working out too much?

mjd0109

Ok I've got a couple of questions that I want y'alls opinion on!

1. I work out 7-9 times a week and considering picking up another class at my gym. That would make it about 9-11 work outs a week, if not more. Is this too much?

2. Right now I have my activity level at "light" because I don't work so when I'm not at the gym I'm usually at home or doing errands. Should I increase or decrease it?

I'm 5' 5" trying to lose about 20 lbs and I have it set to lose 1.5 lbs a week, mfp suggests I eat 1210 a day. I normally eat all of those and about half of my exercise calories.

Any and all opinions are welcome!

maggieschuck

Working out is good just make sure to listen to your body. Take a day off if you feel burnt out. Make sure your eating to support your workouts. I would worry about getting overwhelmed. That seems like a lot to manage.

I would keep your activity level at light. That just helps MFP calculate what your net should be. You seem to be doing good. Healthy weight loose is 1-2 lbs a week. Since you have a smaller amount to loose it make come off a little slower.

Take the time to educate your self, eat healthy and stay motivated. You can do this.

jimmydeanbakker

Ok I've got a couple of questions that I want y'alls opinion on!

1. I work out 7-9 times a week and considering picking up another class at my gym. That would make it about 9-11 work outs a week, if not more. Is this too much?

2. Right now I have my activity level at "light" because I don't work so when I'm not at the gym I'm usually at home or doing errands. Should I increase or decrease it?

I'm 5' 5" trying to lose about 20 lbs and I have it set to lose 1.5 lbs a week, mfp suggests I eat 1210 a day. I normally eat all of those and about half of my exercise calories.

Any and all opinions are welcome!

What are you trying to accomplish with all these workout sessions? Personally, I think you're working out too much. How much protein are you consuming per day?

ebkins7

Are you giving yourself a rest day? In my opinion that's A LOT of workingout. It seems a bit extreme and doesn't seem very sustainable. Listen to your body but I would be at my MAX!!!

aippolito1

I think it's fine but I definitely suggest taking a rest day... even if the rest day is a "light" work out like just walking or pilates or yoga or something. Make sure you have rest days in between strength training so your muscles can recover and actually get stronger. You may need to increase your base calories just because you're so "active" in the gym. MFP suggests 1400 for me on lightly active (I wait tables) but I lose weight better with a base of 1600 and I eat most if not all my exercise calories.

Mad_Dog_Muscle

It seems like too much in my opinion. You risk getting burned out

mjd0109

Ok I've got a couple of questions that I want y'alls opinion on!

1. I work out 7-9 times a week and considering picking up another class at my gym. That would make it about 9-11 work outs a week, if not more. Is this too much?

2. Right now I have my activity level at "light" because I don't work so when I'm not at the gym I'm usually at home or doing errands. Should I increase or decrease it?

I'm 5' 5" trying to lose about 20 lbs and I have it set to lose 1.5 lbs a week, mfp suggests I eat 1210 a day. I normally eat all of those and about half of my exercise calories.

Any and all opinions are welcome!

What are you trying to accomplish with all these workout sessions? Personally, I think you're working out too much. How much protein are you consuming per day?

I normally do cardio 6 days a week and then yoga is 5 times a week but I don't make it to all of them. Does that answer your question? I'm not sure what exactly you meant. I'm a vegetarian, but I get a LOT of protein. Some days I'm even over my protein count.

believetoachieve

Cardio 6 times a week is too much in my opinion - my personal trainer has me doing three or four, MAXIMUM. But this depends - are you doing it for 10 mins each time? Or 120 minutes? And what effort level? What kind of cardio? Huge difference

mjd0109

Cardio 6 times a week is too much in my opinion - my personal trainer has me doing three or four, MAXIMUM. But this depends - are you doing it for 10 mins each time? Or 120 minutes? And what effort level? What kind of cardio? Huge difference

True! I switch it up between walking, running, bike, stair climbing, cross trainer, and - starting tomorrow - swimming. I rarely go over 30 minutes but I can't remember the last time I did less then 30 minutes

gogetter765

I would work out, 5 days a week, and give myself 2 days off not back to back, but like Sun. Wed., or Sat. Thurs. I work out sometimes twice a day. i'll do some cardio in the morning, and some strength training in the evening, or vice versa. Your muscles do need time to recover though.

sara_m83

Cardio 6 times a week is too much in my opinion - my personal trainer has me doing three or four, MAXIMUM. But this depends - are you doing it for 10 mins each time? Or 120 minutes? And what effort level? What kind of cardio? Huge difference

True! I switch it up between walking, running, bike, stair climbing, cross trainer, and - starting tomorrow - swimming. I rarely go over 30 minutes but I can't remember the last time I did less then 30 minutes

6 x 30 minute cardio sessions a week is not too much. The question I suppose isn't whether you're going too often or for too long, but whether you're burning too many calories or over-exerting yourself. if it's working for you and you're not exhausted, too sore, making yourself sick from working out too hard, whatever, then I'd say you're fine. Though you may find it more time effective to do 3 x 1hr workouts?

ladyhawk00

Sounds like overkill to me, unless they are very light intensity and/or very short duration, especially for the cardio.

I would say your biggest problem will be that you have your loss goal set too high. I imagine your BMI is close to healthy, if not already healthy. And in that case, you shouldn't really be trying for more than 1 lb/week at most, and probably more like 1/2 lb.

It may help to read this thread - great explanation of how to determine a realistic and healthy cal deficit. Good luck to you!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

tigertchr23

You definitely need to eat more when working out that much. Your focus should be on eating high amounts of protein as well. Remember . . . the number of times working out doesn't mattter as much as the efficiency of the workouts themselves. You can have an hour workout that accomplishes the same as someone doing 3 different workouts.

believetoachieve

Cardio 6 times a week is too much in my opinion - my personal trainer has me doing three or four, MAXIMUM. But this depends - are you doing it for 10 mins each time? Or 120 minutes? And what effort level? What kind of cardio? Huge difference

True! I switch it up between walking, running, bike, stair climbing, cross trainer, and - starting tomorrow - swimming. I rarely go over 30 minutes but I can't remember the last time I did less then 30 minutes

Just going by what my personal trainer told me (I'm hoping to lose about 25lbs still), it's too much. He has me in the weight room for an hour 4x a week, and cardio for no more than 30mins, 3-4x a week. Too much cardio is counter-productive - your muscles get overused, don't recover, and start metabolizing themselves. That being said, there's a big difference between walking for 30 mins (which I wouldn't call cardio!), and running (which definitely is). Go by the amount of calories burned, and your level of comfort. If you're doing 6 intense cardio workouts a week but not feeling any burn, you need to step up the intensity, not duration! :flowerforyou:

believetoachieve

That being said, CONGRATS to you for working out hard! Too much is better than too little (or none!). Just don't burn out, which is likely to happen if you push it too hard!

jimmydeanbakker

Ok I've got a couple of questions that I want y'alls opinion on!

1. I work out 7-9 times a week and considering picking up another class at my gym. That would make it about 9-11 work outs a week, if not more. Is this too much?

2. Right now I have my activity level at "light" because I don't work so when I'm not at the gym I'm usually at home or doing errands. Should I increase or decrease it?

I'm 5' 5" trying to lose about 20 lbs and I have it set to lose 1.5 lbs a week, mfp suggests I eat 1210 a day. I normally eat all of those and about half of my exercise calories.

Any and all opinions are welcome!

What are you trying to accomplish with all these workout sessions? Personally, I think you're working out too much. How much protein are you consuming per day?

I normally do cardio 6 days a week and then yoga is 5 times a week but I don't make it to all of them. Does that answer your question? I'm not sure what exactly you meant. I'm a vegetarian, but I get a LOT of protein. Some days I'm even over my protein count.

Okay. Cardio 6 days out of the week for forty-five to sixty minutes is the kind of cardio for weight-loss, and the Yoga classes help with flexibility. It seems like you're doing okay; but how much weight lifting are you doing? Weight-lifting is extremely important for overall balance. If you feel a little weak or tired at times, you might wanna throw a couple of protein shakes in the mix. For example, I drink a protein shake after my morning run with a whole lot of water; and then after I do my evening workout, I drink another protein shake. I'm consuming a lot more protein than what MFP has listed because my body demands it. I consume 180 to 200 grams of protein per day in order to feed my muscles. First thing in the morning, I hit the treadmill for a little eight mile run; and then after work, I usually workout with weights and do some more running. On Mondays and Thursdays, I teach an advance Step Class, and still have enough energy to yell and scream and all that good stuff.

With all the stuff I do, I end up consuming about 2300 calories. 45% Carbs, 40% Protein, 25% Fat.

2300 X .45 = 258 g carbs
2300 X .35 = 201 g proteins
2300 X .25 = 63 g fats

I'm set to lose about a pound a week. The reason why I train like I train is because I'm training to run a marathon in May.

chrisdavey

I think you need to vary your exercise more. Include some resistance training (yes I know it doesn't burn as many calories :P) Don't just concentrate on scale numbers, take pics/measurements.

I would be doing cardio x3 (mixture of steady state and HIIT), resistance training x 2 (progressive overload of compound exercises), yoga x 2-3 (I love it so I probably do it more than that, good for recovery if you are doing light stuff)

And don't forget to FUEL those workouts!

digit78

Not to question your intensity, however picking the right workout where you operate to exhaustion should lead to you not having the capacity to do as much as your doing.

For example, I could easily do a couple of running machine sessions a day, however a boxing session will leave me struggling to do anything more intensive than walking the dog that day! Ha

AndyBee

Listen to your body. It will tell you if it's too much. I do not think that is too much exercise. Personally, I like to do the 30 Day Shred every day (I've missed a few) and then go to the gym every day that I can for at least 30 min to an hour for cardio. Is my body tired? Yes. Are my muscles sore? Yes. Is it to the point that I'm breaking down my muscles? No. My muscles may be sore, but mainly right after the workout. After a good stretching session, 20 min in the sauna, a nice shower, and walking around the rest of the day, I'm fine.

As long as you are listening to your body, you are completely capable of working out as much as you want. Hell, the contestants on the Biggest Loser workout 4 hours a day! Granted, this is extreme, and they are followed by a physician, but still! You can do this if you are truly committed.

Watch out for injuries, and watch out for burn out. If you push yourself to do more than you really want, then you'll get burned out. But if you are enjoying it (I love the high I get from working out) then go for it!

izobel

I would say absolutely no problem if you are mixing up your cardio. I'm in a similar position in that my days are free - no job or kids and a self-feeding husband :-) I run, cycle, hike, rock climb a lot but not at high intensity. I'm never on the bike for less than 2 hours - but it doesn't feel like exercise. I pedal along the river listening to podcasts. If it is really nice weather I might stop to eat my lunch rather than nibble on my bagel as I pedal. I run a minimum of 40 minutes 3-4 times a week, but conversationally slowly. I'm never tired or sore when I finish. I push weights with very little intensity 2-3 times a week. It is really just a stretch. All makes me hungry though! I'm not trying to lose weight so usually eat around 2,500 calories a day. Yours does sound very low but I'm much taller. I also set the MFP thing to sedentary as that is what I am if I am not exercising - not burning much at this keyboard. I do something most days but don't have any routine so it is just what I feel like although I seldom do nothing. If you are pushing yourself to join many of these classes when you don't feel like it that could certainly lead to burn-out.
Anyway hope it all goes well.

believetoachieve

Okay. Cardio 6 days out of the week for forty-five to sixty minutes is the kind of cardio for weight-loss

It's not the length of time you do your cardio - but the type and intensity of it

mjd0109

I really appreciate the input from everyone! A lot of things suggested are things I do I just didn't think to mention!

I do protein shakes with Greek yogurt a couple times a week, I always take one day off a week (more if I'm exhausted!), I definitely do weight training and resistance training (ive gotta keep up with the exercises after I had my ACL replaced), and I know cardio is all about intensity but I work up a good sweat and keep my HR in whichever zone I'm going for.

On that note, I'm a bit of an over-achiever and perfectionist. I tend to "go big or go home" with things plus I just love the feeling endorphins give me. I can understand where a lot of y'all are coming from with worries of being burned out and muscle exhaustion.

stacielynn1

I do not think it is too much. I do cardio 5 days a week 60 mins and do reg workouts 4 nights a week with strenght training with weights 30 mins each. I also do 1.5 miles on the elipitical 4 to 5 times a week. Its not about doing too much its what you can handle! to some this would be too much but you work up to it. To me excerise relaxes me its not about impressing ppl its about releasing stress and feeling good at the same time. I say continue on the path you are going just listen to your body and rest at least once a week!!