how do you decide how much to exercise?

kaseysospacey

I worked out for 135 minutes today (a combination of a lot of vigorous Zumba,circuit training a la 30 day shred,and some strengthening exercises) and some people in my life are giving me crap because I'll "overdo it". I feel amazing,I almost did another hr of Zumba before bed but one of my kids woke up.

meshashesha2012

i guess it depends.. are you working out that much because you really like it or because you want to lose weight faster? the latter will more than likely not be sustainable and would set you down a fairly dark path exercise wise. if it's the former then go for it and dont let the naysayers get you down

i can only do 1 hour at a time at most but that's just because i prefer more intense, she-ra princess of power workouts

nlcs_nickyv32

I don't have a plan on how long it's going to take. I personally do the Bill Starr 5x5, followed by some sprints. I don't keep track of time I just keep going till I finish. But on average I think it takes me 90 min to finish everything.

kaseysospacey

Its not all at once,it was split up in three different sessions. I just like the exercise, its fun.

kaseysospacey

My workouts are pretty intense (for me) I go all in/full effort abd Im have a lot of body to move the whole time

BetterKimmer

i guess it depends.. are you working out that much because you really like it or because you want to lose weight faster? the latter will more than likely not be sustainable and would set you down a fairly dark path exercise wise. if it's the former then go for it and dont let the naysayers get you down

i can only do 1 hour at a time at most but that's just because i prefer more intense, she-ra princess of power workouts

What she said

bd0027

It's really easy to burn yourself out on DVD's such as Zumba, trust me. I did the DVDs before and hurried through the discs, often times doubling up. I eventually got bored of the dances since I tried them all so quickly and quit working out altogether. However, if you can avoid that from happening and you enjoy working out, keep with it.

crikey_katie

I just say listen to your body. Some days I'm just really feeling it and spend hours in the gym if time permits. As long as it's not an attempt to drop weight super fast and you feel good an energized do what ever you wish

Betti2

If you love it & it's enjoyable, you feel comfortable & healthy, your body's not complaining, just keep going.

LumberJacck

For some reason, if you exercise more than 2 hours a day, you're "addicted to exercise" which means "you have some sort of disorder" or whatever. Anyway, if you happen to swim 2 hours a day, you get a free pass. I don't know why but 2 hours of running vs 2 hours of swimming are treated differently.

Rant aside, if you are enjoying it, and your body is not suffering, do as much as you want. I congratulate you if you're doing that much and enjoying it. I've always had trouble motivating myself to do exercise.

SezxyStef

who are "some people"?

Is it your husband? your kids? perhaps the time spent exercising used to be spent with them...

you have to be able to balance your desires/needs/wants with those in your life....

If it's your family try including them in some of your exercises...like walking or going for bike rides but also explain that at least 1 hour is your time because as a mom/wife you need to have your time too...

kaseysospacey

No its my friends and some people I used to go to.school with that I socialize with on facebook (particularly we talk about what we've been doing to get in shape and generally motivate each other)

My kids are 2,4 and 6 so its not them
My spouse works at night and I exercise in the morning while he sleeps and at night after he leaves for work so it has no effect on him.

I do wiifit with my kids,they like the games and it lets me get some stretching,yoga etc in but I dont really count that as working out.

Anyway one person in particular is absolutely SURE im going to injure myself. I think its because Im very heavy,but beyond the fact that im heavy,Im in good health and have no issues moving,or with my heart etc.

Ive given up some certain types of foods that I cant eat in a reasonable amount (binge triggers) as I have ednos and issues with binge eating. The exercise (Im thinking endorphins?) has been a wonderful distraction to getting used to the new diet.

kaseysospacey

Anyway this is more like- how do people decide their workout plan? i'm trying to create something reasonable

TAMayorga

I have a crazy-busy life and the only time I have to exercise is at lunch. So I exercise for 30 min a day Mon-Thurs and then for an hour on Fridays. Then I do "life movement", cleaning, mowing, laundry, playing with my daughter on the weekends.

No_Finish_Line

this is actually a really good question.

obvously it's going to be mainly driven by your goals.

quite honestly... 2+ is probably only reasonable if are training for an atheltic event. Or if you indescriminently want to blast mass off your body (both fat and muscle).

If your goal is to lose wieght, and have an atheltic looking body (which is generally a goal of those lifting), the more you exercise the more you will have to eat in order to keep a reasonable defecit and avoid losing muscle.

aneary1980

My gym workout is around two hours one hour of cardio then weights and ab training, I have built up the cardio from 15 minutes to an hour the second half has always been this long just heavier/different weights and different ab exercises. My PT designs this and it changes every month so that a) I don't get bored and b) I push myself a little bit more each month.

I also run on non-gym days but only around 30 minutes.

As long as you are consistent and not trying too much too soon or 'killing yourself' then do what you are comfortable with.

I exercise more so I can have treat/cheat days, I like food.

Timshel_

Is there is a goal in working out for 135 minutes beyond being obsessive? Are you training for something?

There are no guidelines except for people who do not exercise getting at least 30 minutes 3 times per week. Beyond that it is personal preference.

I do an hour a day of training and at least a few hours of sports 3-5 times per week. All my training is based on performance and endurance needs.

BlueBombers

I started off doing like 70 + minutes of cardio a day and I just couldn't keep it up.

So, I played around with my routine for a while until I found something that worked for me.

Now I do 35-40 minutes of heavy lifting 4 x per week and I try to get in 30-60 minutes of walking on my breaks at work. On my days off of lifting I may go for a bike ride or a run if I'm in the mood for it, but that's not set in stone. Otherwise, I just take pooch out for a long walk.

kaseysospacey

Its not my goal to work out that much, I just ended up doing that yesterday. Daily, I do an hour of zumba at night because I like it (although I mute it and listen to my mp3 player haha I hate the zumba music) and I do a session of 30 day shred because Im doing the program and thats whatcha do. Anything else I do is **** I felt like doing because I was bored or something or had a lot of energy.

This is the first time Ive actually had energy to do things in my life (new dr finally got me on a (tripled) higher more accurate dose of my thyroid medication) and Im just enjoying it.

TAMayorga

Well if you're enjoying it, there's your answer!

kgeyser

I think unless you are training for something, and therefore also eating as you would when training for something, lots of exercise can be detrimental. Not only can you burn yourself out easily, but many of the gains of exercise happen during the rest period. If you're not giving your body adequate time to rest and repair, you're selling yourself short.

kaseysospacey

I don't really workout on sunday and monday because my husband is off work and we do family stuff,so is that fine for "rest"?