[greymoose]

sooo okay ive been running for 15 min for the past two days, causei always said i would exercise, but never got to it and its now my resolution. ahhaah but my friend just told me that doing cardio for less than 30 min doesnt do ANYTHING! ): is that true?):

oh and .. i never really did exercise before so i mean if i start even for a little it should get SOMEwhere correct?
sooo my question is!

Is it true to start burning off fat you have to do cardio for half an hour straight?

[Makaveli]

You are right that you need to start off somewhere. 15mins is fine to start.
Let me put it this way Any Activity > No Activity. Regardless of how long you run,
you still burn calories, it's just the amount burned is different. So you are still doing something.
Just keep doin what you're doin. Don't forget to try to increase you intensity at every chance.
Then you will make improvements.

[Shikabane Hime]

Depends when you want results.
You can run for 5 months, and you may burn fat. You can do cardio for 2 days, probably not.

[KIM_SAYS:]

Yeah, 15 min is fine if you're just starting off. Trust me you do not want to start off running TOO much. Your body needs to get used it gradually, then you can eventually go into running 30 min.

[tranceeee]

you should listen to Makaveli cause his a fitness trainer

i run for 15+ each day and i have notice some changes (i've gotten leaner..YAY!)

[chopstick^^]

U cant loose weight over night, so u just got to keep it up.

Hula hoop, sit up's for the stomach fat.

u got to do different excercise for different part of the body.

If u dnt like going out u can buy a running machine.

[Cares]

From what I've heard from several fitness addicts, there is a certain amount of time which you are being less effective in burning calories. I don't know the exact amount of time but 30 minutes sounds about right. But of course Makaveli is correct: any activity is better than no activity. Unless of course, you injury yourself

[emceej]

work yourself into it. 15 minutes is a good start but eventually your body gets used to it and you tend to go more than 15 minutes. i started with only 5-10 minutes. as my body got used to it, i started doing 15 and eventually up to 20-30.

[sungkim18]

what your friend is say doesn't make sense at all your fine Any exercise is exercise. when you exercise your burning cal. obviously if your run for 15 min your burning cal.
yea even sex is exersicing don't listen to your friend lol good luck on your resolution

[iyagi]

Just do what's comfortable for you.
If that means you gotta start slow, then that's fine (: as long as you have the patience and are able to keep it up/improve. You'll be fine!


I've started running an hour a day, but it's not a straight hour of just running since I'm a sprinter.
And I split it up into two half hour segments. One half hour in the morning/afternoon, one later in the evening. I remember reading somewhere that this method was a good way to run.

[PoppinBC]

It's probably better to start slow. If you shock your body really quickly, then you can mess yourself up big time, and make it very difficult to get started. Take it easy, every week or two gradually increase the amount you do.

Also, avoid the treadmill... get on an elliptical machine or bike machine. Higher gains and less stress on your joints.

[redvelvet.]

15 minutes of running is fine; you need to gradually build your stamina.
Like what Makaveli said; exercising is better than no excercising.

[weee: )]

Yeah...what the others said. But I want to add.....since it is true that your body isn't really pumped up until you've been working out for quite some time, you should maybe walk for about 15 minutes, and THEN get into running....that's how I started off. I would just walk about for 20 minutes, then run for 10 minutes. Now, after about 3 months, I walk for about 20 minutes, but now I can run up to 2 hours straight without getting tired. So you do need to kind of 'warm' your body up before running, I guess is what I'm saying, lol

[kinein]

sooo okay ive been running for 15 min for the past two days, causei always said i would exercise, but never got to it and its now my resolution. ahhaah but my friend just told me that doing cardio for less than 30 min doesnt do ANYTHING! ): is that true?):

oh and .. i never really did exercise before so i mean if i start even for a little it should get SOMEwhere correct?
sooo my question is!

Is it true to start burning off fat you have to do cardio for half an hour straight?

No it is not true, you do burn some calories. Also it depends on how crazy this running is and if your sweating a lot, feeling your lungs struggle, feeling the tightness in your legs etc blah blah ~ I guarantee 15 minutes of real sprinter training vs 30 min of the pedestrian chubby fat person on the verge of obesity will be more effective!

Your off to a good start because your DOING instead of just sitting on soompi reading! You are getting somewhere and should continue to do what you can! If you are just learning how to exercise remember the 3 key points. Exercise, Eating, Sleeping.

If you can thoroughly address eating and exercise then sleep will come naturally or SHOULD.

To burn fat you want to operate at a calorie deficit ~ but at the same time you need to eat consistently some people get away with 4 meals a day, others have to eat 7-8, also it depends on your goals. For those that want to look like sticks, or ripped skeletons, or like a weekend warrior you don't have to be that strict. For a girl that is trying to build a butt, nice curvy sleek legs, etc. Or a guy that wants to look like he won't be blown away by the wind then they would probably have to eat 5-6.. or more meals a day.

Do as much as you can and everyday try to do more! if you can only do 15 minutes right now. Do those 15 minutes and make each second count!

[M0GA]

i was wondering about this myself since I do both cross country and track..

the most effective way to lose weight is switching from from aerobic to anaerobic activity continuously [sprint then job and repeat.. soccer is good with that too ;D]

but like others have said.. you're burning calories either way and it will take some time.. but good luck [=

[S.O.M.E.XDAY]

15 minutes is rather good than nothing. I've used to do some running..like yours 15 minutes is the called and I can't go any further than that cause I'm busy. but now ...I keep on pushing myself far more..add on a few minutes more and now it becomes 25-30 minutes per day .

plug yourself with some music and you definitely will lost the count of minutes. you will be enjoying your exercise MOAR!!!

[IIris]

Yup, like many users said already, it's good to start 15min and work your way up.

And of course doing any kind of exercise will burn calories, and if your calorie intake < calorie output then you will definitely lose weight over time if you keep up the exercise. Also, by building up muscle, you will start to burn more calories even BETWEEN your bouts of exercise, because muscle burns more calories than having fat!

However, getting technical, for the first 30min of exercise you are mostly using carbs as your fuel source. It's not until 45-60 min that you actually start using and burning fat directly, since it takes longer for the fat burning systems to get started and that's when your carb stores start getting lower.

[loverlyxcth]

If you want to lose weight 30 min does nothing.
Doing 30min just uses up your energy from food,
but doesnt use up fat.

[Tedd2222]

I totally agree with Makaveli. if you want to burn fat, it totally depends on intensity, every routine does. For example, if i train for an hour straight and i burn 500 calories, i can prolly see another guy do the same but do 500 calories in 30mins. it just depends on how educated about how to work efficiently to save some time you know. I can personally train for about 2-3hours and burn off well over 1000 calories-.- (ugh that was killer times).
to sum it all up lolz, it depends on how hard you work lolz, keep at it and dont discourage yourself. work hard and train smart =]