How long should I spend working out?

kaittea

Hey guys! So I had a consultation with a personal trainer and I started basing my routine on what he suggested, but it pretty much cut in half the amount of time I spent in the gym because he wanted me to separate cardio and strength days.

Currently on a cardio day I do HIIT for 30 minutes on the treadmill, 1 min 4.8 and 30s 7.3
On a strength day I do probably 45 minutes worth of lifting on about 10 different machines of 3 sets, 15 reps (and a 5 min warm up on the elliptical).

I'm 5'5 and I weigh 130lbs currently (trying to get to 120), and my ultimate goal is more fat loss oriented than toning. Am I doing enough?

Machka9

Personally, I'd do more cardio ... but that's where my focus is.

shadow2soul

here is the cdc recommendations:

Camo_xxx

Fat loss is toning. Muscles don't sag they get covered in fat. Lose the fat and you will get muscle definition which people call toned.

barbecuesauce

Camo_xxx wrote: »

Fat loss is toning. Muscles don't sag they get covered in fat. Lose the fat and you will get muscle definition which people call toned.

+1

And you're eating at a deficit, right? That's how you're going to lose the fat.

callsitlikeiseeit

I do mostly cardio (around an hour, 5-6 times a week) but have also started to do some strength training. Not a lot, maybe 10 minutes worth or so after my cardio workout.

On (rare) days when i get to the gym twice, I'll do about 50/50.

Camo_xxx

Cardio is for fitness
Lifting heavy is to preserve or build muscle mass or strength.
Calorie deficit is for losing fat. Calorie surplus is for gaining muscle mass ( and fat )

Start by understanding why you are doing what you are doing.

Camo_xxx

As for how long you should work out. Depends on what kind of fitness you are trying to achieve.
30 minutes a day on a treadmill is reasonable for keeping generally fit and feeling zippy. Gets the blood pumping and a bit of sweat going.