New gym routine. Too extreme?

rose_lemonade

Right now I go to the gym once a week and do a dance class once a week. I'm planning to increase that to five gym sessions a week - 30 mins cardio and 20 mins strength training - for the next two months so that I start to see some real changes which will hopefully keep me motivated.

I'm not an unhealthy weight for my height but I have a lot of body fat, cellulite everywhere and very little muscle tone so I'm really hoping to see some big changes. Does this sound unrealistic or extreme? What would you change/add?

Of course I'm making some dietary changes too but I feel like it's the exercise element that really needs a kickstart right now!

I'm going on holiday at the end of September and I am determined to feel good in my bikini for a change.

Any advice or words of wisdom?

runningjen74

Hard to say, everyone is different. What motivates you versus will derail you.

I started with 3 sessions a week with lots of movement like walking. It has increased to 5 sessions, but that took 6 months. If I'd started trying to hit 5 sessions a week and not made it id have felt I failed, when in reality I was succeeding.

meganw2020

I don't think it is too extreme, probably the worst thing that will happen is that you will get sore. Just rotate through working different body parts and I think you will be just fine. Just listen to your body and take it easier the next day if you are hurting.

malibu927

Rather than 20 minutes of strength training five days a week (which won't give you much time to work much of anything), I would go with a full body program you can do three days a week. You can look through this list to see what would work best for you (Stronglifts and NROLFW are good routines I've done). http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you

911Doughboy

i think that 20 minutes of strength training is not enough, but it also depends on what you do in the 20 minutes. a full body workout should take more than 20 minutes. if your targetting 1 group of muscles a day, 20 minutes might be enough, but thats 20 minutes of legit working out. waiting for the machine to free up or walking to the next machine shouldnt count....in the end, every little bit counts. do what works for you, but remember to push yourself

WendyLeigh1119

Not at all. I do Monday - Friday at the gym (weekends off entirely to recover properly).

I take about 2 hours of Group classes daily and then add either extra strength or extra cardio on the machines/free weights for about another hour (so 3 hours per day minimum, 4 hours max if I'm taking easier classes).

It depends on what you plan to do, of course. If you're doing super-heavy lifting, you may want to start at 3 days per week lifting, 2 days cardio or something like that. Otherwise, your schedule is very reasonable and attainable. But 20 minutes isn't going to get you far with strength. Try to do 1 hour of strength at least 3x weekly and then 1 hour cardio on the remaining days. You don't really need much cardio if you're already slim. Strength will help your shape.

I recommend weekends off if you're doing 5 days straight. It's only my personal preference because I get better overall results from 2 full days recovery. Do what feels best/gets results for your body.

VeronicaA76

Not at all. Actually it's probably not enough. When I first got serious, I hired a trainer (not the free one at my gym, but a world class trainer/nutritionist, they are expensive but we'll worth it!!!). My beginner workout: 30 min cardio daily + full body workouts an hour a day 3 days a week. I now do 30-60 minutes a day cardio + 1.5-2 hours a day isolated weight lifting 6 days a week. I also workout alone, just me, my music and my workout plan so there's very little down time (just normal rests between sets and specific exercises).

AnnPT77

I personally wouldn't do the same thing 5 days in a row. I'd mix it up - maybe the suggestion about doing full body weights 3x a week, with some light cardio as warm-up, or a more vigorous cardio for a few minutes at the end, and longer steady-state cardio the other 2 days, perhaps varying the specific cardio type, unless you're really wedded to one type?

If you feel burned out or very fatigued from this after a short (couple week?) adjustment period, maybe back off a little and ramp up the volume more gradually over more time.

Whether anything us "too extreme" has more to do with whether it fits in your life without disrupting other important priorities, and what your level of fitness is, going in. That volume would be too much for some people, too little for others. Only you know whether it fits you.

firef1y72

Personally I'd try and get longer strength training sessions in and would work up to the 5 days a week. I started at 2 days a week for around an hour and gradually increased my activity level to the point I'm at now, which is 3x strength training at around 1.5-2hours a session, 3-4x running (actually 7x right now as I'm doing a running streak), 2-7 high intensity classes plus PT 3x every 4th week and taking my children for 5-10km hikes a couple of times a week. At least one day a week is dedicated to active rest, with the minimum 1mile run and a walk/hike.