How much is too much exercize?

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jerman01
jerman01 Posts: 34 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I try to exercise 5 or 6 times a week. I do a lot of cardio. Usually 75 to 90 minutes. I have been told by friends and family that I am doing too much exercise.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Before and After. Lost 70 lbs


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Replies

  • Azdevil
    Azdevil Posts: 6
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    Wow! I want to say that is some awesome weight loss. The question I have is whether you are eating enough to get all the nutrients your body needs. If you are and a recent physical shows you are healthy, then I do not see a why they think you are exercising too much.
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
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    Wow. That is an impressive change.

    As for as being too much exercise, I guess that depends on what your goals are.

    Such a focus on cardio lends itself to endurance sports comptetitions, such as half marathons and cycling or triathlons.

    If overall fitness is the goal, then I would say scale back to 3 60 minute cardio days. Then 2 other days spend 30 to 60 minutes strength training to promote muscle retention, if not a little growth.

    You have been at this long enough to learn to listen to your body. Try that for 3 months and see how you like it.
  • Hepburn43
    Hepburn43 Posts: 24 Member
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    Really depends on the goal. If you are training for something specific (i.e. marathon) then that should be fine, However, listen to your body. If you start to feel overly fatigued, lose sleep and have injury then back off a little. And make sure you are fueling your body!
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    Like the others said, it really depends on your personal goals, your eating habits, and how your body reacts to the workouts.

    I personally would not be able to stand that much cardio! Others could, though. I prefer 4 days a week of weight lifting for about 45-60 minutes and 2 cardio sessions a week of about 45 minutes. I am eating close to 1800 calories a day with those workouts, and if I did your workouts, I'd probably be stuffing my face with at least 2200 calories just to fuel those bad boys. I love food, but sheesh. :laugh:
  • jerman01
    jerman01 Posts: 34 Member
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    I eat between 2800 and 3200 calories a day. I get plenty of vegetables, fruits and protein. I drink 10 to 12 glasses of water a day.

    I had a physical a few months ago and the Dr said that I probably added 10 years to my life by losing the weight. All of my blood levels were back to normal.
  • pcdoctor01
    pcdoctor01 Posts: 389 Member
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    You look great!
    How long did it take you to lose the weight?
    What did you do to lose the weight? DVDs, jogging, treadmill, elliptical, etc.
  • KNarrainen
    KNarrainen Posts: 135 Member
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    Whilst it is good to mix it up and not just do cardio...

    You know what you are doing, you are achieving and exceeding your goals and living a healthy lifestyle.

    I tend to find the people that say "you're exercising too much" or "Go on have a cake" etc..

    Are not people who are living a healthy lifestyle and perhaps your success makes them fell guilty about their own lack of commitment and achievment.

    Not saying this is the case for everyone, but I think it's a factor.

    Listen to your body is the only advice you need I think.
  • jerman01
    jerman01 Posts: 34 Member
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    Mar 17, 2012 my wife asked me to go on a diet with her. We started a low fat diet. About a month later I found MFP. I have used it everyday since. I refused to eat any calories above my limit. Started exercising May of 12. Lost about 10 lbs a month for 5 months. Then slowed down. It took about 8 to 8.5 months to get to 160. I started at 230. I still track my food everyday.

    I love to exercise. I feel great after a good 90 minutes of hard cardio.
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
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    Wow. Great success story! I'd say keep doing what you're doing. It's certainly working.
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
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    Did your wife change her habits successfully?
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    People can be funny about this stuff. They're used to you being chubby and now that you're not, you look "too skinny" to them. Many of us have heard it. Maybe they listen to you talk about your workouts and think "wow, that's a lot, I couldn't do that" and to them this equals "you're doing too much" because they don't exercise and don't know the difference between too much and just enough. Or it could just be an off the cuff comment that means nothing.

    It's kind of hard to tell without knowing your friends/family or knowing the context of the comment. But going by what you said, I don't think that's too much exercise.

    P.S. One other thought on this - if it's mostly coming from your family, maybe it means they feel neglected because of the time you spend working out instead of with them?
  • EmilyGMcK
    EmilyGMcK Posts: 37 Member
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    Well done!

    I think the same as everyone else as long as your happy and your body isn't feeling too tired then whats the harm? As long as you are enjoying yourself!
  • Ta2dchic20
    Ta2dchic20 Posts: 376 Member
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    I work out 6 times a week myself. 3 days I do 65-75 minutes of cardio, the other 3 days I do 45 minutes of cardio and strength train. I think your body will let you know. You look great, so don't burn yourself out, you have an extra 10 years of exercise a head of you!:drinker:
  • fyoufat
    fyoufat Posts: 85
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    I don't know but you look a lot healthier!!
  • brit_ks_89
    brit_ks_89 Posts: 433 Member
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    I THINK YOU'RE GOOD! I work out 30minutes - 2 hours depending on the day ! : ) HAPPY EXERCISE !
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    in my opinion, an effetice work out is 30-90 minutes long, including warming up, cooling down, and stretching.

    strength train 3-4 times per week, and cardio 2-3 times a week for an over all level of fitness.
  • jerman01
    jerman01 Posts: 34 Member
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    Yes she did She looks great.
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
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    Unless you're specifically training for a marathon I wouldn't spend every day on pure cardio. Mix it up a bit with a few days of strength training.

    CT Fletcher gives a good opinion on over training (warning swearwords) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmmQ7Vk7Wpk
  • tsimblist
    tsimblist Posts: 206 Member
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    It is possible to overtrain. I use an iPhone app called "ithlete HRV" to manage my training load. Occasionally it recommends a rest day when I had a workout planned. Sometimes I take the recommendation and sometimes I ignore it depending on recent stresses.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
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    If you, your doctor, and your wife are happy, that's enough. Those are the opinions that count. Your photos look great! An hour to an hour and a half of exercise a day is NOT excessive.

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