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Comment by voisin | Hacker News Reader

> And 10 minutes every day is better than 20 minutes and then nothing at all.

Why? I run every other day for longer distances (10k or so) and imagine that the benefits of running for 10k are greater than 5k twice. I notice that my heart rate tends to be higher toward the end of a longer run - presumably because my muscles are more fatigued. Pushing to fatigue (but not so much as to lose running form) seems to be the best way to get muscles to adapt.

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As others have said, this is in the context of someone who is just starting out and looking to establish a habit, not a debate about which running program is better for health – I don't know anything about that.

So I stand by what I've said: I think that in the beginning it's very important to establish a habit, and for that, running every day a little is better that running once a lot, and then never running again for a long time (because the "habit" didn't stick). I've also found that running every day works better for establishing the habit than "once a week" or whatever, since it's easier to be tempted to shuffle the day around and in the end not do anything.

I think that if you're considering whether you should run 5k every day or 10k every other day, you probably don't have an issue with actually getting out there, in which case this is a whole other debate, and I have nothing to add to it seeing how I'd have a hard time running a 10k.

Also, if you've got some other motivation source (say you absolutely want to run a marathon, or whatever) and you don't need a "hack" or to "trick yourself into liking running", this debate doesn't really concern you since it's about a problem you don't have.

My “hack” that I wish someone had told me when I started running: focus on Zone 2 training. Super slow and easy with zero pain afterward. Ever since I started doing that, my distances have gone up significantly, I feel better afterward, and consequently don’t dread the run or procrastinate.

Longer runs are great, but you do hit a point of diminishing returns. I tell anyone looking to get into running long distance that after a half marathon you are no longer really doing it for fitness, it is about the personal challenge, which is great, but it is important not to trick yourself into thinking more will always be better for you with running.

There are also pros and cons of shorter and longer distances. Ideally you are running faster on shorter runs and a bit slower on longer runs. Getting in HITs occasionally will improve your long speed and help prevent injury. It is also a great thing to do on days you only have 10 minutes.

I run every other day for longer distances (10k or so) and imagine that the benefits of running for 10k are greater than 5k twice.

You can also ask “Why?” about this assumption.

Is it in the next sentence about muscles reaching fatigue toward the end of a 10k run, and that fatigued muscles are where adaptation occurs.

It depends on what kind of adaptation you want.

I personally view cardio as just a means to improve my cardiovascular system, not muscles. So I just do boring steady-state (where I can easily rap out a song or sing Bob Dylan's lyrics).

If I want increased mitochondria and the size of the muscle cells, then nothing beats an even more efficient method of strength training. Just 5 minutes of work (1 minute per set) of lifting a heavy weight for 5 times. But even here there's concept of RPE where you don't accumulate as much fatigue as you might think.

I first did strength training and my resting heart beat dropped from 75 to 60 after about 8 months. After that I started doing steady-state cardio of 30 minutes on rest days and it's now at 55 after 3 years.

You could run say, a short warm up jog if 800m, a couple of warm up sprints of 200m, and then a few sprints at MAX effort. 60s break after each run. About 2km total. Your legs and lungs will be severely taxed. If they aren’t, you ran too slow.

You can easily take a 5km run and increase the effectiveness: go faster.

Fitness runners always fixate on distance. No speed, power or agility training.

I think there is a difference between running short bouts of Max speed sprinting versus running long periods at a lower effort. It is the difference between zone 2 and zone 4/5 running, taxing different systems (aerobic vs anaerobic).

I am not saying there is a need for speed, power, agility training as well, but I think it is achieving different things than long, slower runs.

I think parent meant "not doing it again" with "nothing at all".

It’s the same way I managed to start exercising, with extremely low-effort, easy and short exercises. I now do app-selected exercises that challenge me, but I never before was able to stick to those, doing "too easy" exercises was what helped me manage to actually get into a routine.

My heart rate goes up as I get warmer more than from fatigue.

Much of the health benefit from running is also available from briskly walking a couple of miles on a regular basis. Higher intensity training builds cardiovascular capacity, but the health benefits happen at intensity levels that don't really do that.

That's an advice to help people that's not into running. Consistency is much better to help people stick with a habit than trying to push themselves to the limit.

This is the dumbest thing I've ever read on HN.

https://www.active.com/health/articles/why-too-much-running-...

You should see the anorexic-looking treadmill runners at my gym who have no muscle type IIB. I bet they already have cardiomyopathies / hypertrophies and will regret their extremist, extremely-unwise lifestyles when their joints need to be replaced in 20 years.

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