Is there such thing as too much exercise?

malditamelodia

Hey guys,

Melody here. Was just wondering if doing an hour of brisk walking/jogging PLUS 30 minutes of Tae bo is too much "exercising" for a day? I know you're supposed to take in enough calories as you burn them, but if I calculate right, an hour of jogging (300 calories) + Tae bo 30 mins (400) is 700 cal... is that too much? Am I supposed to eat another 700 calories if I burned that much?

I'm at 1200 calories per day and want to lose 2 lbs a week. Don't get me wrong. I'm not gonna be doing that everyday... but somedays, I feel like when I'm just lounging around the house (after dinner) I could be doing a quick tae be session. I usually do my jog early in the morning.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks a bunch!!! xo

FullOfWin

Such a thing? Yes. Are you doing it? No.

malditamelodia

Such a thing? Yes. Are you doing it? No.

OK.

Cyclink

There is, but usually "too much exercise" means:
1) not enough recovery time between one workout and the next (usually a problem with really intense intervals or heavy lifting)
2) not enough food between one workout and the next (usually not enough carbs to refuel the muscle, not enough protein to rebuild muscle, or not enough fluids to rehydrate)

Granted, there is a point where you are exercising so much and so intensely that you cannot eat or rest enough to keep up. Unless you are exercising more than 8 hours a week, that's really not a concern (if you build up to it, you could be doing 20 or more).

The way to lose weight is to create a deficit between what you are burning and what you are eating. If the deficit is too small, you lose weight slowly. If it's too big, you lose weight quickly until your body notices and screeches everything to a halt.

You also need to be careful to keep your eating above your BMR (basal metabolic rate), which is the bare minimum amount of calories that it takes for you to be alive and healthy. For most people, that's 1200 calories or more, so eating 1200 calories per day is probably not enough for you to work out and lose weight at the same time.

The amount of weight that most people can lose safely without messing anything up AND maximizes their chances to keep it off is between 1 pound per week and 1% of body weight per week. If you weigh 200 pounds or more, then 2 pounds per week could work for a while. If you are less than that, you may want to rethink your goals.

It's not that you can't lose more. It's that you are more likely to hit really difficult plateaus and even regain weight (plus interest) if you lose too quickly.

malditamelodia

There is, but usually "too much exercise" means:
1) not enough recovery time between one workout and the next (usually a problem with really intense intervals or heavy lifting)
2) not enough food between one workout and the next (usually not enough carbs to refuel the muscle, not enough protein to rebuild muscle, or not enough fluids to rehydrate)

Granted, there is a point where you are exercising so much and so intensely that you cannot eat or rest enough to keep up. Unless you are exercising more than 8 hours a week, that's really not a concern (if you build up to it, you could be doing 20 or more).

The way to lose weight is to create a deficit between what you are burning and what you are eating. If the deficit is too small, you lose weight slowly. If it's too big, you lose weight quickly until your body notices and screeches everything to a halt.

You also need to be careful to keep your eating above your BMR (basal metabolic rate), which is the bare minimum amount of calories that it takes for you to be alive and healthy. For most people, that's 1200 calories or more, so eating 1200 calories per day is probably not enough for you to work out and lose weight at the same time.

The amount of weight that most people can lose safely without messing anything up AND maximizes their chances to keep it off is between 1 pound per week and 1% of body weight per week. If you weigh 200 pounds or more, then 2 pounds per week could work for a while. If you are less than that, you may want to rethink your goals.

It's not that you can't lose more. It's that you are more likely to hit really difficult plateaus and even regain weight (plus interest) if you lose too quickly.

Wow! OK! That was very helpful...thank you!

LorinaLynn

I wouldn't say that's too much exercise, but it's not enough food for the amount of exercise you're doing.

Plus, I'd swap out some of that cardio for a couple strength training sessions a few times a week.

lizziebeth1028

I wouldn't say that's too much exercise, but it's not enough food for the amount of exercise you're doing.

Plus, I'd swap out some of that cardio for a couple strength training sessions a few times a week.

^^^^Good answer! Ditto!

DavPul

Such a thing? Yes. Are you doing it? No.

Listen to this guy. He's smart

DavPul

I wouldn't say that's too much exercise, but it's not enough food for the amount of exercise you're doing.

Plus, I'd swap out some of that cardio for a couple strength training sessions a few times a week.

Listen to her too. Also very smart and helpful. You should probably send her a friend request. You can learn a lot just following her forum posts.

HeidiMightyRawr

Yes there is such a thing, but I don't think what you're doing is too much IF you are eating enough to support your workouts. Yes, that means eating 700 more than what your goal is set to, so 1200 + 700 = 1900 a day. I would advise taking a rest day each week too.

KANGOOJUMPS

i do 2 to 3 hours of cardio a day 7 days a week, i love it!

laura_lynn66

i do 2 to 3 hours of cardio a day 7 days a week, i love it!

She really does! I can vouch for her!

3dogsrunning

Such a thing? Yes. Are you doing it? No.

Listen to this guy. He's smart

This.

I wouldn't say that's too much exercise, but it's not enough food for the amount of exercise you're doing.

Plus, I'd swap out some of that cardio for a couple strength training sessions a few times a week.

Listen to her too. Also very smart and helpful. You should probably send her a friend request. You can learn a lot just following her forum posts.

This.


Also - I wouldn't estimate Tae Bo at 400 calories for a half hour - that is extremely high.

TriPixie

There is, but usually "too much exercise" means:
1) not enough recovery time between one workout and the next (usually a problem with really intense intervals or heavy lifting)
2) not enough food between one workout and the next (usually not enough carbs to refuel the muscle, not enough protein to rebuild muscle, or not enough fluids to rehydrate)

Granted, there is a point where you are exercising so much and so intensely that you cannot eat or rest enough to keep up. Unless you are exercising more than 8 hours a week, that's really not a concern (if you build up to it, you could be doing 20 or more).

The way to lose weight is to create a deficit between what you are burning and what you are eating. If the deficit is too small, you lose weight slowly. If it's too big, you lose weight quickly until your body notices and screeches everything to a halt.

You also need to be careful to keep your eating above your BMR (basal metabolic rate), which is the bare minimum amount of calories that it takes for you to be alive and healthy. For most people, that's 1200 calories or more, so eating 1200 calories per day is probably not enough for you to work out and lose weight at the same time.

The amount of weight that most people can lose safely without messing anything up AND maximizes their chances to keep it off is between 1 pound per week and 1% of body weight per week. If you weigh 200 pounds or more, then 2 pounds per week could work for a while. If you are less than that, you may want to rethink your goals.

It's not that you can't lose more. It's that you are more likely to hit really difficult plateaus and even regain weight (plus interest) if you lose too quickly.

*nods emphatically*

I agree with this poster. Personally, I eat back most of my exercise calories every day. As a triathlete, I normally do 2 workouts per day (many times 2 cardio) and have one day of complete rest per week. Make sure that your carbs calories are around 50% of your diet (complex only please!) if you are doing that much cardio. I know, I know, disagree if you want - but carbs = energy and with all that cardio, you need it!

As a side note - muscle burns calories, fat does not. So...if you want to loose weight, build muscle! Just a thought.

FatgutBgone

There are signs of overtraining, Plateaus, joint pain, going backward (getting weaker, gaining weight). Also irritability, insomnia, depression. It usually comes from like they said above, from not resting or eating enough and doing too much too fast. You can build up to 5 to 6 hours a day but you have to eat enough calories (carbs, protein, and fats) to cover your training and base metabolic rate minus about 500 calories to make enough of a deficit to lose 1 pound or so a week. If you want to gain muscle then you need to make it equal or plus 500 calories. As long as you listen to your body and rest when you have to. even taking off a week and just doing a minimum amount of exercise like a half hour walk a day, you will do great.:happy:

Cyclink

i do 2 to 3 hours of cardio a day 7 days a week, i love it!

She really does! I can vouch for her!

Geez, and I thought _I_ did a lot!