Bad to run 3 miles every day?

[PrinceTTU]

I am trying to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.

I have gained as much muscle as I really want, I just need to lose all this nasty fat, lol. My plan was to have a great diet and do cardio every single day. My plan is to run 3 miles per day, every day. Is this bad?

[OhioUstud]

I am trying to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.

I have gained as much muscle as I really want, I just need to lose all this nasty fat, lol. My plan was to have a great diet and do cardio every single day. My plan is to run 3 miles per day, every day. Is this bad?

Nope. 3 miles/day is great for your heart and burning fat. You will certainly dip beyond your stored glycogen reserve and into the fat tissue. Just look at high school and college cross-country runners; they do mileage like that or a little higher everyday and nearly all of them are totally ripped.

Be sure to stay hydrated throughout the day. Once you get used to the mileage you could bump it up to like 5 miles, 4 times per week or something like that.

If you need a recovery day once every week or every two weeks then definitely take that day off. Just be sure to keep it up after you day off.

[JezerOne]

I was doing a 3 mile run as fast as possible after lifting about 5 times a week when I was losing weight. 3 miles is just perfect, change it up a bit when you see fit.

[PrinceTTU]

ok awesome. thanks a ton guys!!!

[numinix]

Nope. 3 miles/day is great for your heart and burning fat. You will certainly dip beyond your stored glycogen reserve and into the fat tissue. Just look at high school and college cross-country runners; they do mileage like that or a little higher everyday and nearly all of them are totally ripped.

Be sure to stay hydrated throughout the day. Once you get used to the mileage you could bump it up to like 5 miles, 4 times per week or something like that.

If you need a recovery day once every week or every two weeks then definitely take that day off. Just be sure to keep it up after you day off.

if he were to go beyond his glycogen stores he would be unable to move. your body doesn't run out of glycogen and there isn't much evidence of it switching to fat burning. Muscle catabolism is more likely to occur.

Anyways, running is good, just make sure you are eating enough to support your workouts + cardio. Since your going to be doing so many activities, you'll have to eat more to remain at -500. It's up to you.

[madmardigan]

Running 3 miles a day is great. I was at my leanest when I was running 3-4 miles a day maybe 4-5 days a week. It also allowed alot more wiggle room in my diet, which with some stretches of time at work, I need.

Just make sure if you have a decent-sized layoff from running, you ease back into it rather than try going full bore immediately. And get fitted for quality sneakers and get new ones every 3-6 months. I learned my lesson this year.

[ironford]

i would recomend finding a running store and getting your feet fited to a pair of running shoes though, that can make all the differece in the world.

[enforcerlady]

Just make sure to completely take off one day a week. However, you could walk 3 miles on your rest day if you like. Also, if you start getting sick of running or your body is wearing down, mix it up and try the stationary bike or swimming, or something.

[efini84]

if fat loss & muscle retention are your primary concerns, interval based training is far superior to steady state cardio...

[Geeper]

When I seriously stalled in my weight loss I gave up the elliptical, the bike etc and started running 3 miles a day 4 days a week and weight started to fall off me. It's a good distance in that it doesn't take too long and doesn't destroy your body too much like something longer. Get good sneakers, and run on something that will make your knees love you. it's also good to keep your cardio level high but allow you to eat a few extra calories at times like Christmas)

[Lager1]

I wish I had the drive to run 3 miles a day. You should definitely do it if you want to. It certainly won't hurt you. Just make sure you eat enough carbs in the morning and protein before bed to repair.

[OhioUstud]

if he were to go beyond his glycogen stores he would be unable to move. your body doesn't run out of glycogen and there isn't much evidence of it switching to fat burning. Muscle catabolism is more likely to occur.

Anyways, running is good, just make sure you are eating enough to support your workouts + cardio. Since your going to be doing so many activities, you'll have to eat more to remain at -500. It's up to you.

Nope. That is not true. I have finals right now so I can't look it up but I will after finals.

[PennState]

yes running is good. Very good infact. You have to remember that a lot of these guys on the boards are straight up into bodybuilding. They could care less about cardio. To them its just about losing the fat and thats it. But if you are really trying to live a healthy lifestlye like you said, then running regularly is great.

As for the 3 miles everyday. I wouldn't necessarily do it like that. I'd only run 5 days a week. And instead of mileage how about going by time? Start by running 25 minutes. Then bump it to 28 minutes. When you can pretty easily do that bump it up to 31 minutes. Or something like that. I find that going by time gets me better gains and it doesn't really matter where i run. Since you don't need to count mileage you can run where ever you want. You just need a timex to count the time. Also trail running can be awesome. Make sure you have good ankle support though if they are bumpy trails. just keep switching it up. Running is great fun as long as you change it up and don't have to stare at the same thing everytime.

tracks and treadmills are the devil.

[vein5]

I am in your shoes, I lift 3 days aweek and run 4-6 miles everyday. I am always afraid of overtraining. But since I started supplementing with 10-15 grams glutamine before a run and aminos at every meal my recovery has been awsome. The hardest is on and after my leg days.

[numinix]

Nope. That is not true. I have finals right now so I can't look it up but I will after finals.

What is wrong, that glycogen stores cannot be completely depleted, or that when glycogen stores become low, muscle catabolism occurs.

Giving me neg reps without explaining what was wrong with my statement, even if you don't give evidence, is a waste of my time and everyone elses time here. I've returned the favour and I hope in the future you'll be more precise with your statements.

Edit: furthermore, although fat burning does occur, of course, it does not necessarily overcome the loss in muscle.

So, my conclusion is, perform cardio, but keep your glycogen stores elevated. The cardio will have long lasting results AFTER the actual cardio is performed that will increase metabolic rates and ultimately lead to fat burning. IF, what OhioUstud is implying, and by implying I mean his reference to nothing specific in my remark but what I think he is most likely to have been talking about, is that fat burning is increased when glycogen stores are low, then he is supporting the view that performing cardio on an empty stomach would also be beneficial because glycogen stores would already be low. It's the same thing as performing a long session of cardio after an intense lifting session. No intelligent bodybuilder who wants to conserve his muscle would ever do this without consuming something that will keep glycogen levels elevated. Fat burning should always be considered relative to muscle loss as well as muscle loss is working in the opposite direction when considering your overall BF%.

[Jeff E39]

I wouldn't, I was doing that along with a diet and although I lost weight, I also lost lots of muscle.

[iron_leppard]

So running for a long time reduces muscle? What's optimum time for running without losing muscle?

[1800bigk]

So running for a long time reduces muscle? What's optimum time for running without losing muscle?

I think 30 mins of running and you will be fine.

[iron_leppard]

Ok thanks.

[garbury]

What works for me is sprinting. I will run to the local school where I can get on the grass. It is a little less than a mile away. I will then just do 70 yard sprints one way and walk back and sprint again. I'll do about 8 and then run back home for my cooldown. It is amazing how well it works, I do it only 2-3 times a week and bodyfat keeps falling off (down from 12% to under 7%, caliper method) all semester.
I used to run 3 miles for fat loss, but I noticed that my lifts would suffer. I just wasn't as strong in the gym and I'd lose mass. The sprints I do now are pretty tough, much tougher than a 3 mile run (at 6-7 min pace).

[911regular]

sprinting with jogging intervals work much better than just running for miles a week, IMO. I notice a definite decrease in muscle and strength when I run that much. And I am not a BB primarily, I serve in an infantry unit so conditioning is important to me, but maintaining my hard earned muscle and strength is also important. running intervals 3-4 days a week worked waaaaaay better than just jogging/running for miles for me, the fat came off quicker and spared way more muscle. I made sure I ran/run once or twice a week some long distances to keep my conditioning up for the long runs, thats just my experience , take it for what its worth.

[numinix]

Doing anything for a long time without elevating your glycogen levels can result in muscle catabolism. Please don't interpret this as a cardio is bad. If you want to run far, bring a little gatorade or something moderate to high glycemic that you can consume.

Edit: the common rule is that glycogen levels should be replenished during any moderate intensity activity that occurs over 1 hour. requires

While HIIT has been shown to have higher rates of muscle catabolism than low intensity cardio, the overall muscle catabolism during the short period of time is significantly smaller than the decrease from long interval low intensity cardio. The benefits to the cardiovascular system during this shorter interval of high intensity have also been shown to be more beneficial by many studies.

Another way of doing cardio is to just reduce the resting periods between sets in the gym. It keeps your heart rate elevated just like moderate intensity cardio.

[numinix]

I am in your shoes, I lift 3 days aweek and run 4-6 miles everyday. I am always afraid of overtraining. But since I started supplementing with 10-15 grams glutamine before a run and aminos at every meal my recovery has been awsome. The hardest is on and after my leg days.

There has been a lot of conflicting evidence that glutamine is more beneficial than any other amino acid. You may wish to add some BCAA's to the mix and they should compliment each other nicely.

[grapemaster]

if you stay at it u will be shredded, its really that easy, u wont be as bulky but u'll be lean if u continue it along with a good diet.

[shotomindtricks]

it's funny, i'm doing the exact workout routine: 3 miles a day. about how long until i notice results?

[nowski1381]

I'm doing the same thing as well, just starting...5k a day when I wake up...

[PatMac]

So running for a long time reduces muscle? What's optimum time for running without losing muscle?

I've always believed as long as your calorie intake is correct you can run as long as you want, I do an hour everyday and I just make sure I get enough calories

it's funny, i'm doing the exact workout routine: 3 miles a day. about how long until i notice results?

I would assume you'd start losing weight, assuming the diets in order, the first week especially if your just starting

[shotomindtricks]

thanks patmac. btw, if i'm doing the 3 miles a day, what's the right amount of calories to take in? also, is this thing accurate:

http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/calories-goal.php

according to the calculator... i can lose 30lbs by eating 1900 calories a day by november 31 if i'm the lazy type. does that seem right?

[M11]

For a long time I was running 9 miles three times a week and 4.5 to 6 twice a week. The fat really melted off of me, but I started turning into a skinny guy. I decided to bulk for a while and even after 1 week of clean bulking (except for a peanut butter binge) I can already see and feel mass improvements.

Make sure you eat enough. If you don't your body will hold onto every calorie it can and your fat loss will be halted. I under ate during my running phase and once I started eating enough I feel like it is easier to burn the fat.

[YongSah]

Well thats good for you right now, but in the long run its bad for your shins and knee. Cardio is great but if you really want to challenge your body you should do interval training. Instead of running 30 mins a day (like you planned) you can get a harder workout by running 17 mins. I use to run like 2-4 miles every day, then i came across the word Interval and when i tried it it was the hardest thing ive done. So you should look up interval and try it before doing cardio.