3 ms·

For people that want more data, I always go back to this study which I find fascinating. I run once per week and 7 miles at a time. https://www.mayoclinicproc

For people that want more data, I always go back to this study which I find fascinating. I run once per week and 7 miles at a time. https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/s0025-6196(16)00068-9/fulltext https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/s0025-6196(16)... Something like that seems to have the best outcomes (will it help you not die?) and it fits with how I feel. Running more than once a week always made me get worn down. My best 5k time came from running one long run a week and lifting weights the rest of the week. I was effectively just wasting my time with the other runs in the week. I don't suggest this for a real professional runner, but for weekend warrior types like me, I think it works well. And I have won my age group before in a race, so I'm not a total novice.

komaromy 2y ago
What kind of 5k time did you hit with that training?
- Mistletoe 2y ago
  I really can't remember. I'm not a speed demon doing 17 minute 5ks for sure. I'm trying to look online and it looks like I have run a 23 minute 5k a few times. I don't know if I have run faster than that or what training I was on when I ran those. I wish I could remember but I haven't done races in quite some time.
mathieuh 2y ago
It depends what your goals are. Also, some people can handle more volume than others, and some people need less volume than others. I am training for a 340 km/3000 m elevation bike ride in June and I am doing 15 hours of cycling per week which is as far as I plan to take it. This is about 50 % beyond what I would normally be doing, and a couple of times after upping the volume I did get close to backing off because I felt like I was overdoing it, but after pushing through for a week I started recovering again. The difference in my fitness is almost unbelievable. I can knock out 160+ km rides with no problem when in previous years I would have found them very difficult. And beyond just results on the bike, I feel much better in myself, even than when I was doing 10 hours per week. I never get out of breath, hills I used to walk up with the dog I now realise I am walking up breathing through my nose the whole time, I handle heat much better, my resting heart rate is in the mid-to-high 40s, I have more energy, etc. If your goal is to do well at the local 5 km run in the park then lower volume is probably fine, but in my personal experience I still don’t think I’ve hit my limit even at 15 hours per week.
sampullman 2y ago
I've found the opposite, if I run 10-15k once a week I can just barely maintain my fitness. I only start to see improvement with 3+ runs a week (at least 20 miles total), and one of them needs to be pushing the pace. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but the study seems to claim that running less than the recommended amount is still good, not that running more is necessarily bad: > ...these highest runners still had trends of lower mortality than did nonrunners and only a nonsignificant trend of higher mortality than did the lower-dose runners (P≥.05). Therefore, until we have more compelling evidence on running doses and mortality, we should emphasize that “even a little is great” rather than debating whether “more is better or worse” from a public health perspective.
- Mistletoe 2y ago
  Well it definitely says too much is bad because you see the mortality curve stretch up to where you are no different than a sedentary person at the highest levels. I'm definitely exercising in hopes of exceeding the mortality of a sedentary person!

komaromy 2y ago

What kind of 5k time did you hit with that training?

Mistletoe 2y ago
I really can't remember. I'm not a speed demon doing 17 minute 5ks for sure. I'm trying to look online and it looks like I have run a 23 minute 5k a few times. I don't know if I have run faster than that or what training I was on when I ran those. I wish I could remember but I haven't done races in quite some time.

mathieuh 2y ago

It depends what your goals are. Also, some people can handle more volume than others, and some people need less volume than others. I am training for a 340 km/3000 m elevation bike ride in June and I am doing 15 hours of cycling per week which is as far as I plan to take it. This is about 50 % beyond what I would normally be doing, and a couple of times after upping the volume I did get close to backing off because I felt like I was overdoing it, but after pushing through for a week I started recovering again. The difference in my fitness is almost unbelievable. I can knock out 160+ km rides with no problem when in previous years I would have found them very difficult. And beyond just results on the bike, I feel much better in myself, even than when I was doing 10 hours per week. I never get out of breath, hills I used to walk up with the dog I now realise I am walking up breathing through my nose the whole time, I handle heat much better, my resting heart rate is in the mid-to-high 40s, I have more energy, etc. If your goal is to do well at the local 5 km run in the park then lower volume is probably fine, but in my personal experience I still don’t think I’ve hit my limit even at 15 hours per week.

sampullman 2y ago

I've found the opposite, if I run 10-15k once a week I can just barely maintain my fitness. I only start to see improvement with 3+ runs a week (at least 20 miles total), and one of them needs to be pushing the pace. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but the study seems to claim that running less than the recommended amount is still good, not that running more is necessarily bad: > ...these highest runners still had trends of lower mortality than did nonrunners and only a nonsignificant trend of higher mortality than did the lower-dose runners (P≥.05). Therefore, until we have more compelling evidence on running doses and mortality, we should emphasize that “even a little is great” rather than debating whether “more is better or worse” from a public health perspective.

Mistletoe 2y ago
Well it definitely says too much is bad because you see the mortality curve stretch up to where you are no different than a sedentary person at the highest levels. I'm definitely exercising in hopes of exceeding the mortality of a sedentary person!