Am I exercising enough?

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kbrink19
kbrink19 Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

I've been reading this boards a good bit for the last 2 weeks but this is my first post.

I started my journey with this month 100lbs to lose and have 90lbs left. Under the supervision of my doctor and a nutritionist I've cut my calories and such and have been logging foods on MFP. I'm exercising as much as I can. I work 10hr overnight shifts so at this point I've been getting to the gym 4 days a week. The days I don't have time to go the gym I at least try to take my dog on a long walk. I only have 2 weeks left on these overnights so after that I'm going to up my days at the gym.

I was wondering what those of you that have had success at large amounts of weightloss have done in the gym?

I'm spending 40 minutes on the elliptical and burning 500 calories each session. I've started to incorporate light weights. I probably need to get one of the trainers at my gym to teach me how to properly use the weight machines because I have 2 herniated discs in my back and don't want to cause any more damage.

Is 40 minutes of cardio enough or should I be doing more? How much should I be focusing on weights? I want to avoid injury but can probably manage a lot of repetitions of smaller weight but is this enough for what I want to achieve?

I'm pleased with my weight loss so far (even though I know the first few pounds are typically water weight) and I just want to maintain a healthy weight loss pattern and do this slow and steady.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
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    Hiya, what you are doing sounds pretty good to me, you just have to be careful with the calorie burn the machine is telling you that you are doing..they do overestimate :/. But it's a good idea to mix up your cardio and be aware of doing too much cardio, while it's really good, it's strength training that will really help shift the calories. Get your gym trainer to go through some moves with you so you know exactly what you are doing. Few reps with heavier weights are better than lots of reps with lighter weights but go for it and good luck! :smile:
  • matthewsq
    matthewsq Posts: 58 Member
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    actually I think for the weights it doesn't really mean heavier weights and fewer reps is better. If you want to be bulky heavier weights and fewer reps is better if you want to be lean. more reps with heavy weights 12-20.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Enough is what fits into your life without overruling it. If you are losing well and keeping active generally don't fret it.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    40 minutes 4 times a week is better than average I'd say. Just keep up the good work. You've made excellent progress so far.

    And don't push through the pain if any of your activities hurt your back! That's how the people I know with permanent back injuries/spine damage got that way! Listen to your body and stop anything that causes back pain!!!
  • AlphamaleBAMF
    AlphamaleBAMF Posts: 373 Member
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    I was wondering what those of you that have had success at large amounts of weightloss have done in the gym?

    I couldn't have done it without gym and MFP. I've learned a lot in the past 7 months. Sure I still have my short comings. But I had atleast 100lbs to lose and I'm over half way there.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    actually I think for the weights it doesn't really mean heavier weights and fewer reps is better. If you want to be bulky heavier weights and fewer reps is better if you want to be lean. more reps with heavy weights 12-20.

    unfortunatly, it is unclear information like this that perpetuates the cycle of people being misinformed. lean is just having a low. body fat percentage. As far as the difference between reps, reps in the 1-5 range build super dense muscle and strength (called myofibrillar hypertrophy), reps in the 6-12 range build a somewhat equal amounts of muscular strength and muscular endurance, reps in the 12+ range build muscular endurance and size (this is called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy). Generally people don't do any more then 20 reps, with 15 being the usual stopping point.

    When lifting, most people will agree that "heavy" is the amount that becomes difficult to lift on your last two reps, without sacrificing form.
  • kbrink19
    kbrink19 Posts: 7
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    Thank you guys for all the great feedback! I just got back from a 45 minute workout after an 11hr overnight shift covering Hurricane Isaac (I work in news) and I feel pretty great.

    I will work on incorporating more strength training as I not only want to lose weight but I want to be toned and burn fat.

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