Is my exercise challenging enough?

TriedEverything

Hi everyone,

No doubt questions along these lines have been asked before - but I am wondering whether I'm pushing myself enough with the exercise I do.

The main cardiovascular activities I do are walking, swimming and fairly gentle aerobics. I usually do between 30 & 60 mins of exercise most days (certainly 5 days out of 7 - I work a couple of night shifts each week, and find it hard to fit in exercise on those days). I'm middle aged, about 60lbs overweight, and have avoided exercise like the plague for most of my life! :ohwell:

I don't really feel comfortable with getting completely breathless, and feeling my heart pounding as though it's going to explode! But is it necessary to feel like that in order to really burn the calories? I'm always afraid I'll collapse & die if I overdo it!:sick:

I've always thought that it's good to be just slightly out of breath, maybe very mildly perspiring (which I usually notice around the back of my neck, as I have shoulder length hair!) and to need just a few minutes to recover (not to be wiped out for ages afterwards!).

I'd just be interested to see if people think this sounds reasonable, or if I should be doing more. My weight loss is pretty slow-going, but I can blame that partly on the eating side of things, as I usually have at least one day each week when I deviate from the diet, and I am not one of those people who can survive on low calories, or easily manage without snacks! I am trying to work on not having as many "off" days. :embarassed:

Any input would be appreciated.

Sojaided34

I am in the same boat. I walk every day, try to throw in some yoga when I can. I am fairly active throughout the day (stay at home mom). I also have 60 pounds to lose. Nothing I seem to try works either. I've been to the gym every day for months (half cardio, half weights) nothing works. I was doing the Insanity dvds. I find it hard to believe people when they say they lost 10lbs or whatever the first 2 weeks. I lost a couple pounds. To each his own I guess.

Anyway, I was told to try HIIT (high intensity interval training) at least 5 times a week and weights at least 3x per week.

kealambert

I'm not sure, I wonder myself if I'm pushing myself hard enough.

My thoughts are, work up to it. if you're sedentary, and just working out for the first time, go easier and just get used to working out and into the habit of it. as you progress, pushing yourself is the natural next step. personally, I like the feeling of knowing I kicked my *kitten* and stressed my body

peuglow

I have 60 year old women take my kick boxing class, and they sweat like crazy! I don't think you should be afraid of hard work, just work your way up to it!

Progman

I would suggest that you're doing fine, for now. Find your groove and go with it for awhile, always being ready to push yourself further when you feel you can. Any exercise is better than no exercise.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults.aspx

Here's an interesting article about how much exercise you should be doing. Most importantly you need to find out how far your heart can go. We all have a maximum and should try to reach withing 10 beats (roughly ) of our maximum when doing cardiovascular workouts.

The link above should lead you to any other info you need. Hope it helps.

Kevin

linz1125

I recommend getting a heart rate monitor and targeting your heart rate instead of pushing yourself just before the point of not being able to breathe. Consult with your doctor on what your heart rate should be while exercising and try to stay within that range. That is probably the best way to tell if your workout is challenging enough. Also know that your target heart rate will change as you lose weight. I have an old Polar F6...as long as you have one with a chest strap that will at least give you an idea where your heart rate is. It also tells you how many calories you have burned, so that is a nice plus!

elishazf

It sounds like you're doing fine. What I would do is every week or every time you work out or whatever just push yourself a bit more. That's what I've been doing and I've been able to do cardio longer and harder than I was doing it a month ago.

TriedEverything

Thank you very much everyone (& thanks to Kevin for that link, I will definitely check it out ).

It's also comforting to know I'm not the only one who has these doubts!

You have all pretty much reassured me that I am not too far off the mark. I actually do a little bit more now than when I joined MFP (about a year ago) - a 20 minute moderate walk used to be more or less my maximum in a day! So I have built up a little already, and will aim to build up a little more (but I think it's probably important to do it gradually at my age & weight!).

Note the advice about the heart rate monitor too - I have kept toying with the idea of getting one, but I'm partly afraid I wouldn't know how to use it!! Hopefully they are fairly straightforward!

Anyway, thanks again, your replies have been helpful :flowerforyou:

elainecroft

Another way to tell is the conversation test - if you can carry on 'light' conversation, you are probably ok. If you can chat it up without getting a little out of breath, you can probably push yourself a bit harder.

Lefty634

HRM will tell you when your pushing to your limits. I finally got one and found out I can push harder than I thought.

Topsking2010

I recommend getting a heart rate monitor and targeting your heart rate instead of pushing yourself just before the point of not being able to breathe. Consult with your doctor on what your heart rate should be while exercising and try to stay within that range. That is probably the best way to tell if your workout is challenging enough. Also know that your target heart rate will change as you lose weight. I have an old Polar F6...as long as you have one with a chest strap that will at least give you an idea where your heart rate is. It also tells you how many calories you have burned, so that is a nice plus!

Good advice!!!

I use a polar FT 4.

erickirb

OP, what are your goal?

If it is just to lose weight then you don't have to push yourself hard at all, just burn more cals than you take in in a day over time.

If you goal is to become more athletic, get stronger, faster, etc. Then you will have to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

If you're feeling challenged, you're doing it right. If you don't feel challenged, up your game a notch. Not necessarily longer, but increase your intensity, try new things.

Hmrjmr1

I recommend getting a heart rate monitor and targeting your heart rate instead of pushing yourself just before the point of not being able to breathe. Consult with your doctor on what your heart rate should be while exercising and try to stay within that range. That is probably the best way to tell if your workout is challenging enough. Also know that your target heart rate will change as you lose weight. I have an old Polar F6...as long as you have one with a chest strap that will at least give you an idea where your heart rate is. It also tells you how many calories you have burned, so that is a nice plus!

This is the best advice and I would stress the part about seeing your Doctor to help you determine a good target Heart Rate. I do Recreation therapy and was an Army Master Fitness trainer for many years, You appear to be doing fine but a docs visit would confirm that and may result in you setting realistic, challenging, but achievable goals. The Polar HRMs are a great series and once you set yours up they are pretty much intuitive in their use. You can friend me if you like as some of the things I do may be useful examples.

TriedEverything

Thank you so much everyone

My only real goal is to lose weight - and when (or if!!) I get to a healthier weight, I may see about toning up a bit, but I am not interested in becoming stronger or more athletic. I think in order to lose weight more effectively, I probably need to *either* eat a bit less, *or* exercise a bit more, but neither option is very appealing! :ohwell:

Anyway, I will look through all your replies again at a more leisurely pace, so that I can take it all in properly - I'm very grateful for all your advice. :flowerforyou: