How much is too much?

EHolstrom
EHolstrom Posts: 2,563 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This is my work out regimen:

Monday: Full Body
Tuesday: Arms
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Abs
Friday: Yoga
Saturday: Boxing
Sunday: Rest Day

And each day i walk 1 mile and do crunches.

Monday-Thursday my workouts are about 20mins in length excluding the walk and crunches. On friday and saturday its between 30-45mins.

I want to get a gym membership next month and I also want to start the C25K program.

Would that seem like too much? I dont want to overdo it because from experience i'll skip a day and then never start again. And right now makes 4 weeks consecutively doing my routine no problem.(may not seem like a lot to you but its a lot to me)

Replies

  • Ainar
    Ainar Posts: 858 Member
    45 min of cardio one to two times a week is not too much. I used to do 1 hour 5 days a week. Even more than that would not be too much, assuming that yo can successfully recover frm it. Humans are created to run and do a lot of cardio, that's how we survived thousands of years ago.
    Same goes for strenght training. If you can recover from it you can even work out every day. Of course most people cant recover so fast so general rule is to not work out same muscles two cnstructive days in a row. Som for eg. if full body workout at monday includes arms then you might wanan skip arms next day to give it a time to heal up. That being said, that also depends how intense your workouts are. I for example used to do push ups every day before bed, 3 sets until 80% of failure. And I was fine, got some tone and endurance. Now when I do push ups I exhoust myself completelly and I need tat one rest day otherwise I feel week cos I'm not recovering. So it depends.

    This is how my routine looks:

    M - full body strenght training
    T - 40 - 60 min of cardio
    W - full body strenght
    T - 40 - 60 cardio
    F - full body
    S - cardio
    S - cardio

    A lttle more intense than your and works great for me. So you have to look at your workouts and decide yourself. If it works for youi and you have no problems with it then go on.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I don't think it is too much, but I would suggest putting your cardio and yoga in between your strength training days. That way your CNS gets a rest and you will be better able to recover and have less of a possibility of injuries. I prefer to do no more than 2 strength training days consecutively and to alternate strength and cardio days throughout the week.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    While "too much" exercise exists in theory this certainly isn't close to it. I'm curious about your splits though. Why full body just one per week? ...and then circle back to hit arms the next day? And how does one get in a full body workout in a span of just 20 minutes?
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    I think you should probably focus on the intensity of the workout rather than the number. I don't think you are doing too much but when I see you match up a full body workout on mon followed by arms and legs the next two days, it really makes me wonder how effective your full body workout is if you can do that.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    It's a good start and certainly not too much for anyone already on an exercise program. Only you know if it's "too much" for you at this point in time.
  • EHolstrom
    EHolstrom Posts: 2,563 Member
    I guess i should have clarified. Monday-Thursday is more strength and resistance. And low intensity. And by "too much" I didnt mean too much for my body to physically handle but for a beginner to mentally handle. I am committed just scared of failing I guess.
  • Unknown
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  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
    20 minutes a day is not too much, although I'm not sure I see your reasoning as to why you do a body split. You'd be far better off doing a full body workout 3 times a week and then yoga/boxing at the weekend.

    Muscles at a maximum take 48hrs to rebuild , and I mean this is from an intense workout. You'd probably be no where near the 48hr recovery mark.

    Do you see my point? Why do arms/legs etc once or twice a week when it will take you less than 48hrs to recover? Body splits are targeted primarily at advanced lifters but its been so ingrained into the fitness world that a lot of people seem to think its the best thing to do even for beginners.

    I hope this helps.
  • EHolstrom
    EHolstrom Posts: 2,563 Member
    My reasoning is that because THIS is what works for me. I know me. I'll watch what I eat and start exercising and then I get bored after a week or two and stop and wont start again for months. But THIS works for me. I am not getting bored like i would be if I did the same routine every day. I have variety ad its keeping me going. It's not intense because I know I'll burn out fast take a break and wont start again. I hope someday soon to bump it up and be more intense and on schedule but this is whats working for now.
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
    This was advice. Theres no need to go on the defence.
  • DrNerdy
    DrNerdy Posts: 168 Member
    A whole day dedicated to abs? Look to see if you can find an established workout plan.

    You do need to take rests days. You can do your walks and LIGHT exercise on your rest day to keep yourself motivated.
  • EHolstrom
    EHolstrom Posts: 2,563 Member
    I wasnt being defensive, and I didnt mean for it to come out that way. I merely meant to explain why this works for me.
  • EHolstrom
    EHolstrom Posts: 2,563 Member
    I'm not against changing up my routine, as long as there is variety in activities. Walking seems to be the only thing I can do repetitively and not get bored and I do that everyday. I currently only have dumbbells and a resistance band and some dvds and the great outdoors.
  • scottaworley
    scottaworley Posts: 871 Member
    Crunches every day is not necessary or beneficial.
  • arcticfox04
    arcticfox04 Posts: 1,011 Member
    Too much is when you something starts shaking. Happen to me last Friday during legs. Left leg was twitching pretty bad which means I was exhausted.

    Basically if you lift heavy weight for a body part you should give 48-60 hours before you work it again. I'd suggest take your rest day after the full body workout before you start to isolate the other body parts.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    I'm not against changing up my routine, as long as there is variety in activities. Walking seems to be the only thing I can do repetitively and not get bored and I do that everyday. I currently only have dumbbells and a resistance band and some dvds and the great outdoors.

    Just because they're full body resistence workouts doesn't mean they have to be all the same.
  • fatfudgery
    fatfudgery Posts: 449 Member
    First things first: Awesome job on deciding to get fit. Going to the gym and working out consistently isn't easy, so good for you!

    Now: I wouldn't call 20 minutes of strength training too much, but that just seems like a weird split... I don't want you to get discouraged and stop working out, but you may be wasting a lot of effort there for which you won't be seeing much results (crunches? abs day? That's just unnecessary!)

    Can you go into a little more detail about what your workouts look like? What exercises you do, how many sets, reps, how much weight, etc?
  • EHolstrom
    EHolstrom Posts: 2,563 Member
    First things first: Awesome job on deciding to get fit. Going to the gym and working out consistently isn't easy, so good for you!

    Now: I wouldn't call 20 minutes of strength training too much, but that just seems like a weird split... I don't want you to get discouraged and stop working out, but you may be wasting a lot of effort there for which you won't be seeing much results (crunches? abs day? That's just unnecessary!)

    Can you go into a little more detail about what your workouts look like? What exercises you do, how many sets, reps, how much weight, etc?

    thank you and congrats on 312 thats amazing!. Like i said I meant more of too much in activities not so much strain on me. Crunches are fun for me. Most my workouts are just lifting weights or using a resistance band, planks, crunches/sit ups, ect.


    BUT. I just started counting cals again and i'm actually COMMITTED this time unlike previous times. So i'm still learning what works for me, what does, what i can or can not handle, etc. I do not know what the average "workout" is like for someone who does not have access to a gym yet . So i'm changing things up as i go along. Making goals as I learn what I can handle and changing them as I learn what I can not handle.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    My reasoning is that because THIS is what works for me. I know me. I'll watch what I eat and start exercising and then I get bored after a week or two and stop and wont start again for months. But THIS works for me. I am not getting bored like i would be if I did the same routine every day. I have variety ad its keeping me going. It's not intense because I know I'll burn out fast take a break and wont start again. I hope someday soon to bump it up and be more intense and on schedule but this is whats working for now.

    I would work on the commitment muscles before wondering if a list of workouts of unknown intensity is too much.

    I've been doing five days a week of hard swimming for 1.5 hours + (I only log part) plus at least 3 doubles a week with biking and running for the last month and a half and it wasn't too much. Actually was easy once I exercised my commitment muscles.
  • EHolstrom
    EHolstrom Posts: 2,563 Member
    My reasoning is that because THIS is what works for me. I know me. I'll watch what I eat and start exercising and then I get bored after a week or two and stop and wont start again for months. But THIS works for me. I am not getting bored like i would be if I did the same routine every day. I have variety ad its keeping me going. It's not intense because I know I'll burn out fast take a break and wont start again. I hope someday soon to bump it up and be more intense and on schedule but this is whats working for now.

    I would work on the commitment muscles before wondering if a list of workouts of unknown intensity is too much.

    I've been doing five days a week of hard swimming for 1.5 hours + (I only log part) plus at least 3 doubles a week with biking and running for the last month and a half and it wasn't too much. Actually was easy once I exercised my commitment muscles.

    What do you mean by commitment muscles? I cant wait until i can start swimming again!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    The ability to commit. We don't often exercise that part of our self. Even if it is boring, if you commit to it, you do it.

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