Getting fit, when do you start to feel better?

[Sockpuppet]

Not likely to lose weight walking.

Low intensity exercise is better for losing weight than high intensity cardio. So walking is ideal.

[Mich the Tester]

I'm staying away from the 'killer' sessions, so it may take a bit longer.

It doesn't really work that way; your body needs a rest from training for 5 to 7 days continually every 5 to 8 weeks, depending on age and basic fitness. Look at athletes; many of them beat their personal best just after they've had time out with an injury; the injury forced them to rest and let their bodies adapt.

Remember that even without the killer sessions, you're asking your body to adapt and 'supercompensate' every time you train; that takes a hell of a lot energy. Training si about the overload principle; you push yourself a little buit harder every time (or lift a slightly bigger weight, lift it more often, run a bit faster or a bit further etc) and your body adapts to the new level of performance, overcompensating slightly; it can't do that without rest. Talk to your personal trainer about the training load and tell him you feel you might have been overloading yourself too much. If he knows his trade he'll adapt the training to help, or advise you on your diet if that's a problem.

[JamJarST]

Low intensity exercise is better for losing weight than high intensity cardio. So walking is ideal.

Actually exercise that puts you in the fat burning zone is better than high intensity cardio, but normal walking doesn't raise the heart rate enough.

[Sockpuppet]

Actually exercise that puts you in the fat burning zone is better than high intensity cardio, but normal walking doesn't raise the heart rate enough.

Depends how unfit you are and what you define as walking.

[JamJarST]

Depends how unfit you are and what you define as walking.

Yes that is true.

[Mich the Tester]

Low intensity exercise is better for losing weight than high intensity cardio. So walking is ideal.

Not necessarily the case. If someone's a fat lump of blubber that hasn't moved from the couch in years, gentle walking would indeed be the right thing, especially seeing as he'd probably have a heart attack if it was any harder. However, if someone is fit or very fit and needs to shed some fat, then one long aerobic session and a couple of shorter sessions of interval training each week plus strength training will get more progess. I talked to some coaches who work with professional soccer players and who tell me that when the players get back from their summer break they've often developed a 'beer and chips pouch', and that the first few sessions of training will involve the kind of thing every sportsman hates; burpees, 300 metre sprints uphill and shuttle runs with very little rest. Their belly disappears very quickly because their heart then beats a little faster than normal and they take in a little more oxygen than normal all night when they go to bed after training; as I say, I wouldn't recommend that kind of thing for people who aren't fit to start with.

[TimberWolf]

You can expect to put on weight as you build muscle.

Throw away the scales and start using the tape measure, your clothes will start to feel more comfortable/too big as you start to tone up.

As for feeling better, do you notice that you no longer sound like a wounded wart hog after climbing 3 flights of stairs at a gallop?

It's those little things you'll notice.

I don't think women can expect to gain a significant amount of weight from building muscles. IIRC female body builders with more than their fair share of testosterone and training like banshees can't pack on more than a couple of pounds of muscle a year.

[DaveB]

Actually exercise that puts you in the fat burning zone is better than high intensity cardio, but normal walking doesn't raise the heart rate enough.

At a brisk walk (3-4 mph) you'll burn 300-350 calories an hour, so it's actually a good way of loosing weight over time without the injury risks of jogging.

[Mich the Tester]

I don't think women can expect to gain a significant amount of weight from building muscles. IIRC female body builders with more than their fair share of testosterone and training like banshees can't pack on more than a couple of pounds of muscle a year.

About a pound to 2 pounds a month is possible without steroids, but it involves spending a lot of time in the gym training to muscle failure and eating a lot.

But genetics plays a huge role; if you're geneticaly predisposed to building muscle mass than you'll get heavier more quickly than those who aren't.

[TimberWolf]

Low intensity exercise is better for losing weight than high intensity cardio. So walking is ideal.

Especially uphill, where being heavy works in your favour, in the sense of making it more work.

Even fit people don't break the laws of physics walking uphill, no matter how hard they train, mgh (mass , grvaity, height) is the minimum, and that can be multiplied by 4 or more depending on fitness.