Is there such a thing as "too intense"?

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Replies

  • Pinkranger626
    Pinkranger626 Posts: 460 Member
    There is such a thing as too intense. I wouldn't consider your routine to be that. As long as you're not having issues such as fatigue ( I mean total exhaustion that won't go away) or soreness that lasts more than 2-3 days at a time I would't worry about it. The other aspect that can change your workouts to "too intense" is whether you're eating enough calories. If you're working out for an hour a day and meeting your calorie goals then I wouldn't even worry about it.
  • Joanne_Moniz
    Joanne_Moniz Posts: 347 Member
    I met with a nutrition student on my campus for nutrition counseling, and he said my workouts may be "too intense." Is there such a thing? My workouts are an hour a day, 3-6 days a week and typically include some sort of combination of:

    30 min. circuit
    30-45 min. jogging @ 5.0
    15 min stairmaster
    15-45 elliptical

    He says I'm burning calories but they're coming from carbs and not fat. Is that a bad thing?? Thanks!

    Your body has different energy systems. With the way you are working out, you are burning fat, after the first 20-30 minutes or so.
  • nrheasley
    nrheasley Posts: 78 Member
    It completely depends on what your intake is. There is no way he (or anyone) can determine where the calories are coming from, unless he knows what you're eating. That being said, there exists something called calorie partitioning (Google it), and that may determine how much energy is being utilized from carbs, fats or protein. One of the biggest problems however (especially for females), is too much energy expenditure (aka LISS or moderate cardio) and not enough intake. If you are doing that kind of VOLUME (which is what I think he meant- not intensity BTW), and eating 1200 cals/day; yes that may be a problem.

    I would (as others have) recommend focusing more on resistance training and diet, while keeping the low to moderate cardio (jogging, walking, biking) limited to 2-3 sessions per week with 2 -3 interval training (HIIT) sessions added.

    He looked at my MyFitnessPal diary. I adjusted my settings to "lightly active" to give myself a few extra calories per day.

    I am able to put 30-60 minutes into working out per day. Does anyone have any recommendations on how that should be split between strength training and cardio? Thanks!
    A typical beginner weight program is a full-body workout (45-60 minutes), at least two and preferably three non-consecutive days per week. You can fit cardio in on the alternate days. People often do something like this...
    Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Weights
    Tuesday, Thursday: Moderate cardio
    Saturday: HIIT cardio
    Sunday: Total rest day

    My own schedule is a bit more schizophrenic than that, but you probably get the idea. :smile:

    This is super helpful--thank you!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    He says I'm burning calories but they're coming from carbs and not fat. Is that a bad thing?? Thanks!


    That tells me he knows something less than noting about weight loss (ie he's bought into the "fat burning zone" myth) but I do agree with those suggesting that you add some resistance training (weights) to your routine. Cardio is great for burning lots of calories (which is a good thing in the context of weight loss) and it's great for cardiovascular health but when it comes to body composition nothing replaces weight training.
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,293 Member
    I would have thought too intense would be pushing your max heart rate too much too often.
    As for burning too many carbs - no such thing: that's how you get to eat more of them :wink:

    If you are looking into fuelling cardio, maybe read "the new rules of marathon and half marathon nutrition"...
    But at an hour, I don't think you are anywhere near using too many calories per workout. I don't usually even bring a water on less than an hour...
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    Too intense? No. You will have to bump up you're intake significantly if you want to have energy to do it daily. Otherwise you'll burn out. Yesterday I ran a 20 miler at marathon pace (6:50). Food intake went from 2,400 to 4,505 and that's still having me at a 500 deficit.
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
    A typical beginner weight program is a full-body workout (45-60 minutes), at least two and preferably three non-consecutive days per week. You can fit cardio in on the alternate days. People often do something like this...
    Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Weights
    Tuesday, Thursday: Moderate cardio
    Saturday: HIIT cardio
    Sunday: Total rest day

    My own schedule is a bit more schizophrenic than that, but you probably get the idea. :smile:

    I love that line...:laugh:

    I prefer to say my *schedule* has a serious case of ADHD
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    A typical beginner weight program is a full-body workout (45-60 minutes), at least two and preferably three non-consecutive days per week. You can fit cardio in on the alternate days. People often do something like this...
    Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Weights
    Tuesday, Thursday: Moderate cardio
    Saturday: HIIT cardio
    Sunday: Total rest day

    My own schedule is a bit more schizophrenic than that, but you probably get the idea. :smile:

    I love that line...:laugh:

    I prefer to say my *schedule* has a serious case of ADHD
    Haha, so much this! Because there are so many fun things to do, and time is sadly finite.

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