Exercise: Miles vs. Time

by She FIt on September 3, 2009

It use to be that I would workout for a certain amount of time, but lately that has switched. Instead of staring at the clock, I have started focusing more on distance. For me it has helped me to go longer in my workouts and increases my intensity when I am in a time crunch.

But really, what is more beneficial, exercising for distance or exercising for time?

“FITT” is a great acronym that can guide you in your cardio workout plan.

F.I.T.T. stands for Frequency, Intensity, Type, and Time.

Frequency

How often should you workout?

For those of you that are just starting to workout, start out slow and work your way up. Aim at about 3 days a week and gradually work your way up to 5 or 6 days a week. When it comes to weight loss, the more days the better. But don’t forget to allow your body a day or two of rest!

Intensity

How hard is your workout?

This can be a hard balance to find. You want your workouts to overload your body but at the same time you don’t want to create too much intensity in your workout that it creates injuries or burnouts. A heart rate monitor can determine intensity but another great way of measuring your intensity is from the ability to speak while working out. You know you are having a great workout when you become out of breath during it.

Type

What activities do you do that increases your heart rate?

Most of us have our one cardio activity that we enjoy doing. For me, it’s the elliptical. I can stay on that thing forever, but put me on a treadmill and I can’t stand more than 5 minutes without getting bored and miserable. Find activities that increase your heart rate and that you love. Switching it up too can throw off your body from adjusting to that one activity.

Time

How long is your workout?

The recommending time of a cardio workout is going to vary on it’s intensity but it’s around 20-60 minutes.

So, maybe I shouldn’t just focus on miles. According the “FITT” principle there are several things to take into consideration. Bring both miles and time into my workout would be more beneficial than focusing on one or the other.

Question

When you workout, do you focus more on time or distance?

What is your usual time or distance each day?

Drink Up!

No Time to Exercise

Bikram Yoga

Tagged as: body bugg, Cardio, cardio workout, distance, Elliptical, Exercise, F.I.T.T., Fitness, Frequency, heart rate, Intensity, length, miles, Running, Time, Type, Workout

{ 27 comments }

1 Diane, Fit to the Finish September 3, 2009 at 4:38 am: For me, I focus on the intensity. I can walk for 30 minutes and not even get winded. Or I can speed walk for 30 minutes and really get a great workout!

Great post!
2 Pam (Highway to Health) September 3, 2009 at 5:11 am: Good post. I’ve been struggle with my frequency so I am concentrating on my intensity and time. We’ll see how it works out!
3 Robin September 3, 2009 at 5:36 am: I focus on time but the less I focus in general the better I do, which is why I try to listen to an audio book or watch something.
4 Gina September 3, 2009 at 5:57 am: I just posted about this very same topic! Funny. I focus on quality rather than time, but I will try to stay around 45 minutes to an hour for my workout, just to make sure I really helped my heart!
5 Andrea@WellnessNotes September 3, 2009 at 6:24 am: I like to focus on intensity/distance. It’s sometimes easy to get too focused on time however. Great reminder!
6 Kristen @ Simply Savor September 3, 2009 at 7:37 am: i totally agree with you about being able to stay on an elliptical forever, and then dyyyying on a treadmill!

i usually focus on intensity and efficiency. I usually work out about 1 hour and like to keep moving the whole time whether its between sets while lifting weights, or doing cardio. i figure while i’m there, i might as well make the most of my time and make it count! thanks for the great post
7 Mari September 3, 2009 at 7:57 am: I focus on time and calories…I try to burn 400-500 Calories a day during my workouts
8 coco September 3, 2009 at 8:13 am: I find focusing on distance makes the workout more interesting than focusing on time! And when I read mag on the Elliptical, it would be focus on finishing the mag.
When I run, I usually do 3 miles and when I do Elliptical, usually 30 min.
9 janetha September 3, 2009 at 8:34 am: great post! i focus on intensity and time. distance is neither here nor there.
10 Leianna September 3, 2009 at 10:40 am: I used to focus on time, then I bought a Nike+ for my iPod and started tracking mile and now I go more and it’s made me a better runner!
11 Jody - Fit at 51 September 3, 2009 at 1:04 pm: Great post! I typically work out for time BUT I like to see how I improve by playing with intensity & more & since I am a gym person, I see the miles & that lets me know if I am doing more or less in the same amount of time. Saying that, I also listen to my bod & if I feel stronger, I work harder, if I am tired, I may scale back a bit. I try to listen to the bod.
12 Jenny September 3, 2009 at 1:36 pm: You are such a wealth of knowledge
13 Faith September 3, 2009 at 2:35 pm: Believe it or not, whether I focus on time or distance depends on where I workout (I actually never realized that until just now!). In the gym, I do 45 minutes on the treadmill, and when I’m outside I typically do 4-5 miles.
14 Tena September 3, 2009 at 4:31 pm: Great info! I usually focus on miles and intensity. Since I ride my bike almost everyday, I try to increase my speed for short distances and then try to see how long I can stay at that speed. My speed has increased quite a bit lately
15 Christie September 3, 2009 at 6:11 pm: i usually focus on time. I do workout videos, and I make sure my actual time of working out, not including breaks, is an hour. But I focus on intensity too, doing intervals usually.
16 Kat September 3, 2009 at 7:20 pm: I think the HIIT is the way to go for weight loss. I usually shoot for interval workouts when I am on the elliptical, but sometimes I mix it up and do a distance of like 5 or 6 miles and try to beat my last time. Great post!
17 Fitness Surfer September 4, 2009 at 10:54 am: When i bike it’s anywhere from 5-13 miles depending on “when” i bike. I’ve been just playing sports for my workouts as of late but know if i step up my intensity in a workout now and then I’ll have better performance on the field, court, water…ect.
18 Menden @ Skinny Menny September 4, 2009 at 12:12 pm: Great post! For me, during and individual workout I focus on a distance goal. But I always try to reach a total time each week of working out, like 5 hours a week. So I guess I focus on both!
19 fittingbackin September 4, 2009 at 3:44 pm: I never focus on time – it’s all about distance for me! I can remember when I started working out and decided to do “3 miles a day.” Everyone was like do 30 minutes a day and you’ll be fine… I was like no! That’s only 2 miles for me – I need to do 3 miles, as long as it takes! haha I find I work out much longer if I focus on distance for sure!
20 South Beach Steve September 4, 2009 at 5:52 pm: Distance, but the amount changes daily. I just decide before I start how far I am going to walk, then I do it.
21 DownsizingDoc September 4, 2009 at 9:39 pm: Thanks for commenting on my blog a few days ago. LOVE this site.
22 Boo's Place September 5, 2009 at 2:21 pm: I just found your site today and glad I did. I find it to have alot of info that is really helpful! Personally I have concentrate more on getting so much time into my workout but, lately I do have been more focused on the intensity. I don’t think its really about how long your workout is but how hard your working your body.
23 ~Carla~ September 6, 2009 at 3:33 pm: Great post!!! I workout 5-6x week… I guess I focus on “time”… i’ll do a 30-45 min. workout in the morning, but I do work up a good sweat and get my heartrate up there. I want to work on my abs more though, so going to get in another 15 min every night of ab work to see if I can get the results I want!
24 Lara (Thinspired) September 10, 2009 at 6:58 am: My natural tendency is to focus on distance, but I’m trying to pay more attention to duration + intensity lately. I think it helps up the calorie burn!
25 Anon September 16, 2009 at 12:36 pm: I focus on miles. If I just have to focus on time, there’s more incentive to go slowly. If I know I have to run 10 miles one morning before work, I run more quickly to get it done! But I usually work out for long enough that there’s not a big risk of going too fast. It would be impossible for me to do 5k pace for 10 miles and I know that, so I run at the fastest sustainable pace for me.
26 Quix September 17, 2009 at 4:17 pm: Some workouts it’s time, some distance, and I make sure to vary up the intensity. For example, I might go to dance class for an hour, or say I’m going to run for an hour or whatnot. Most times, it’s mileage, since I’m usually running. I’m going to run 6 miles, etc. When I do speed workouts, the intensity is a factor – ie a mile as fast as I can or sprints or whatever. Mixing it up is what keeps me from getting bored, if I do the same types of workouts over and over, it keeps it fun!
27 Lisa September 25, 2009 at 3:05 pm: Depends on the workout. If I’m running, then I definitely go by distance, but if I’m at the gym and on the elliptical or the stationary bike (which is very infrequently) I’ll go by time. That’s just what seems to work best for me, my training, and my schedule.