ, Freund J, Boutcher SH (April 2008). "The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise training on fat loss and fasting insulin levels of young women". International Journal of Obesity 32 (4): 684–91. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803781. PMID 18197184.
26 Buchan DS, Ollis S, Young JD, et al. (2011). "The effects of time and intensity of exercise on novel and established markers of CVD in adolescent youth". American Journal of Human Biology 23 (4): 517–26. doi:10.1002/ajhb.21166. PMID 21465614.

Summary: If you want to lose fat, do HIIT cardio. It destroys long distance/endurance cardio in almost every way unless you're training for a marathon and have a disdain for keeping your muscle. Ideally you want to build muscle and do HIIT in your off-days. I started doing it (AST's MAX-OT Cardio first perfected this using scientific studies from the 90's) from around 2001-2006 until injury and saw amazing results.

 

[Megatomic]

Lots of good advice here. Running is great for weight control, jogging is not. I would say the OP needs to integrate speedwork (HIIT or just regular intervals) and weight training into his regimen. Along with the obligatory dietary adjustments of course.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Do you compete at all? Be aware that gaining muscle that increases your overall weight could hamper your times.

Otherwise, you need to hit the weights/build muscle mass if you want to lose weight. Outside of ridiculous time spent on a treadmill (hours upon hours a day which isn't sustainable), you're going to need help from muscle to burn calories. 1lb of muscle will burn about 50 calories a day, so add 5lbs of muscle and you're burning an extra 250/day just sitting there. How long does it take you to burn 250 calories for cardio, 30-60 minutes?

My recommendation is to focus on weights and do cardio on off days if you're concerned about appearance and want to slim down. Find a program and lift at least 3 days a week. Fixing your diet and getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep are vital. Try not to mix cardio and weights on the same day or you will risk catabolic muscle loss (assuming you are performing both at a longer and sustained amount of time). Most hardcore bodybuilders don't even perform cardio outside of walking or light running to warm the body up; their bodies do the calorie burning for them. Muscle also weighs more so at advanced levels you will have to expend more energy from simple tasks like walking.

where did you get the # for calorie burn per pound of muscle???

Also, I started cardio back up again for a cut...if you use max incline on a treadmill and walk at a brisk pace, you can burn 500 cal. in 30 - 40 minutes easily.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Lots of good advice here. Running is great for weight control, jogging is not. I would say the OP needs to integrate speedwork (HIIT or just regular intervals) and weight training into his regimen. Along with the obligatory dietary adjustments of course.

just curious, why is running good but jogging is not? don't both burn calories?

 

[jpetermann]

Wow. A lot of good AND different advice here guys. Here are some answers to some of the questions in posts above.

I run 5 miles at just under 8 minute miles. Could do a bit faster, but just have not gone that route yet. I run on a treadmill most of he time. I do not set it on any program at all other than raising incline slightly at times. When it is nice out, I do run outside a bit as well... Maybe two times a week at most.

I am comfortable at my weight, just want to lost that belly. I would not mind being about 12 pounds lighter, but is not my main goal.

My diet is basically just portion control. I am not a big sweet eater, so I do not consume a ton of sugar through sweets at all. No pop (gave that up 6 years ago). I drink mostly water and coffee.

I honestly have not avoided too much food. Again, I just try to eat good foods: a lot of veggies, no beef, lots of chicken and fish. I realize I will have to change my diet and will research it.

Thanks for all e feedback

 

[Megatomic]

just curious, why is running good but jogging is not? don't both burn calories?

Jogging does burn calories, but the intensity is so low that often times a jogger is moving not much faster than a fast walker. Running faster increases your metabolism much more and engages your anaerobic system. Jogging does not.

PS - jogging is good, if that's the best a person can do then they should continue to do it. Some physical activity is way better than nothing.

 

[pauldun170]

Wow. A lot of good AND different advice here guys. Here are some answers to some of the questions in posts above.

I run 5 miles at just under 8 minute miles. Could do a bit faster, but just have not gone that route yet. I run on a treadmill most of he time. I do not set it on any program at all other than raising incline slightly at times. When it is nice out, I do run outside a bit as well... Maybe two times a week at most.

I am comfortable at my weight, just want to lost that belly. I would not mind being about 12 pounds lighter, but is not my main goal.

My diet is basically just portion control. I am not a big sweet eater, so I do not consume a ton of sugar through sweets at all. No pop (gave that up 6 years ago). I drink mostly water and coffee.

I honestly have not avoided too much food. Again, I just try to eat good foods: a lot of veggies, no beef, lots of chicken and fish. I realize I will have to change my diet and will research it.

Thanks for all e feedback

Based on this, all you really need to do is push your mileage and min\mile up.
Also keep this in mind
http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/eight-weight-loss-mistakes-runners-make


Incorporating some weight training is always a good idea and you may want to start doing that.

 

[Zivic]

My diet is basically just portion control. I am not a big sweet eater, so I do not consume a ton of sugar through sweets at all. No pop (gave that up 6 years ago). I drink mostly water and coffee.

I honestly have not avoided too much food. Again, I just try to eat good foods: a lot of veggies, no beef, lots of chicken and fish. I realize I will have to change my diet and will research it.

Thanks for all e feedback

at the end of the day, "what" you ate is less important than "how much" you ate.

get myfitnesspal or tap n track and track everything you eat. figure out exactly how many calories you are consuming first, then worry about the breakdown.

This will do more for you than any amount of running/lifting/exercising

 

[Megatomic]

at the end of the day, "what" you ate is less important than "how much" you ate.

get myfitnesspal or tap n track and track everything you eat. figure out exactly how many calories you are consuming first, then worry about the breakdown.

This will do more for you than any amount of running/lifting/exercising

Agreed 100%.

 

[Megatomic]

Incorporating some weight training is always a good idea and you may want to start doing that.

Weight training is a huge boon to running also. Most people don't know that.