Exercising Daily

bbmich23
bbmich23 Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am just getting back into exercising and eating healthier after not doing much of anything for a year. My husband says I should ease back into exercising every other day. I feel like I should do it every day even if it hurts a bit..I don't know what to do..What do you suggest?? Should I start with every other day, and work up to every day? My biggest form of exercising is power walking. I love to walk and it doesn't feel like exercise to me..until I am done..lol What did you do?

Replies

  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    If you haven't exercised in a while it's best to start off slowly. Either do an every other day or start off with sessions that are shorter in length and add time each week. You should give yourself at least one rest day each week. It helps your body to repair as well as allows you to drop water weight your muscles will hold onto to repair themselves. I normally do a rest day the day before my weigh in day.
  • Ritzbrit
    Ritzbrit Posts: 211 Member
    You definitely want to ease into it. And don't forget to stretch to prevent injury!
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    You definitely want to ease into it. And don't forget to stretch to prevent injury!

    But ensure you warm up slightly before stretching. It's best to do a min or two of walking, jogging on the spot, etc to warm up your muscles and than stretch them.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
    I agree that you don't want to jump right in to every day. Not only does your body need the rest, but I think your mind does too. It might seem great for a couple weeks or even months but I think it you don't give your body the regular break, you will get burnt out at some point. Especially if your exercise is the same every day. But excellent on getting back to it!
  • SJ46
    SJ46 Posts: 407 Member
    I'm more of a dive right in and go for it type of gal but apparently I'm alone, :D

    Maybe do a power walk one day followed by a day of walking at a slower pace, then you are moving around every day but not as intensely.
  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
    You could still do every day if you take it easy... say, a 15 minute walk. As opposed to go hardcore at the gym for 2 hours or something.
  • JenRunTriHappyGirl
    JenRunTriHappyGirl Posts: 521 Member
    If you try to get into everyday all of a sudden, you could hurt yourself and set yourself back. I would listed to your hubs and go every other day for now. If it is an inbetween day and you feel good, maybe try just going for a walk. Nothing too strenuous, but still exercise!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    I would limit exercise to 5-6 days a week. If you want to start with 5-6 days, then you can limit it to 30 minutes. And really, the best thing you can do is make sure you have a good routine weight/resistance training and mild cardio. And make sure you aren't working the same muscles on back to back days. And resting is just as important because when your body recovers, it actually makes progress then.
  • Soloflyergirl2
    Soloflyergirl2 Posts: 127 Member
    Congrats on your focus on YOU...... You can power walk vigorously one day, and the next, go at a slower pace....Add some light weights to your day's exercise..... so you can alternate cardio with strength building..... Be kind to yourself.... and as much as husbands like a trim wife, they sometimes feel threatened that after you hit the " good looks" category, he might lose you... so ... ask him to join you in the walk , build the relationship , and lose weight all at the same time.... :flowerforyou:
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    I am one of those crazy kids that jumps into it right away, BUT most people cannot or should not jump right into it. You can cause more intense injuries if you don't do it right and if you don't give your body rests to get used to the new activity.
  • mbrown0610
    mbrown0610 Posts: 1
    Ditto on all of the above as long as it works for you !
  • dlw13
    dlw13 Posts: 119 Member
    I think it depends on what exercises you're doing. You can safely exercise every day, if you manage the intensity of the exercise. For instance, you can walk every day, but I wouldn't recommend running 5 miles every day. Slow and steady will get you where you want to go. Consistency is key. You can do it!
  • dawncolleen0120
    dawncolleen0120 Posts: 29 Member
    I'm more of a dive right in and go for it type of gal but apparently I'm alone, :D

    Maybe do a power walk one day followed by a day of walking at a slower pace, then you are moving around every day but not as intensely.

    I'm with you. I'm more of a jump in and start to form a habit of walking every day. I'm a walker too (althought not a power walker), but once I'm in the habit of walking, I don't want to wait for an every other day thing. So I'd suggest what this person said.
  • Querian
    Querian Posts: 419 Member
    I exercise daily but with varying intensity. On a light day I will do 20 minutes on the exercise bike which is like nothing. Other days I will do 25 minutes on the bike plus 15 minutes of strength training. On a heavy day I will do an hour of pretty intense cardio (usually alternating between elliptical, treadmill, bike) plus 15 minutes of strenth training. And if I feel spent I do take a day off once in a blue moon.

    My sample schedule:

    Monday - light
    Tuesday - medium
    Wednesday - light
    Thursday - medium
    Friday - light
    Saturday - heavy
    Sunday - heavy without strength

    I should probably mix up my heavy days but it is on the weekends when I have the time for extra workouts so that is when I do them.

    If you are brand new I would say don't overdo it and build up your endurance. Like maybe go power walking 3 days a week but go for less intense walks the rest of the week if you want to be active those days too.
    :flowerforyou:
  • Royaltammy
    Royaltammy Posts: 6 Member
    Hello eveyone. I just started a 1200 calorie a day healthy eating plan. Should i start working out now or wait till increase my calorie intake?
  • jesindc
    jesindc Posts: 724 Member
    You can ease into it and still exercise daily. I got REALLY out-of-shape for a while. I had been a bit of a work-out junky in my 20s so it was depressing when I realized I could no longer workout for even a fraction of the length or intensity that I once had. I talked it over with my doctor and he told me that he'd be happy if I worked out 10 minutes a day to start and he gave me a few specific exercises he wanted me to do.

    So that is what I did. I worked out for 10 minutes a day for about a month. Then I bumped it up to 20 minutes a day. Then after another month or so I bumped it up to 30-40 minutes 5 days a week, plus I started walking during my lunch hour for about 30-40 minutes a day, 4 days a week.

    A year later I am back to the stamina that I had in my early 20s (and I'm actually a lot stronger). I generally do some sort high intensity work out (I've really been liking the Jillian Michaels ones) for about 30 minutes 4-5 days a week. I do 30 minutes of strength training 2 days a week and I walk everywhere on top of that (generally about 25 miles a week). If you had told me that I'd be able to do that this time last year, I would have said no way. At this time last year I felt like I'd never get back to where I was in my mid 20s, but now I feel like I'm even better (except for my poor sad knees)... and it all started with 10 minutes a day.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Hello eveyone. I just started a 1200 calorie a day healthy eating plan. Should i start working out now or wait till increase my calorie intake?

    Now and then you can increase your calories because you need more when you exercise.
  • shano25
    shano25 Posts: 233 Member
    I prefer to jump right in and exercise every day but I vary the type of exercise I do.

    I do an intense workout (cardio/weights, Bikram Yoga) a few days a week and then on the days I don't, I do a yoga tape or I do something like Just Dance on the Wii that gets you moving but not exerting myself.
  • Jess21684
    Jess21684 Posts: 202 Member
    If your juSt starting to ease back into working out, i wouldnt go with everyday..i would start slowly & ease back into it bc otherwise you could burn out quickly & be in more risk of not sticking with it as well. Even ifyou were to just start out commiting to 3-4x a wk, thats still a decent amount, coming from nothing at all. If you can add in a little more intense work like adding in intervals of jogging w ur walk, you could get great results in less time & it will help burn more calories. Even if its .30 sec jogs at a time!! Its best to add in short busts of more strained effort paired with lower or moderate intensity. Def work ur way back up to it & dont do too much at once. At LEAST allow 2days of rest :) good luck!
  • bbmich23
    bbmich23 Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you everyone for the excellent advice! I am on my feet all day at work moving around back and forth, so I am lightly active all day. I just love the energy that exercising gives me..and I am not a patient person and I want results..lol As I am sure we all do..I don't want to hurt myself so I am going to take it slow..At the end of the day I want to know that I was active and I did do something even if it was not intense. Thank you!
  • andycet
    andycet Posts: 55 Member
    I recommend you look at Dailyhiit.com. Its free and for all levels and good instruction and the aim is to do 12 mins a day plus warm up/cooldown.

    I mix there classes into my beachbody workout when I have exta time: http://www.dailyhiit.com/.
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    My opinion, start at 3 days a week. After 2-3 weeks bump it up to 6 days a week. You do need a day of rest....if you want to do 7 make sure you aren't lifting weights every day. Cardio would be fine within reason.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
    My opinion, start at 3 days a week. After 2-3 weeks bump it up to 6 days a week. You do need a day of rest....if you want to do 7 make sure you aren't lifting weights every day. Cardio would be fine within reason.
    This is what I did, and it worked great for me. I walked the dog a mile or two every day, but that's slow and easy. Started with intense workouts on the weekends (because that's when I have more time) and then when summer rolled around, went to 6 days a week. After I reached my goal, cut it back to 5. It's working for me, and my body has time to rest.

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