I posted on the treadmill thread and removed everything I said so that I could verify what I said after I went to the gym today.
This is what I do. I work out with weights for 15 minutes before I get on the treadmill, ellipitical and/or running track. I start on the treadmill and walk at 3.5mph for 15-30 minutes, usually at an incline. I was told in here that 3.5mph wasn't fast and that's why my heart rate doesn't go up much but for me it is just short of a jog. I pushed up to 4.0 this afternoon and I was jogging. I pushed it up to 4.7 and was in an easy run but not a fast run. After 15 minutes on the treadmill I do the elliptical for 15 minutes. Occasionally I will do the treadmill for the entire 30 or 45 minutes. The % of incline doesn't seem to change my heart rate after 2%. It's the same at 6% as it is at 2%. That could be because I'm used to running up and down hills on the farm. I live in extremely hilly country and have done it all my life. In summer I ride a Trek mountain bike through these hills.
On days that I use the track I start out by walking two laps and run one, walk two, run one. This works good for me and gets my heart rate up good. The run is faster than what I was doing on the treadmill and I'm guessing it's in the neighborhood of 6 mph. I'm sure the only reason I can do it is because I don't maintain that speed, I alternate between running and walking.
While I was at the gym today I took a walk behind other walkers on the treadmills to look at their speeds. The average speed was 3.0mph. One man was running at 5.0mph and he was at least six feet tall. All of them were sweating profusely and gasping for air and I was barely sweating even though I was going faster than all of them except for the guy running.
Is this an acceptable workout for me? My weight doesn't go down but I'm not fat. I'm 5'6" and about 140lbs but well toned. I don't eat a lot. How much more do I need to do to lose 10lbs? That is my goal.
Before anybody tells me I'm a wimp, I'm a 52 year old grandmother, not a 20 year old athlete.

This is what I do. I work out with weights for 15 minutes before I get on the treadmill, ellipitical and/or running track. I start on the treadmill and walk at 3.5mph for 15-30 minutes, usually at an incline. I was told in here that 3.5mph wasn't fast and that's why my heart rate doesn't go up much but for me it is just short of a jog. I pushed up to 4.0 this afternoon and I was jogging. I pushed it up to 4.7 and was in an easy run but not a fast run. After 15 minutes on the treadmill I do the elliptical for 15 minutes. Occasionally I will do the treadmill for the entire 30 or 45 minutes. The % of incline doesn't seem to change my heart rate after 2%. It's the same at 6% as it is at 2%. That could be because I'm used to running up and down hills on the farm. I live in extremely hilly country and have done it all my life. In summer I ride a Trek mountain bike through these hills.
On days that I use the track I start out by walking two laps and run one, walk two, run one. This works good for me and gets my heart rate up good. The run is faster than what I was doing on the treadmill and I'm guessing it's in the neighborhood of 6 mph. I'm sure the only reason I can do it is because I don't maintain that speed, I alternate between running and walking.
While I was at the gym today I took a walk behind other walkers on the treadmills to look at their speeds. The average speed was 3.0mph. One man was running at 5.0mph and he was at least six feet tall. All of them were sweating profusely and gasping for air and I was barely sweating even though I was going faster than all of them except for the guy running.
Is this an acceptable workout for me? My weight doesn't go down but I'm not fat. I'm 5'6" and about 140lbs but well toned. I don't eat a lot. How much more do I need to do to lose 10lbs? That is my goal.
Before anybody tells me I'm a wimp, I'm a 52 year old grandmother, not a 20 year old athlete.

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