Exercise to burn calories

[chuckman]

Every time I hear someone say "You don't have to run" I just cringe.

Point taken, but doesn't it depend on one's goals? You can get in great shape and be perfectly fit without running. I think on this forum, most people are mil or LEO or at least familiar with the lifestyle enough to incorporate running in their workout regimen, so we tend to focus on it.

I run because it helps me shed pounds and be 'in shape,' but the days of distance running and sprints are behind me. The only thing I run from these days is the scale.

[bp7178]

You can get in great shape and be perfectly fit without running.

I don't think so, but "in shape" can be defined different ways to different people depending on their goals.

Cardio vascular fitness is my goal in distance running, but I really don't run serious distance anymore. My last run (yesterday) was 4 miles in 30 minutes on the money.

Too much of anything is bad, and to me in shape means a balance of fitness.

Running in the police academy was a joke. Too many fat people.

So yes, I agree that it depends on your goals.

[chuckman]

I don't think so, but "in shape" can be defined different ways to different people depending on their goals.

Cardio vascular fitness is my goal in distance running, but I really don't run serious distance anymore. My last run (yesterday) was 4 miles in 30 minutes on the money.

Too much of anything is bad, and to me in shape means a balance of fitness.

Running in the police academy was a joke. Too many fat people.

So yes, I agree that it depends on your goals.

I don't disagree with most of your points. In fact, if it weren't for running, my lard ass would be a lardier ass.

Some people bike hundreds of miles a week, some swim dozens of miles. Many of them are very fit. Run from here to there? Probably not so much.

I agree re: balance of fitness. I try to maintain balance between cardio (not exclusive to but including running), body-weight circuit stuff, and weights and the gym. I am not in the shape I was when I was 20-something and in the employ of Uncle Sam, but I am maintaining a semblance of where I need to be with my life at this time.

Running in boot camp was a joke, too, and it wasn't unitl I got to my first unit when I learned what 'fast' was.

[bp7178]

Some of those guys who bike hundreds of miles or can run marathons at the drop of a dime can't bench their body weight. I'd rather be ok at everything as opposed to great at one thing, when it comes to that stuff.

Right now I'm probably only doing 4 mile runs twice a week. Other than that, it's a quick mile to warm up before lifting, except on leg days.

I did find that doing strength training, leg stuff, dropped my natural
pace way down.

I have found that running too much makes it really hard to gain strength.

For what it's worth, light cardio and circuit training was amazing for weight loss.

[Blaster]

When I had more time on my hands I would go straight from work to the gym. Then home to the bike. I was doing approximately 200 - 250 miles per week on my road bike. Tuesday evenings I would head out to the local club ride. http://laurelbicycleclub.org/Sleeping_Giant_Rides.aspx

To a certain degree it seamed like I had picked two forms of exercise that really conflicted with each other. I stood out among typical bikers because I had meat on my upper body. It hurt me in the hills because it was added weight that had to be carried up. However on the flats I was a force to be reckoned with. I remember a time the Yale cycling team rode with us. I never formally raced but the club rides were quite competitive and some Yalie tried to lean on me to get better position for the final sprint. I guess he was quite surprised when I gave him the same back and nearly put him off the road.

Nowadays I still hit the gym at lunch time but don't have the time to put the countless hours in on the bike. Back then I could eat endlessly and never gain a gram of fat.

For a while there I tried to incorporate some open water swimming and running as well. I was thinking about giving a triathlon a try. Wow going straight from the bike to running is an interesting experience. My legs would take a while to get out of bike mode and settle into run mode.

[bp7178]

A woman I was dating for a hot minute was into triathlons. It sounds interesting, but 11-12 hours is a long time to do anything. She had finished the Flordia Ironman, it's an impressive event.

She said the key to a good time was transitions and the run. The bike is the longest leg, but the run wipes most people out. It was interesting running with her. Very good form and she ran a dead even pace. It was fun running slightly behind her for the scenery. Not the fastest pace ever, but great on the distance.

At one point I wanted to get into cross training; doing bricks. Like 10 miles on the bike and a 5k after. I just can't figure out the stupid display thing on the bike at the gym.

[chuckman]

I did a few tri's (NOT Ironman), and enjoyed them. I did them to check a box to say "yeah, I did 'em" rather than really compete. It's interesting how running, biking, and swimming incorporate different muscle groups (quads vs glutes, etc), and I recall the jelly-like legs transitioning from one event to the other. My hat is off to the Ironman folks. That's just crazy.

When I was in college a million years ago I knew a guy that was a "professional racer," competing in tri's, bike races, marathons, everything he could. He ended up making some money in it (hence "professional"), which paid for the 9 hours a semester he took. He was ALWAYS training, to the detriment of any semblance of a personal life. Again a good lesson on moderation and balance.

[WillBrink]

I did a few tri's (NOT Ironman), and enjoyed them. I did them to check a box to say "yeah, I did 'em" rather than really compete. It's interesting how running, biking, and swimming incorporate different muscle groups (quads vs glutes, etc), and I recall the jelly-like legs transitioning from one event to the other. My hat is off to the Ironman folks. That's just crazy.

When I was in college a million years ago I knew a guy that was a "professional racer," competing in tri's, bike races, marathons, everything he could. He ended up making some money in it (hence "professional"), which paid for the 9 hours a semester he took. He was ALWAYS training, to the detriment of any semblance of a personal life. Again a good lesson on moderation and balance.

Pro bbers and other high level athletes I have worked with (O level sprinters, etc) essentially had no life outside of training. For me, a life without some balance is no life at all. I also come from a long line of people that are/were very accomplished, but not at all balanced, and I saw what that did also.

[JW5219]

Pro bbers and other high level athletes I have worked with (O level sprinters, etc) essentially had no life outside of training. For me, a life without some balance is no life at all. I also come from a long line of people that are/were very accomplished, but not at all balanced, and I saw what that did also.

Amen to that brother! IMHO, life is all about balance.

[jawalterusmc]

I use to run all the time to stay in shape, always a first class PFTer, and completed three marathons. But a few years after I retired I was run over by some punk kid on his bike and tore my achilles tendon. The last few years I have been using elipticals and other machines, taking the dog for longer walks, but never really did the same for me. I finally borrowed some of the Power 90 work out videos (Tony Horton), sort of a precursor for the P90X. All I can say is WOW. 30-45 minutes 5 days week and I am in better shape now then when I was on active duty. Great combination of cardio, abs, weights, etc. Suitable for anyone regardless of sex, age, or current health condition.