What is/was you exercise routine like?

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mday2107
mday2107 Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
In my opinion, success stories are the greatest motivation out there. So I'm curious. Everyone who has been successful and is at or getting close to their goal weight, what did you do to get there? I'm looking for more detail then just the usual "stay focused, stay motivated, eat clean, move more" sort of answer. What was your favorite exercise routine like? How often did you work out and what were those work-outs?
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Replies

  • Equus5374
    Equus5374 Posts: 462 Member
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    I'm a very active person and have always engaged in some sport or form of exercise, but I gained weight because I was eating too much. The key for me was learning about calories in - calories out and learning about what amount of calories was actually necessary for me to eat. I achieved success by eating at a deficit and not by changing anything I did in the exercise realm.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    Walk four miles in the morning, as quickly as I can.

    Walk two miles in the afternoon, briskly.

    Walk two miles in the evening, slowly with the dogs.

    Lift weights three times a week, then a four days a week with an upper/lower split here soon.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    What was my exercise routine.....that's the key for me.

    I successfully lost weight by eating fewer calories and starting a new consistent exercise regimen. The exercise was temporary.....turns out, the weight loss was also temporary.

    My point, it won't matter what your exercise is (was) unless you keep it up. Exercise is for fitness (and it burns a few calories).....but the fitness will diminish as time goes on without some upkeep.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
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    It's gardening season, so weeding, planting, pruning, moving heavy things from here to there.

    Soon it will be swimming season!

    I get short-term gym memberships in the winter when I can't do outside stuff. Although, I did do quite a bit of roof-raking this winter.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
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    Mon : 5min Tabata cycling when I get up. 1 - 1.5 hours moderate intesity lifting/resistance training.
    Tues : 5min Tabata cycling when I get up. 5km Run
    Wes : 5min Tabata cycling when I get up. 2 Hours walk (To and from Gym) 1 hour personal training(Content Varies but always intense workout)
    Thurs : 5min Tabata cycling when I get up. 5km Run
    Fri : 5min Tabata cycling when I get up. 1 - 1.5 hours moderate intesity lifting/resistance training.
    Sat : 5min Tabata cycling when I get up. 10km Run
    Sun : 5min Tabata cycling when I get up. 10km Run
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    mday2107 wrote: »
    In my opinion, success stories are the greatest motivation out there. So I'm curious. Everyone who has been successful and is at or getting close to their goal weight, what did you do to get there? I'm looking for more detail then just the usual "stay focused, stay motivated, eat clean, move more" sort of answer. What was your favorite exercise routine like? How often did you work out and what were those work-outs?

    I did the same thing while I was losing as I do in maintenance...ride my bike a lot and lift weights. the difference between losing and maintaining has nothing to do with my exercise and everything to do with my consumption.

    This is to say that your weight loss is going to be largely attributable to your diet, not what exercise you are doing. Try to open your mind up to the idea of fitness for fitness sake and just go do something you enjoy and that you can see yourself doing into perpetuity. That is where you will find success.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
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    Equus5374 wrote: »
    I'm a very active person and have always engaged in some sport or form of exercise, but I gained weight because I was eating too much. The key for me was learning about calories in - calories out and learning about what amount of calories was actually necessary for me to eat. I achieved success by eating at a deficit and not by changing anything I did in the exercise realm.

    +1. However, i feel so much healthier and stronger when I work out regularly. Right now I am gearing up for summer backpacking season, so I go on a 8-10 mile hike in the mountains most weekends. Weekdays I walk or do a high-intensity indoor boot camp that combines cardio and resistance training. Overall i exercise about 4-5 times a week with rest days in between.
  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 645 Member
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    I have maintained for about 8 years. I run about 35 to 40 miles a week and do at home DVDs exercises 4 days a week. When I run more than 50 miles a week the other exercise gets reduced. I walk a lot on weekends in addition to running.
  • nicoleromine
    nicoleromine Posts: 92 Member
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    I lost weight without a consistent workout plan. Now I have a plan that I find enjoyable and challenging. It's not necessarily helping with weight loss, but it does wonders for both my mental and physical health.

    Everyday: 15-30 minutes of yoga/stretching/foam rolling
    2x/week: 20-25 of HIIT
    1x/week: 30-45 minutes of brisk walking
    4x/week: 45-60 minutes of lifting (currently following Wendler's 5/3/1)
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
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    I walk home from work every day (3.8 miles with a 5-10 lb pack) and sometimes wander far afield to find my lunch, amounting to some 13k+ steps per day. I lift heavy with a lot of compound movements 2-3 days a week instead of lunch.
  • k1200s
    k1200s Posts: 16 Member
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    Music
    Pandora Christian Healing Begins Radio / 8 Tracks / Youtube playlist, bluetooth head set. .
    Workout
    For over 4 years I have been doing an elliptical, push up, pull up routine 3-4 days a week, nothing fancy, 8 mins on the elip then 65 push ups for 3 sets, then 6 sets of 10 pull ups. I wear a heart monitor and avg HR 129
    Motivation
    We have 3 grand children and daughter with us while son in law is deployed.
    To be a blessing for the grand kids requires prayer, sober mind and body.
    Alone in the shed where I work out is more motivation, a 2006 BMW K1200s motorcycle pictured.
    This bike requires a seat position which requires a strong core.

  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I've always been very active - running, Jazzercise, strength training, bicycle. I've also been a yo yo dieter.

    So three years ago, I said, that's it. And I spent a year losing 30b and getting fit.

    I work out almost every day usually, although there are times when my schedule doesn't allow a formal workout. In that case, the most sedentary I am is walking everywhere I go instead of taking the train - I don't have a car. Or else riding my bike to my errands or appointments.

    I do about three strength sessions a week, either a class or a session in the gym. The other days I do Cardio classes: Zumba, ballet, Salsa. Weather permitting I ride my bike to the gyms (YMCA - various locations)

    In the year after I reached my goal range, I lost two more clothing sized due to building muscle (for those who still think you bulk up when you lift weights).

    Now I teach Aquatic exercise classes as well as attending group fitness classes of various types.
  • justcat206
    justcat206 Posts: 716 Member
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    When I first lost weight, I was doing about an hour of dumbbell circuits 5 days a week. Mostly lifts (I made a list of all the lifts I loved, then did some upper, some lower and some compound every day, never doing the same lift more than once a week) and some cardio things like burpees, jumping jacks, etc.
    Then once my kids all started school, I switched to doing 2 days a week lifting heavy weights at the gym and 1 day a week going for a run (usually about 4 miles). And I tried to throw in yoga on off days to keep limber.
    Now that it's summer and the kids are home I'm back to dumbbell circuits, though I'll admit to keeping them much shorter and less frequent than they were when I was at my lowest weight. I'm about 10 lbs up from my lowest weight, but honestly I was wearing myself out eating too few calories and lifting too many days in a row. I'm not as lean as I was, but I'm at a sustainable weight - I enjoy my workouts instead of dreading them, and I don't feel like I'm starving myself now :)
  • ashleyhetzel92
    ashleyhetzel92 Posts: 16 Member
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    I post links to my youtube channel on MFP page with my workout routines :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,938 Member
    edited June 2015
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    mday2107 wrote: »
    In my opinion, success stories are the greatest motivation out there. So I'm curious. Everyone who has been successful and is at or getting close to their goal weight, what did you do to get there? I'm looking for more detail then just the usual "stay focused, stay motivated, eat clean, move more" sort of answer. What was your favorite exercise routine like? How often did you work out and what were those work-outs?

    I have passed my first goal weight and am closing in on my second ... I'm about half a kg away from it right now.

    Regarding exercise, here's what I do:

    -- walk partway to work every morning and home again each evening (the bus takes me the rest of the way)
    -- walk at lunch ... anywhere from 30-60 min
    -- take the stairs. I work 5 floors up, and I have been trying to remember to take the stairs at least once a day. Sometimes I forget because hopping into the elevator was such a habit
    -- most evenings, either my husband and I go for a brisk walk together, or we cycle outside, or (now that winter is here) I cycle on my bicycle on the trainer inside. Since I started here, whatever we do is usually a max of 1 hour and there have been the occasional evenings (like last night, for example) where I just do not feel like doing anything.
    -- weekends are exercise time! We do fairly decent bicycle rides on Saturday and Sunday ... or if not cycling, then quite lengthy hikes. 2 or 3 or more hours each day is not uncommon. :) Plus weekends are when I do most of my housework, rush around getting groceries and all those things. I don't count that stuff but it is nice to be up and about rather than sitting all day.


    But I haven't changed anything from before I started with MFP. I've been doing that for years. What changed was my diet. I am now eating fewer calories than I burn (CICO).

    However, I will add that since I've lost a little over 14 kg, I do seem to have more energy and the hills around here don't seem to be quite as daunting as they were.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    I've always lifted and done minimal cardio. Weights 4-5 days a week, and I probably did about 2 hours of cardio a week tops (now it's zero). At first I was just learning compound lifts, then I had something a trainer put together for me, then I did Wendler's 5/3/1 and now I'm doing PHUL in maintenance-4 day upper/lower power and hypertrophy splits.

  • Jim_Smith33
    Jim_Smith33 Posts: 9 Member
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    In the morning 30 minutes on exercise bike, 30 minutes on arch trainer, and weight lifting. 30 minute fast walk around the plant at work on lunch.
  • saramatthews919
    saramatthews919 Posts: 161 Member
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    Monday Belly Blitz
    Tuesday 2 mile walk & kettle bells
    Wednesday Boxing
    Thursday B& T 1 mile walk
    Friday belly blitz
    Saturday Belly blitz
    Sunday Belly Blitz
    That's my week
  • Mauthos
    Mauthos Posts: 128 Member
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    An average week for me is:

    Monday: Leg Weight Routine then Tang soo doo
    Tuesday: Back and Biceps Weight Routine
    Wednesday: Chest and Triceps Weight Routine then a Spin Class
    Thursday: Shoulders Weight Routine, Body Combat and then a Kick Boxing class
    Friday: Ab Weight Routine
    Saturday: Normally my day off, but usually take a long walk
    Sunday: Body Pump, Body Combat and a Spin Class
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
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    Bought a recumbent trike late last spring, but did not get on it much due to remodeling last summer. Starting MFP seriously right at the beginning of August 2014 and started riding a few times a week. By late September I did a 20 mile bike tour and then another tour in October. Continued to ride as long as I could throughout the fall, some rides were long and slow, some faster and shorter- 3-5x per week.

    The day after Thanksgiving, after reading a lot in the forums about weights and how they can really help change your body composition, I joined Anytime Fitness and have gone there pretty religiously 3x per week with always a rest day in between. I'm not a big lifter (and have never been athletic) but I have just tried to lift as heavy as I could and then added as I got comfortable and I can see a difference after six months. Throughout the winter I did other cardio there as well- on the weights days I usually did a little less cardio but on other days I tried to ride the stationary bike, elliptical or treadmill for 45-50 minutes 3-4x per week.

    Now that the weather is nice again I am outside on my bike (still going to do weights 3x per week). Last night I went to a rail trail and rode 18 miles and was amazed and how easy it was compared to last year. I have a 20 mile bike tour on Saturday. I hope to be able to ride 30-35 miles by the end of summer comfortably. So I do have specific days I lift, but as for riding and how long and far, it depends on what else is going on, but I try to get out 3-4x a week at least to ride and again it varies depending on how much time I have.

    Other workouts I have enjoyed in the past include zumba, yoga, step aerobics, and Tae Boe (did I spell that right?) And I would love to take a dance class but I live in a small town and would have to drive a ways to get there.

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