Over 2 hours of exercise, Internet says No.
KirstenAFerreira
Posts: 55 Member
Hi there 
I'm a 22 year old female, 143lbs, 5'6", my weight loss goal. No idea. But I do want a tight, toned body to feel awesome and confident about.. and according to the Internet I exercise too much.
I can't honestly say whether my routine has given me results, (from the two weeks I did well my husband says he saw a great change) because the past few months it has been more off than on due to sick toddler and accompanying my husband on business trips, etc.
But I'm hoping to get back on track next week.
The Internet tells me over 2 hours of exercise is terrible, and slows your progress dramatically, I'm no fitness expert, I'm human, I'm a housewife with lots of time and I feel great when I'm exercising.
7:30am I take a 30min 5km run.
8:10am I do Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs Circuit Training. 35mins
9:30am Strength training for 40-60 minutes, either lower or upper body.
After which I clean the house, do washing, and all my wifey chores.
At 3:00pm I do Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30, 30mins roundabout.. followed by..
3.40pm very brisk 5km walk
This is my everyday routine, 5 days a week, I switch up my strength training, I do different Jillian Michaels Levels and after the 30 days of both workouts I plan on doing another two videos.
But..
Apparently this is terrible and I have failed miserably, the gods of exercise look down on me and wave their arms about furiously.
I could add another 30 min circuit training on my day easily, and I would love it.
But reduce my exercise? Do I have to?
I honestly love this routine.
I love exercise, it makes me happy.
I eat when I'm hungry, around 1500-2000 calories a day, I'm a breastmilk donor so I eat well to ensure my milk is as nourishing as need be.
I'm not sure if I'm eating enough, but I never starve myself, I'm just not ever in the mood to shovel huge amounts of food in my mouth.
So...is over 2 hours bad?
Do you have experience of it stunting your progress?
Do you exercise like a maniac and see results?
And do you think my routine is okay?
Please be kind fitness enthusiasts.. I'm in no way a pro at this stuff.
Thank you x
I'm a 22 year old female, 143lbs, 5'6", my weight loss goal. No idea. But I do want a tight, toned body to feel awesome and confident about.. and according to the Internet I exercise too much.
I can't honestly say whether my routine has given me results, (from the two weeks I did well my husband says he saw a great change) because the past few months it has been more off than on due to sick toddler and accompanying my husband on business trips, etc.
But I'm hoping to get back on track next week.
The Internet tells me over 2 hours of exercise is terrible, and slows your progress dramatically, I'm no fitness expert, I'm human, I'm a housewife with lots of time and I feel great when I'm exercising.
7:30am I take a 30min 5km run.
8:10am I do Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs Circuit Training. 35mins
9:30am Strength training for 40-60 minutes, either lower or upper body.
After which I clean the house, do washing, and all my wifey chores.
At 3:00pm I do Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30, 30mins roundabout.. followed by..
3.40pm very brisk 5km walk
This is my everyday routine, 5 days a week, I switch up my strength training, I do different Jillian Michaels Levels and after the 30 days of both workouts I plan on doing another two videos.
But..
Apparently this is terrible and I have failed miserably, the gods of exercise look down on me and wave their arms about furiously.
I could add another 30 min circuit training on my day easily, and I would love it.
But reduce my exercise? Do I have to?
I honestly love this routine.
I love exercise, it makes me happy.
I eat when I'm hungry, around 1500-2000 calories a day, I'm a breastmilk donor so I eat well to ensure my milk is as nourishing as need be.
I'm not sure if I'm eating enough, but I never starve myself, I'm just not ever in the mood to shovel huge amounts of food in my mouth.
So...is over 2 hours bad?
Do you have experience of it stunting your progress?
Do you exercise like a maniac and see results?
And do you think my routine is okay?
Please be kind fitness enthusiasts.. I'm in no way a pro at this stuff.
Thank you x
0
Replies
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I'm exhausted just reading this (I'll be honest, I gave up half way for a snooze )
I cant tell you whether its too much or not but I can tell you that I am almost twice your age and have seen great results workout out for an hour 4 or 5 days a week. I believe rest as a very important part of the process and you need that to bother recover and get to get stronger.
My advice is to do what works for you and to know that you'll need more time. Enjoy the process 0 -
KirstenAFerreira wrote: »So...is over 2 hours bad?
Depends what you're trying to achieve. I'm comfortable with a continuous run of up to three hours at the moment, or a continuous ride of 3-4 hours, but they have a specific purpose. Making up 2 hours of random stuff that doesn't appear to hang together to deliver a clear objective seems a bit pointless to me.
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I used to workout that much a day for couple of months in summer time ,the only thing happened is that I come to get kind of nightmare of having to exercise 2 hrs everyday for the rest of my life and it s really tiring. I know plenty of people who do cause they eat a lot and do it to stay skinny. It is up to you, how much you can handle. Anyway it doesnt do anything in particular except burn calories and might make you sore? And hungry too. Anyway im too lazy to do it for long term0
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Karen_libert wrote: »I'm exhausted just reading this (I'll be honest, I gave up half way for a snooze )
I cant tell you whether its too much or not but I can tell you that I am almost twice your age and have seen great results workout out for an hour 4 or 5 days a week. I believe rest as a very important part of the process and you need that to bother recover and get to get stronger.
My advice is to do what works for you and to know that you'll need more time. Enjoy the process
Thank you!
I'm sorry for tiring you out!
bwahaha
Before my daughter started creche I used to do 1 hour a day, it sorted the damage pregnancy left behind very quickly!
But now somehow I just ended up doing all this, and I really do enjoy it.
Yes results. I love them. But I love doing exercise just as much!
The fact that too much of a good thing is bad, is a bit of a bummer!
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doesn't sound like much food for 2 hours of exercise per day0
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tiffyland21 wrote: »I used to workout that much a day for couple of months in summer time ,the only thing happened is that I come to get kind of nightmare of having to exercise 2 hrs everyday for the rest of my life and it s really tiring. I know plenty of people who do cause they eat a lot and do it to stay skinny. It is up to you, how much you can handle. Anyway it doesnt do anything in particular except burn calories and might make you sore? And hungry too. Anyway im too lazy to do it for long term
For me if I don't exercise, I eat a lot, strangely.
I just love exercising, I do have some days when I don't feel for doing a certain workout and I don't do it, but the other days I enjoy it, puts me in a great mood too!
I never have the issue of feeling sore everyday, and hunger not so much breakfast time and dinner times I'm hungry but not mass amounts.
It is something I would want to do for the rest of my life, I grew up lazy and unmotivated, and an insane gamer, but when I first got out of my cosy cove and away from the glare of the pc screen and went for a jog, I was hooked
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »KirstenAFerreira wrote: »So...is over 2 hours bad?
Depends what you're trying to achieve. I'm comfortable with a continuous run of up to three hours at the moment, or a continuous ride of 3-4 hours, but they have a specific purpose. Making up 2 hours of random stuff that doesn't appear to hang together to deliver a clear objective seems a bit pointless to me.
I hope to burn fat, and tone/tighten up, build some muscle etc, doing one single form of exercise bores me somewhat. So 30-40 mins jogging, 60 mins circuit training, 60 mins strength training and 40-50 mins brisk walking, I love it, I look forward to every day, but if it slows down by progress than obviously I must make changes0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »doesn't sound like much food for 2 hours of exercise per day
Sigh can't imagine myself eating 3000 calories worth of food I'll die!
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You may want to review the calories you burn, the calories you consume, and the amount of calories you need in order to accomplish 'burn fat, and tone/tighten up, build some muscle'. It seems if you consume 1500 to 2000 calories a day and workout close to 3 hours five days a week you'll struggle with these goals.0
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KirstenAFerreira wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »doesn't sound like much food for 2 hours of exercise per day
Sigh can't imagine myself eating 3000 calories worth of food I'll die!
In this case, you could try cutting at least 30 minutes from your workouts each day. Workout for 90 minutes a day a see how that works for you.0 -
KirstenAFerreira wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »doesn't sound like much food for 2 hours of exercise per day
Sigh can't imagine myself eating 3000 calories worth of food I'll die!
In this case, you could try cutting at least 30 minutes from your workouts each day. Workout for 90 minutes a day a see how that works for you.
Argh oh that sounds awful
I'll give it a try..! 0 -
_Terrapin_ wrote: »You may want to review the calories you burn, the calories you consume, and the amount of calories you need in order to accomplish 'burn fat, and tone/tighten up, build some muscle'. It seems if you consume 1500 to 2000 calories a day and workout close to 3 hours five days a week you'll struggle with these goals.
I burn approx 1000-1200 calories, not counting strength training.
Apparently!
Is there anything one can do to exercise as much as I do and attain said goals?0 -
If I was doing that much exercise I could probably maintain on 3500 calories. I would be exhausted doing what your doing and it wouldn't be sustainable long term...but thats just me0
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The short answer is no, it isn't bad so long as you give your body sufficient time to recover, tone back the intensity if needs be and eat adequately.
The reason that long bouts of cardio in particular (any session over 90 mins usually) is said to be bad according to the internet is that it is not optimal for maximising muscle growth or retention. This might be bad if your focus is body building or so on but if your goals are more general then I wouldn't worry.0 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »If I was doing that much exercise I could probably maintain on 3500 calories. I would be exhausted doing what your doing and it wouldn't be sustainable long term...but thats just me
Thank you!
I really never get tired, I honestly feel awesome, the 2 straight weeks I got were awesome for me.
I never really count the run in the morning and walk in afternoon as exercise to be honest, I go with my husband to drop my daughter off at creche, run home. And end of the day I walk to meet my husband to pick her up, I love walking.
Such a predicament! I should probably cut exercise then and slowly increase exercise and calorie intake, not sure!0 -
The short answer is no, it isn't bad so long as you give your body sufficient time to recover, tone back the intensity if needs be and eat adequately.
The reason that long bouts of cardio in particular (any session over 90 mins usually) is said to be bad according to the internet is that it is not optimal for maximising muscle growth or retention. This might be bad if your focus is body building or so on but if your goals are more general then I wouldn't worry.
Are you sure?
Basically I want to tighten up, some ab definition would be wonderful and all, you know that typical bikini body everyone longs for..
But if I'm slowing the progress down, then I do need to make changes..
But I love what I'm doing and couldn't possibly figure out which exercise to drop
0 -
Sounds like you could be a fitness instructor with all that energy and enthusiasm!
As for what you're doing now, I would say mixing up the impact would be ideal. One hour workout plus a leisurely one hour walk for example sounds pretty manageable. Just need to make sure your body/joints are recovering appropriately and you're not increasing your chances of injury. It almost seems the workouts are a hobby, which there could be worse ones...0 -
KirstenAFerreira wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »doesn't sound like much food for 2 hours of exercise per day
Sigh can't imagine myself eating 3000 calories worth of food I'll die!
why?0 -
Sounds like you could be a fitness instructor with all that energy and enthusiasm!
As for what you're doing now, I would say mixing up the impact would be ideal. One hour workout plus a leisurely one hour walk for example sounds pretty manageable. Just need to make sure your body/joints are recovering appropriately and you're not increasing your chances of injury. It almost seems the workouts are a hobby, which there could be worse ones...
Haha! Thank you! Make all my clients exercise to death 
Fortunately I never experience any pain, discomfort etc, I've experienced very slight muscle strain in my leg weeks ago, but took things slowly and that was the last of it
Workouts are a huge hobby, I just hope it isn't bad. I enjoy it so much!
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TavistockToad wrote: »KirstenAFerreira wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »doesn't sound like much food for 2 hours of exercise per day
Sigh can't imagine myself eating 3000 calories worth of food I'll die!
why?
Because 1500-2000 is me eating normally. But adding on an additional 1000 is somewhat hard to imagine as I'm forcing myself to eat more as is, I used to only eat dinner.. but since I got pregnant and with the breastfeeding I've had to eat normally and it's taken a long time to get okay with it
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Sounds like you could be a fitness instructor with all that energy and enthusiasm!
As for what you're doing now, I would say mixing up the impact would be ideal. One hour workout plus a leisurely one hour walk for example sounds pretty manageable. Just need to make sure your body/joints are recovering appropriately and you're not increasing your chances of injury. It almost seems the workouts are a hobby, which there could be worse ones...
^^^I was thinking the same. It sounds like you're mixing it up enough. But as most say, make sure you're doing you cals eaten/cals burned math correctly to ensure proper nutrition. And most of all, listen to your body. Two weeks of this consistently is fine, but if you're into 6 months, or a year of this continuously, I'd suggest taking an inventory on your energy levels and overall health. Adjust accordingly.0 -
KirstenAFerreira wrote: »The short answer is no, it isn't bad so long as you give your body sufficient time to recover, tone back the intensity if needs be and eat adequately.
The reason that long bouts of cardio in particular (any session over 90 mins usually) is said to be bad according to the internet is that it is not optimal for maximising muscle growth or retention. This might be bad if your focus is body building or so on but if your goals are more general then I wouldn't worry.
Are you sure?
Basically I want to tighten up, some ab definition would be wonderful and all, you know that typical bikini body everyone longs for..
But if I'm slowing the progress down, then I do need to make changes..
But I love what I'm doing and couldn't possibly figure out which exercise to drop
Yes, I am sure. I know female runners / triathletes who have a much higher training volume and load who have figures that by many people's definitions are too die for. However their bodies are secondary to their primary goal of being good at their sport.
Which brings me back to what is optimal to achieve a certain goal. Is your routine optimal if your primary goal is to get the "beach body" look? Probably not as you are devoting more time than is necessary to exercising, particularly cardio, than needed. Will it actively hamper that goal? Possibly at a minor level. It really depends on whether the trade off of reducing your exercise level (you seem to enjoy your current routine a great deal and it adds to your happiness and quality of life) is worth the shorter time frame it will take to achieve your goal with a more efficient routine.0 -
SrMaggalicious wrote: »Sounds like you could be a fitness instructor with all that energy and enthusiasm!
As for what you're doing now, I would say mixing up the impact would be ideal. One hour workout plus a leisurely one hour walk for example sounds pretty manageable. Just need to make sure your body/joints are recovering appropriately and you're not increasing your chances of injury. It almost seems the workouts are a hobby, which there could be worse ones...
^^^I was thinking the same. It sounds like you're mixing it up enough. But as most say, make sure you're doing you cals eaten/cals burned math correctly to ensure proper nutrition. And most of all, listen to your body. Two weeks of this consistently is fine, but if you're into 6 months, or a year of this continuously, I'd suggest taking an inventory on your energy levels and overall health. Adjust accordingly.
Thank you
Well.. I usually add in a whey protein shake when my protein intake looks a little glum.. I won't lie I need to do much better with certain intakes, specifically carbs and fats.
Two weeks is the most I've done thus far because at the beginning of last week my daughter had to stay home with me til Tuesday and on Thursday my husband announced we driving up to the inlaws as he has a job.
We're only leaving on Sunday so.. I plan on starting again next week Monday, I'll do this for a month consistently if daughter and husband allow it, and after that I'll change my circuit training up and carry on, naturally there will be the occasional week or few days off. But.. if my energy levels drop I will definitely eat as much as need be or drop a bit of exercise from my routine. thank you for your advice! 0 -
KirstenAFerreira wrote: »The short answer is no, it isn't bad so long as you give your body sufficient time to recover, tone back the intensity if needs be and eat adequately.
The reason that long bouts of cardio in particular (any session over 90 mins usually) is said to be bad according to the internet is that it is not optimal for maximising muscle growth or retention. This might be bad if your focus is body building or so on but if your goals are more general then I wouldn't worry.
Are you sure?
Basically I want to tighten up, some ab definition would be wonderful and all, you know that typical bikini body everyone longs for..
But if I'm slowing the progress down, then I do need to make changes..
But I love what I'm doing and couldn't possibly figure out which exercise to drop
Yes, I am sure. I know female runners / triathletes who have a much higher training volume and load who have figures that by many people's definitions are too die for. However their bodies are secondary to their primary goal of being good at their sport.
Which brings me back to what is optimal to achieve a certain goal. Is your routine optimal if your primary goal is to get the "beach body" look? Probably not as you are devoting more time than is necessary to exercising, particularly cardio, than needed. Will it actively hamper that goal? Possibly at a minor level. It really depends on whether the trade off of reducing your exercise level (you seem to enjoy your current routine a great deal and it adds to your happiness and quality of life) is worth the shorter time frame it will take to achieve your goal with a more efficient routine.
Thank you for your advice!
My goals are mainly body transformation that I can maintain forever, as well as fitness and strength.
What would you say is a more efficient routine if I may ask?
As I say I'm really not super knowledgeable at all this.. I just know circuit training is something I enjoy, strength training is awesome and a morning run energises me somewhat 0 -
It sounds like you are going to continue doing what you want regardless of what anyone says.0
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KirstenAFerreira wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »KirstenAFerreira wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »doesn't sound like much food for 2 hours of exercise per day
Sigh can't imagine myself eating 3000 calories worth of food I'll die!
why?
Because 1500-2000 is me eating normally. But adding on an additional 1000 is somewhat hard to imagine as I'm forcing myself to eat more as is, I used to only eat dinner.. but since I got pregnant and with the breastfeeding I've had to eat normally and it's taken a long time to get okay with it
as others have said, doing it for a few days is fine, but all that exercise on a fairly small amount of calories is a recipe for burnout and illness, IMO.0 -
KirstenAFerreira wrote: »KirstenAFerreira wrote: »The short answer is no, it isn't bad so long as you give your body sufficient time to recover, tone back the intensity if needs be and eat adequately.
The reason that long bouts of cardio in particular (any session over 90 mins usually) is said to be bad according to the internet is that it is not optimal for maximising muscle growth or retention. This might be bad if your focus is body building or so on but if your goals are more general then I wouldn't worry.
Are you sure?
Basically I want to tighten up, some ab definition would be wonderful and all, you know that typical bikini body everyone longs for..
But if I'm slowing the progress down, then I do need to make changes..
But I love what I'm doing and couldn't possibly figure out which exercise to drop
Yes, I am sure. I know female runners / triathletes who have a much higher training volume and load who have figures that by many people's definitions are too die for. However their bodies are secondary to their primary goal of being good at their sport.
Which brings me back to what is optimal to achieve a certain goal. Is your routine optimal if your primary goal is to get the "beach body" look? Probably not as you are devoting more time than is necessary to exercising, particularly cardio, than needed. Will it actively hamper that goal? Possibly at a minor level. It really depends on whether the trade off of reducing your exercise level (you seem to enjoy your current routine a great deal and it adds to your happiness and quality of life) is worth the shorter time frame it will take to achieve your goal with a more efficient routine.
Thank you for your advice!
My goals are mainly body transformation that I can maintain forever, as well as fitness and strength.
What would you say is a more efficient routine if I may ask?
As I say I'm really not super knowledgeable at all this.. I just know circuit training is something I enjoy, strength training is awesome and a morning run energises me somewhat
Well the most important aspect of your body transformation goal is your diet which you will need to keep a close eye on to include eating sufficient amounts of protein, fat and carbs and calories to support your training but still low enough to create a calorie deficit.
Then something like this could work given the time you have available:
Mon: weights (am) & HIIT (pm)
Tues: low intensity cardio (45-60 mins) or yoga or pilates or mobility*
Wed: weights (am) & HIIT (pm)
Thurs:low intensity cardio (45-60 mins) or yoga or pilates or mobility *
Friday: weights
Sat: low intensity cardio (45-60 mins) or yoga or pilates or mobility*
Sun: complete rest
*keep the intensity low in whatever session you choose to do and also these sessions are optional - if you want to skip them you can
With the HIIT be careful not to over do it
0 -
It sounds like you are going to continue doing what you want regardless of what anyone says.
No one said that.
I've taken everyone's advice into consideration, I have no idea what I'm going to do yet.
I love the amount of exercise I do, but if it's better to change to its better to change it. Simple0 -
KirstenAFerreira wrote: »KirstenAFerreira wrote: »The short answer is no, it isn't bad so long as you give your body sufficient time to recover, tone back the intensity if needs be and eat adequately.
The reason that long bouts of cardio in particular (any session over 90 mins usually) is said to be bad according to the internet is that it is not optimal for maximising muscle growth or retention. This might be bad if your focus is body building or so on but if your goals are more general then I wouldn't worry.
Are you sure?
Basically I want to tighten up, some ab definition would be wonderful and all, you know that typical bikini body everyone longs for..
But if I'm slowing the progress down, then I do need to make changes..
But I love what I'm doing and couldn't possibly figure out which exercise to drop
Yes, I am sure. I know female runners / triathletes who have a much higher training volume and load who have figures that by many people's definitions are too die for. However their bodies are secondary to their primary goal of being good at their sport.
Which brings me back to what is optimal to achieve a certain goal. Is your routine optimal if your primary goal is to get the "beach body" look? Probably not as you are devoting more time than is necessary to exercising, particularly cardio, than needed. Will it actively hamper that goal? Possibly at a minor level. It really depends on whether the trade off of reducing your exercise level (you seem to enjoy your current routine a great deal and it adds to your happiness and quality of life) is worth the shorter time frame it will take to achieve your goal with a more efficient routine.
Thank you for your advice!
My goals are mainly body transformation that I can maintain forever, as well as fitness and strength.
What would you say is a more efficient routine if I may ask?
As I say I'm really not super knowledgeable at all this.. I just know circuit training is something I enjoy, strength training is awesome and a morning run energises me somewhat
Well the most important aspect of your body transformation goal is your diet which you will need to keep a close eye on to include eating sufficient amounts of protein, fat and carbs and calories to support your training but still low enough to create a calorie deficit.
Then something like this could work given the time you have available:
Mon: weights (am) & HIIT (pm)
Tues: low intensity cardio (45-60 mins) or yoga or pilates or mobility*
Wed: weights (am) & HIIT (pm)
Thurs:low intensity cardio (45-60 mins) or yoga or pilates or mobility *
Friday: weights
Sat: low intensity cardio (45-60 mins) or yoga or pilates or mobility*
Sun: complete rest
*keep the intensity low in whatever session you choose to do and also these sessions are optional - if you want to skip them you can
With the HIIT be careful not to over do it
Yoga with my terrible flexibility and balance, aaah!
I'll look into it, thank you
The toughest part will be adjusting to so much free time, my house will end up super clean 0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »KirstenAFerreira wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »KirstenAFerreira wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »doesn't sound like much food for 2 hours of exercise per day
Sigh can't imagine myself eating 3000 calories worth of food I'll die!
why?
Because 1500-2000 is me eating normally. But adding on an additional 1000 is somewhat hard to imagine as I'm forcing myself to eat more as is, I used to only eat dinner.. but since I got pregnant and with the breastfeeding I've had to eat normally and it's taken a long time to get okay with it
as others have said, doing it for a few days is fine, but all that exercise on a fairly small amount of calories is a recipe for burnout and illness, IMO.
Thank you! I will have to figure something out, and maybe develop a fondness for peanut butter, bleh0
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