Too Much Exercise?

mytime1986

I really want to set up my workouts my best friend is getting married in June and I would like to push myself harder. I am consistantly losing about a pound to 2 pounds a week. But I am want to try for 3 or four pounds a week.

My question is unhealthy to work out 5-6 days a week at roughly two hours a day? About an hour in the morning and an hour at night? I do mostly cardio in the gym and a few weights also I just started using Jillians 30 day shred.

1crazysunshine

It's certainly fine if you don't mind being extremely sore at first. I'm a high school swimmer and we lift for an hour in the mornings (3 days a week) and swim for 2.5-3 hours 6 days a week. Make sure you do save one day for rest though. You're body will thank you for it and it's just a necessary as the workout days. If you're going to be working out this much, just make sure your body is receiving the proper nutrition it needs. Good luck!

cindyhoney2

I absolutely agree w/this ^^. I'm not working out right now due to an injury but I'm still losing around 2 lbs a week. I love the 30DS and I'm thinking of trying a different JM dvd in the near future.

DavPul

the problem isn't too much exercise; it's too lofty of a weight loss goal.

and the high school swimmer is (1) a teenager, and (2) eating enough to recuperate from that amount of physical activity

concordancia

More exercise won't always have the expected results. It can put so much stress on your body that it releases all those hormones that hoard energy.

For example, over Spring Break, I spent ten days doing at least two work outs a day, combining strength and cardio. In those ten days, I lost zilch. As a matter of fact, it took my body two weeks to recover and start losing again and now it has been a month and this is the first week I have lost more than one pound.

Even on the Biggest Loser, not all of the women can lose 3-4 pounds every week.

Lyadeia

I don't see an issue with more exercise as long as you are eating more to compensate for the calories burned. Most people who add more exercise don't add more calories, and that's the worst thing you could do for your metabolism...

DavPul

^agreed, but she's not going to add the calories because she's looking for 4 pounds a week weight loss

DopeItUp

3-4lbs a week is 1500-2000 calorie deficit a day, every day. That is extreme. That would be extreme for a very large man, nevermind a woman. Don't sacrifice your health for silly short-term vanity goals. It's not worth it. Exercising that much, on that big of a deficit will inevitably lead to sickess, injury and/or a destroyed metabolism.

acm130

Working out is awesome! I love the committment and dedication training requires, actually I mostly enjoy training for an event more then the actual event But I agree with the other folks who point out: a) 3-4 lbs a week is not a great goal b) your potential for injury, illness, metabolic stall-out is greatly increased by your proposed method.
Be patient with yourself, be kind to your body.
If you appropriatly fuel and nurture your body and work out consistently there is absolutely no way you won't achieve the life and body you want. Invest in yourself LONG TERM. The phrase "it's a lifestyle change not a diet" is so cliched it's essentially meaningless and lacks impact, so I won't use it. Quick results are typically not sustainable nor beneficial in the long term. (Do a google search of all the past "Biggest Loser" winners.) Keep working out, keep making sensible choices to fuel your body and just settle in. You can do this, you will do this, there's no rush.

IIISpartacusIII

the problem isn't too much exercise; it's too lofty of a weight loss goal.

and the high school swimmer is (1) a teenager, and (2) eating enough to recuperate from that amount of physical activity

Very good observation. Also... there's the physical / psychological burnout factor and the rebound / binging factor after the extreme short term weight loss is over.