10k or 2x 5k runs?

[RWD cossie wil]

Ok, bit of a strange one, but I'm looking to lose weight & increase my fitness.... an I better off doing 1x 10k a day, or 2 5k runs split morning/evening?

[Piginapoke]

Best to start with 5ks if you are new to running. No colories burned when you are injured on the sofa.

[RWD cossie wil]

Doing 5k in about 28 mins at the moment, 10k in an hour. More interested if it's beneficial to do 2 lots of smaller exercise or a longer period to keep heart rate elevated for longer?

[The jiffle king]

I don't know your running history, but if you are looking for fitness, I would do the following:

Build up to 3-4 times a week starting at 5k and move towards 10k
Build this up to 6-7 days a week. Use a training plan which will give you variety in your runs/distance
To move to double days, you need to be running 60+ miles a week really (the odd one is not going to hurt)

I would increase the distance on your runs, but mix them up, a x 5k fast one day, 8k slower another day, 10-12k another day to build stamina

Not sure if this answers your question? If not, explain a little more and I can try again

[grumbledoak]

I think in the broadest terms that it is better for you to train for a sprint than for a marathon, but if you are getting older then your 100m best is probably behind you.

You need to run three times a week to progress, it is said; twice just to stay still. So I would aim for two 5km runs and one longer run, with some sprints thrown in when you are warm.

Don't up your running by more than 10% per week!

[tenohfive]

For fat burning you're best off looking at HIIT stuff - be it simple intervals, fartlek or hill reps. I'm a big fan of the latter as you get all the benefit but with less impact (so less injury risk.) And it builds leg strength too as an added bonus.

A good balanced workout plan has a good mix though - long steady runs for aerobic endurance, HIIT stuff for anaerobic/LT improvement. As others have said - build up steadily (and I say this as a perpetually injured hypocrit who is rubbish at following that advice.)

Others than general fitness/wellness is there a long term aim?

[RWD cossie wil]

tenohfive said:

For fat burning you're best off looking at HIIT stuff - be it simple intervals, fartlek or hill reps. I'm a big fan of the latter as you get all the benefit but with less impact (so less injury risk.) And it builds leg strength too as an added bonus.

A good balanced workout plan has a good mix though - long steady runs for aerobic endurance, HIIT stuff for anaerobic/LT improvement. As others have said - build up steadily (and I say this as a perpetually injured hypocrit who is rubbish at following that advice.)

Others than general fitness/wellness is there a long term aim?

Weightless
Fitness overall
Half marathon
Full marathon

[egor110]

RWD cossie wil said:

tenohfive said:

For fat burning you're best off looking at HIIT stuff - be it simple intervals, fartlek or hill reps. I'm a big fan of the latter as you get all the benefit but with less impact (so less injury risk.) And it builds leg strength too as an added bonus.

A good balanced workout plan has a good mix though - long steady runs for aerobic endurance, HIIT stuff for anaerobic/LT improvement. As others have said - build up steadily (and I say this as a perpetually injured hypocrit who is rubbish at following that advice.)

Others than general fitness/wellness is there a long term aim?

Weightless
Fitness overall
Half marathon
Full marathon

if you want to do 13/26 miles then you will have to start running longer and slower with 2 or 3 quicker 10k runs however if you just want to loose weight you need to do more fartlek based stuff like 5k run and sprint between every 5th lamp post or sprint the goal line on a footie pitch and jog the long line and just keep repeating that.

[egor110]

tenohfive said:

For fat burning you're best off looking at HIIT stuff - be it simple intervals, fartlek or hill reps. I'm a big fan of the latter as you get all the benefit but with less impact (so less injury risk.) And it builds leg strength too as an added bonus.

A good balanced workout plan has a good mix though - long steady runs for aerobic endurance, HIIT stuff for anaerobic/LT improvement. As others have said - build up steadily (and I say this as a perpetually injured hypocrit who is rubbish at following that advice.)

Others than general fitness/wellness is there a long term aim?

have you tried running more often but less miles ?

i'm training for a ultra in july so doing back to back runs and i've never been as injury free ( touch wood)

my physio does big ultras and she recommended running everyday even if it's just for 1 mile as it stops the legs getting stiff , the only time she doesn't is right before a race or if she's injured.

[tenohfive]

egor110 said:

have you tried running more often but less miles ?

i'm training for a ultra in july so doing back to back runs and i've never been as injury free ( touch wood)

my physio does big ultras and she recommended running everyday even if it's just for 1 mile as it stops the legs getting stiff , the only time she doesn't is right before a race or if she's injured.

I do daily stretches to achieve the same result. And my current physio has got me doing a strengthening routine (weighted squats, deadlifts etc) for injury prevention. That's something that *touch wood* seems to be working, and there's a lot of information out there suggesting that it's an effective method of injury prevention and a growing trend.

I'm not doing miles in any case but that doesn't concern me too much - I've trained for some big events (including ultras) on a fraction of my current mileage. I'm a firm believer that at the amateur end of the scale the quality of your training is much more important than the quantity; you can get to the same point either way, but smart training can be more effective than just hammering in as many miles as possible.

[egor110]

tenohfive said:

egor110 said:

have you tried running more often but less miles ?

i'm training for a ultra in july so doing back to back runs and i've never been as injury free ( touch wood)

my physio does big ultras and she recommended running everyday even if it's just for 1 mile as it stops the legs getting stiff , the only time she doesn't is right before a race or if she's injured.

I do daily stretches to achieve the same result. And my current physio has got me doing a strengthening routine (weighted squats, deadlifts etc) for injury prevention. That's something that *touch wood* seems to be working, and there's a lot of information out there suggesting that it's an effective method of injury prevention and a growing trend.

I'm not doing miles in any case but that doesn't concern me too much - I've trained for some big events (including ultras) on a fraction of my current mileage. I'm a firm believer that at the amateur end of the scale the quality of your training is much more important than the quantity; you can get to the same point either way, but smart training can be more effective than just hammering in as many miles as possible.

That's my point though your not hammering as many miles as possible , your doing your scheduled runs so like 10k tues/thurs.sat then your long slow run sunday but the mon/weds your going out even if it's just to do a mile to keep your legs moving.

I did a lot of weight stuff over the winter but found i was getting lots of niggles around my knees compared to last summer where i was running 3 times a week off road and doing lots of hill reps up to trig points .

On a 50 mile ultra what was your longest training run ?

somebody i run with has just done one and went up to 30 but said from miles 35 his legs weren't working properly and he felt really sick , he was mixing up his food so not relying on gels and had plenty to drink so is it just a case of doing a longer training run or accepting the end of a ultra isn't going to be enjoyable?

[tenohfive]

egor110 said:

That's my point though your not hammering as many miles as possible , your doing your scheduled runs so like 10k tues/thurs.sat then your long slow run sunday but the mon/weds your going out even if it's just to do a mile to keep your legs moving.

I did a lot of weight stuff over the winter but found i was getting lots of niggles around my knees compared to last summer where i was running 3 times a week off road and doing lots of hill reps up to trig points .

On a 50 mile ultra what was your longest training run ?

somebody i run with has just done one and went up to 30 but said from miles 35 his legs weren't working properly and he felt really sick , he was mixing up his food so not relying on gels and had plenty to drink so is it just a case of doing a longer training run or accepting the end of a ultra isn't going to be enjoyable?

I think we're going OT for this thread and I don't want to overcomplicate things for the OP, drop me a PM and I'll happily share my thoughts on the above.

[Jimbo NW]

Have you considered doing a nice long slowish run early morning? Prefasted cardio has always helped me shed lbs quickly.

Then maybe do 2-3 hiit sessions in the evenings for say 20/30mins.

[mattfuey]

RWD cossie wil said:

Weightless
Fitness overall
Half marathon
Full marathon

When I was training for the London marathon I dropped a shed load of weight during training, and got a lot fitter.

If a marathon is your goal, start following a training plan for either a half or full distance would be my advice, based purely on my own experience of doing so.

[RWD cossie wil]

mattfuey said:

When I was training for the London marathon I dropped a shed load of weight during training, and got a lot fitter.

If a marathon is your goal, start following a training plan for either a half or full distance would be my advice, based purely on my own experience of doing so.

I'm building my distances up slowly, I suppose the basic question is more, shorter duration training better than longer, less frequent?

[Foliage]

RWD cossie wil said:

mattfuey said:

When I was training for the London marathon I dropped a shed load of weight during training, and got a lot fitter.

If a marathon is your goal, start following a training plan for either a half or full distance would be my advice, based purely on my own experience of doing so.

I'm building my distances up slowly, I suppose the basic question is more, shorter duration training better than longer, less frequent?

Best is a mix, do a short, a medium and a long a week. so a 3 a 5 and a 10 a week or a 5 a 10 and a 21 a week. I usually (not at the mo injured) do the short as HIIT/fartlek sprints, the shorter distance should be run faster than the longer so your training develops your fast and slow twitch fibres (your dark and light meat lol)

If you haven't run 5k before I cant recommend couch to 5k enough, its a great program. once you've done 5k comfortably you can just gradually add distance once a week to get to the distance you require.


Just to add, weight is lost in the kitchen.

[mattfuey]

RWD cossie wil said:

I'm building my distances up slowly, I suppose the basic question is more, shorter duration training better than longer, less frequent?

https://rw.runnersworld.com/training-plan-finder/marathon-training-plans.html

Pick one of those. I was doing 3/4 runs a week. 3 were shorter, 1 long run every weekend.

Foliage said:

Just to add, weight is lost in the kitchen.

Would echo this too, proper diet and move more, it soon shifts.

[RWD cossie wil]

Foliage said:

RWD cossie wil said:

mattfuey said:

When I was training for the London marathon I dropped a shed load of weight during training, and got a lot fitter.

If a marathon is your goal, start following a training plan for either a half or full distance would be my advice, based purely on my own experience of doing so.

I'm building my distances up slowly, I suppose the basic question is more, shorter duration training better than longer, less frequent?

Best is a mix, do a short, a medium and a long a week. so a 3 a 5 and a 10 a week or a 5 a 10 and a 21 a week. I usually (not at the mo injured) do the short as HIIT/fartlek sprints, the shorter distance should be run faster than the longer so your training develops your fast and slow twitch fibres (your dark and light meat lol)

If you haven't run 5k before I cant recommend couch to 5k enough, its a great program. once you've done 5k comfortably you can just gradually add distance once a week to get to the distance you require.


Just to add, weight is lost in the kitchen.

My kitchen is far too small to put the distance in required to fat burn, got to do it outside

[Halb]

If you wish to keep muscle, which is the best fat burning there is, stick to 5ks as regular runs.

[Willy Nilly]

RWD cossie wil said:

Ok, bit of a strange one, but I'm looking to lose weight & increase my fitness.... an I better off doing 1x 10k a day, or 2 5k runs split morning/evening?

If you want to lose weight, you have to eat less calories than you burn. A sports watch will show you who many calories each run has burnt. I am 9 stone and this mornings parkrun burnt 276 calories, which is a small bar of chocolate or something.

If you sort your diet out for a start, in small manageable steps, so you are eating the right things, you should start to lose some weight. Then add in things like parking at the far end of the car park, walking to the shops, taking the stairs instead of the lift and you may even be able to cycle to work. Then you will start to shed pounds and also get fitter.

Now we have the running.

Decide what you want to achieve. It doesn't matter if it's 5k, 10k, a half or full marathon. Each of those distances will get you fit and lean if you put the effort in. But you need to enjoy the training and running if you are going to keep it up and achieve your goals.

It would be advisable to find decent, friendly local running club that caters for newbies and experienced runners alike. Look at their websites and face book pages. If its just races and fast times, proceed with caution. If it's races with fast and slow runners, nights out and going on the lash, sign up. Then sign up for parkrun, get your bar code and give that a shot. It's free and you can do them all over the place every Saturday morning.

Back to loosing weight. Go to any race, 5k up to marathon and there's a pattern. At the front are the racing snakes, skinny, lean and fast. As the field progresses the participants get slower and fatter. So just because you can get around a marathon, doesn't make you lean. You will still need to eat properly and train hard and smart. Even training for a good 5k, which is a parkrun that you can do every week, can take up a lot of time if you want to go fast. Mo Farah is pretty handy at this distance and is very lean and fit. So don't be under the impression that marathon running is the holy grail. You can spend a decent amount of time training for a 5k, get very fit and the race only take a matter of minutes, which doesn't take up a whole day and leave you a wreck for a month afterwards. It is my considered opinion that you need 2 years to build up a a decent marathon time and these 16 week marathon plans are a path to injury.

There are so many options with running, all sorts of different distances, terrains, even things like the 24 hour races that can be team events, so you don't need to limit yourself to a handful of well known distances.

The most important thing is to enjoy your exercise or you just won't do it.

Have fun!