What to do?

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hannahbanana76
hannahbanana76 Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
How many days a week should i be exercising and what types of exercises should i do? I'm trying to lose around 25-30 pounds by the time school starts up in the fall. im at 169-171 right now. Any tips?

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  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    I work out 3 times a week at least. You just need to do what works for you. I like working out every other day with Thursdays and Fridays off. However on THursdays and Fridays I might do a mini work out. Just do what works best for you. SOme people work out 6 days a week.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    How many days a week should i be exercising and what types of exercises should i do? I'm trying to lose around 25-30 pounds by the time school starts up in the fall. im at 169-171 right now. Any tips?

    I'm not an expert .... but you will want to do at least 2 types.....

    Cardio to burn calories, increase stamina, and work your heart.

    Strength training to hang onto to existing muscle which is important for metabolism (muscles at rest burn a few calories). Strength training is extremely important to the "shape" of your body .... which will reveal itself after the fat is mostly gone. When you work your muscles to "fatigue" during srength training .... your muscles will keep burning calories long after the workout it done.

    I like to add (I'm older) ...... yoga for flexibility & balance. Younger people can get away with less of this.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    How many days a week should i be exercising and what types of exercises should i do? I'm trying to lose around 25-30 pounds by the time school starts up in the fall. im at 169-171 right now. Any tips?

    I'm not an expert .... but you will want to do at least 2 types.....

    Cardio to burn calories, increase stamina, and work your heart.

    Strength training to hang onto to existing muscle which is important for metabolism (muscles at rest burn a few calories). Strength training is extremely important to the "shape" of your body .... which will reveal itself after the fat is mostly gone. When you work your muscles to "fatigue" during srength training .... your muscles will keep burning calories long after the workout it done.

    I like to add (I'm older) ...... yoga for flexibility & balance. Younger people can get away with less of this.

    ^ For the most part, I agree with this. I just don't do the yoga thing I'm not, and never have been, bendy. As long as I'm flexible enough to do decent squats, I'm good.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    For weight loss you need calorie deficit and that's it.

    For health you need some kind of strength training and some kind of cardio. Strength training will also make you look better as you lose weight because you'll hang on to your muscle instead of losing it along with the fat.

    I lift weights 3 times per week using the Stronglifts program and I do cardio a couple of days per week for about half an hour to an hour. I haven't done this much exercise the whole time I lost weight, but I would recommend it personally.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    How many days a week should i be exercising and what types of exercises should i do? I'm trying to lose around 25-30 pounds by the time school starts up in the fall. im at 169-171 right now. Any tips?

    I'm not an expert .... but you will want to do at least 2 types.....

    Cardio to burn calories, increase stamina, and work your heart.

    Strength training to hang onto to existing muscle which is important for metabolism (muscles at rest burn a few calories). Strength training is extremely important to the "shape" of your body .... which will reveal itself after the fat is mostly gone. When you work your muscles to "fatigue" during srength training .... your muscles will keep burning calories long after the workout it done.

    I like to add (I'm older) ...... yoga for flexibility & balance. Younger people can get away with less of this.

    ^ For the most part, I agree with this. I just don't do the yoga thing I'm not, and never have been, bendy. As long as I'm flexible enough to do decent squats, I'm good.

    Younger people can get by without the yoga. I'm not there yet, but when I see senior citizens who take tiny shuffle type steps (their balance is gone) .....it scares the heck out of me.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    CDC exercise recommendation:

    http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/index.html
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    You can exercise all you want, but as long as you aren't at a calorie deficit, your weight will either maintain or increase. Control the intake first, and exercising will be icing on the cake.
  • sharris215
    sharris215 Posts: 21 Member
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    I'm about the same weight as you and I work out 6 days/week. I do 30 Day Shred 6 days, upper/lower/abdominal strength training 3 days/each, and a HIIT jump rope workout 3 days.

    I started out just doing a lot of walking (2-6 miles/day) and the same strength training 3 days/week and was able to lose about 20 pounds...but now it's hot and gross outside so I switched to something I could do completely indoors in less time and still get good results. After 2 full weeks of this new routine, the scale hasn't dropped BUT I've lost an inch off my waist and hips since I started and my clothes are already fitting better (or just looser depending on the piece) so I'm sure the scale will start to reflect that in the next week or so since I track my calories here pretty closely.

    Good luck and remember it's ok to start slow--just push yourself a little more each day and never tell yourself you can't. You can.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    How many days a week should i be exercising and what types of exercises should i do? I'm trying to lose around 25-30 pounds by the time school starts up in the fall. im at 169-171 right now. Any tips?
    5-6 days a week, if not more.
  • hannahbanana76
    hannahbanana76 Posts: 7
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    Hey guys! Thanks for all the input! Sorry I haven't replied, been at the barn riding! I usually walk three miles a day, and I've been doing Jillian M's Ripped in 30, but I'm getting so bored with it, anyone else have this issue?
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    I get bored with any DVD exercise. And cardio too, actually, I just do it anyway because it's generally a good idea. My advice is to find exercise that you enjoy and that doesn't bore you if possible.
  • hannahbanana76
    hannahbanana76 Posts: 7
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    Well, i ride horses every day! but I feel like thats not enough to lose weight lol
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Like I said before, weight loss is just calorie deficit. You can get that only through food or you can get it from a combination of food and exercise.

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