what is a "good" amount of exercise a week?

lin7604

I am looking for suggestions. I started doing 4-5 days a week of cardio ( elliptical or treadmill) for 30-45 min each time. I then added 30ds to that mix in dec and i found doing something 7 days a week was a bit much. I want to make it something that is doable so i don't get discouraged doing it. I have another 5-7 lbs to loose to reach my goal weight and i have had a very hard time loosing my weight period! I want to keep in the healthy mode and knowing that cardio is a good thing for my health but how many days or how long is " good"?

jarrettd

You'd be better off lifting heavy 3x a week. Lifting only takes 30-35 minutes a session and burns fewer cals than cardio, but has an "afterburn" effect that lasts! Plus, as you increase strength and muscle, you burn more cals at rest. And, believe me, it'll look great on ya!

If you must do cardio, HIIT is the way to go. Warm up, then go at intervals: 1 minute max effort, 2 minutes moderate effort, rinse, repeat. Twice the burn in half the time, and better conditioning than steady-state cardio.

This close to your goal, your gonna have to mix it up to get the job done. Best of luck to you!

lin7604

thx. i don't have weights, i live out of town with no gym near me either... the only thing i had was 30 ds with 3lb weights. I can eventually get more in time but can't afford anything right now so i need to use what i have for now. I will try to introduce hiit but how many days a week and how long. I have no more then 1 hr max from 8-9 at night to get any exercise in...

melrose09

thx. i don't have weights, i live out of town with no gym near me either... the only thing i had was 30 ds with 3lb weights. I can eventually get more in time but can't afford anything right now so i need to use what i have for now. I will try to introduce hiit but how many days a week and how long. I have no more then 1 hr max from 8-9 at night to get any exercise in...

I like dumbbells, but a LOT of my exercises are just me myself and I Push ups of many varieties, pull ups, planks, lunges, squats, a variety of sit ups, etc etc etc. I log them as calisthenics. I do them in circuits of 5 exercises cranking out as many as I can in one minute of each (so 5 minutes) rest for 60 seconds and repeat. I usually have 3 circuits I do when that I my goal for the day and then finish off with core and acro for a total of 50-55 minutes. You will feel it and see the results.

jarrettd

that's the beauty of HIIT. You can get more good out of 20 minutes of HIIT than in an hour of steady-state.

I do HIIT after my NROLW workouts. (I live in the Boondocks and the only gym in our county has sucky hours. I've built a home gym with second-hand buys from a local trading paper. LOVE IT!)

HIIT looks something like this on my elliptical...

Warm-up: 45 rpm for 3 min @ resistance level 1, 55rpm for 2 min @ level 2
(will stay at or near 55rpm from here on out...)
Interval 1: level 4 for 1 min, level 2 for 2 min.
Interval 2: level 5 for 1 min, level 2 for 2 min
Interval 3: level 6 for 1 min, level 2 for 2 min
Cool down: level 1 for 2-3 minutes, slowing down near the end until breathing/HR back to normal.

You could do the same walking outdoors, jumping rope, running in place. The principal is to go max for that minute, then keep your HR up somewhat during recovery, then go at it again!

This takes less than 20 minutes, and produces a greater burn than an hour of steady-state.
As you progress, bump your intervals up to higher levels. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself!

You can do this 3-5 x per week, but honestly, I would mix it up with something you really enjoy so you don't get burned out.

corrymeela

the point of HIIT is that your hr stays above 60% max in the 'easy' phase.
so 2 minutes easy might drop below that.
most HIIT is 30 secs max effort,then 45-60 sec easy.
repeat for 20 mins .
10 min warm up/cool down at medium pace.

lin7604

thx, i will try to mix it up like that and see how it goes. I like the fact that it's a 20 min workout, that is what i loved about 30ds.. i can always make time for it! though i think it will be hard for me to get a accurate calorie burn as i would constantly have to re touch my watch continuously..