Spacing of weekly workouts

JPParsons

I get 90% of my exercise by attending group classes at my gym, and I've discovered a number of classes that I LOVE. However, they are pretty clustered together. On Sunday mornings I usually do an hour each of bodypump and zumba. And on Monday evenings I usually do an hour of kickboxing and another hour of zumba.

Like I said, I love these classes, but I find after two intense workout days I need some time off, and then my motivation to work out wanes throughout the week. For the past couple of weeks, this is all the exercise I've gotten (the four gym classes), though I also walk about 40 minutes each weekday in my normal commute. Is there a problem with clustering my workouts so close together? Usually by Tuesday morning I just feel like I'm DONE, but I've tried many other classes at my gym and these four are my favorite by far.

smyjohns

Hi,

I'd definitely recommend spacing out your workouts! For a number of reasons

1) spacing them out keeps your body in metabolism boosting "afterburn" for longer
2) instead of getting tired in the second hour, you'll be fresh and expend more energy across all the workouts, thus burning more calories
3) there is some evidence that exercising for longer than 1hr will raise levels of cortisol in your body which may lead to you holding onto more body fat.
4) as you mentioned, recovery time after such long / intense workouts is longer

I don't think there is a "problem" with clustering your workouts so close together, I just think there might be a more efficient and effective way of exercising.

Hope that was helpful. Sounds like you're doing awesome!

poedunk65

I workout 5 days in a row and take the weekneds of. I do some sort of cardio everyday, and do weioghts too. I alternate body section on the weights from day to day though. Everyone is different so do what seems to work for you. The key, as you already know, is to burn more than you comsume.

I ALWAYS recommend readin or watching Forks over Knives.

carrietehbear

Maybe throw in some strength training. My current schedule is 4 days of lifting, 1 cardio only day, & 2 days of active rest. I will be switching to 3 days of heavy lifting, 2 cardio days, & 2 active rest days.

britzzie

It's great that you've found classes that you love. I don't think you need to workout anymore than what you've stated. I don't see any issue with packing all of that activity into two days. If you are still exhausted in the days after your workouts you may not be eating enough.

1. If you only have 15lbs to lose, you should be aiming for .5 or 1lb a week.

2. You should be eating back exercise calories.

3. Are you getting enough rest at night?

cararickel

It's great that you found workouts that you love! However I think that spacing out your workouts throughout the week will definitely help in your efforts to lose weight. If you are exhausted and too sore to work out for days after doing 4 classes back to back then it may be your body talking to you saying it may be too much, too soon. Perhaps you can alternate your favorite classes--1st Sunday, bodypump, 2nd Sunday Zumba? Also, try to make a committment to go to the gym and find a class on say, Wednesday, that may not be quite as fun but gives a good workout or plan to do the strength circuit on that day to complement the bodypump on Sunday. Sounds like you might be getting in more cardio with your commuting walks; are you walking briskly to get the most out of them? If so, then your cardio is consistant--add in some strength work to build muscle and you'll be ok.
Keep up the good work!

JPParsons

Thanks for the helpful responses! I do probably need to get more rest at night. I feel best when I get 8 hours, but lately it's been more like 6-7 hours.

I normally aim to lose 1 lb per week, but I have PCOS and am slightly insulin resistant, so any weight loss is painfully slow, unfortunately. I typically eat back a lot of my exercise calories, but usually over the course of the week rather than on the days I actually work out.. I'd like to lose around 20-25 lbs, and I'm trying to eat a high protein lower carb diet.

I kinda consider the bodypump class my strength training, though it's cardiovascular too. I need to look into the cortisol thing I guess! This routine is definitely working for me right now in terms of my schedule - it sounds like it may not be the most effective way for me to lose though.

JPParsons

I probably walk at a moderate pace during my commutes, but there are definitely some hills/steps along the way that help me get some real cardio in. It's hard to walk super fast in the July heat though - haha. Thanks for all the encouragement!

airen123

I workout 5 days in a row and take the weekneds of. I do some sort of cardio everyday, and do weioghts too. I alternate body section on the weights from day to day though. Everyone is different so do what seems to work for you. The key, as you already know, is to burn more than you comsume.

I ALWAYS recommend readin or watching Forks over Knives.

This. Everyone is different. I work out twice a day during the workweek and once each day on the weekend and I walk at least 4 miles a day on my morning and afternoon breaks. That's a lot for some, but it's what's working for me.