Running is the best exercise for short-term weight loss, according to extensive studies of hundreds of exercises by the Harvard Heart Letter and the state of Wisconsin. However, exercise experts, such as doctors Kenneth Cooper and Dean Ornish, stress that running causes more injuries than other continuous aerobic exercises and that safer exercises like stationary cycling are beneficial for long-term fitness and weight loss.
Vigorous Exercise
You burn 1,466 calories per hour if you run a mile in six minutes and weigh 190 pounds, according to the Harvard Heart Letter's July 2004 issue. Running and bicycling more than 20 mph are the study's best weight-loss exercises. Vigorous stationary cycling is ranked the best weight-loss gym activity, during which a 190-pound person will burn 932 calories per hour. You are exercising vigorously if your heart rate is 80 to 90 percent of its maximum, which is 220 heartbeats per minute minus your age.
Moderate Exercise
Jogging slowly is a better weight-loss exercise than moderate stationary cycling. Cross-country runners who weigh 190 pounds burn 800 calories per hour, and joggers who run a mile in 12 minutes and weigh 190 pounds burn 710 calories per hour, the Harvard Heart Letter reports. Moderate stationary cycling burns 622 calories per hour if you're 190 pounds. You are exercising moderately if your heart rate is 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Weight Important
You burn far more calories running and stationary cycling if you weigh more. The state of Wisconsin reports that you burn 1,078 calories per hour if your cycling effort is vigorous and you weigh 190 pounds, 880 calories hourly if you're 155 pounds and 738 calories hourly if you're 130 pounds. The calories per hour figures for running on a track in a team practice are 863 if you're 190 pounds, 704 if you're 155 pounds and 590 if you're 130 pounds.
Long-Term Risks
Running isn't a great activity for long-term weight loss because it is risky. "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease" reports that the death rate during jogging was "seven times more than during sedentary activities," and running doesn't help people live longer. In addition, runners' injury rates are 15 times higher than walkers, the August 2009 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch reports. On the other hand, stationary cyclists rarely get hurt and are apt to continue the activity for a long time, according to Cooper in "Controlling Cholesterol."
Expert Advice
"Running long and slow is always preferable to short and fast," wrote Cooper, the director of the Aerobics Center in Dallas. Cooper recommends that beginning runners walk two to three miles daily three times a week for three weeks before starting to jog. Eventually, you should jog three miles four times a week. Stationary cyclists should use a "no resistance" setting during a 3-minute warmup and a 3-minute cooldown for the first six weeks of their program, Cooper wrote.
References
- "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease"; Dr. Dean Ornish; 1996
- "Controlling Cholesterol"; Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper; 1989
- The Merck Manual of Medical Information; Merck; 1999
- "Swim, Bike, Run"; Glenn Town and Todd Kearney; 1994
- "Essentials for Health and Wellness"; Gordon Edlin, Eric Golanty, Kelli McCormack Brown; 2000
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