Too much cardio??

I agree with more cardio the better with one stipulation...........you have to give it your all. If you are doing the treadmill - do it fast. Keep increasing speed and/or incline. Same with eliptical - don't just spend the time - you have to do it hard. Usually that can't last for 45-55 minutes.......so go harder for shorter time is my suggestion.

you might want to look into High Intensity Interval training, or swapping steady state cardio for higher intensity conditioning. for example, instead of just steady state on elliptical, try running or biking on 40 second on, 20 second off (or 30 on/30 off). For example, I will get on a treadmill and run at 9 MPH for 40 seconds, jump off the belt, rest for 20, and repeat 10 times.

I would substitute the (almost) hour of cardio for a shorter period of HIIT. You'll see more efficient results. I wouldn't advise anyone to spend that much time on an elliptical... You are walking your dogs 3 miles every other day, you're already moving around a lot. I would definitely switch to a shorter, high-intensity workout for cardiovascular efficiency.

Unless you're having joint, muscle or health issues, there's no such thing as too much cardio in my book. Obviously if your muscles are sore the next day you probably want to take a day off to let them rest but if you're not having issues, keep going.

That amount of cardio does not sound too excessive to me. I would just ask what are you trying to get out of it? Are you doing it for heart lung conditioning? Calories burning? Training to do an activity?

Cardio is not necessary for weight loss. Simply being in a calorie deficit will allow you to lose weight. The strength training will make sure you maintain as much lean body mass as possible and the majority of the weight loss will come from body fat.

You can get a great heart and lung workout with about 20-30 minutes of cardio if you push yourself so going longer than that might not be necessary depending on your goals.

ITA agree with this post... It's important to think about WHY you're doing that much cardio. Is it too much? Almost certainly not. Lots of people run for an hour a day, but they're usually doing so because (for instance) they are training for competitive runs. It's not necessary to do that much cardio if your goal is to lose weight. Is it too much? No, but if you value your time and don't really love being on an elliptical that long, it's possible to introduce more variety and efficiency for the same results, if not better

Hey if you enjoy it, and you feel good, then go with it. By no means is that too much cardio, especially if cardio is what you like doing.

I've also been following this thread, and I understand exactly what you mean about gym time being your time! I do agree with 'secretlobster' about the High Intensity Interval Training, though. I've been working with trainers (functional circuits, agility, plyometrics, etc.) for many years, and I didn't believe them about the HIIT until I tried it for a while. I'm prone to overtraining because I love it so much, and I was developing overuse injuries over time. Now I take at least one day and do 30 minutes of intervals on either the elliptical or the spin bike (alternating for something different), doing 1 minute as fast as I can go and 1 minute slow recovery. My goal is to get to 1:30 on and :30 recovery. (I started at 30sec on 30 sec off.) I use a heart rate monitor to adjust my intervals as I get better at recovery. I am replacing my usual hour of cardio with this 30-minute more efficient workout and I think I get better results for less time spent! You could use the extra time to stretch, do yoga, swim, use the sauna or something else relaxing for your body.