Two Hours Too Long

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nursespoony87
nursespoony87 Posts: 11
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey MFP'ers!

My girlfriend and I are in a dispute. She believes that exercising two hours per day, six days per week is fine. I believe that exercising that much is too much. I also believe that we should reduce it to exercising just over an hour:

Day 1: 30 minutes upper/lower body, 60 minutes high-resistance cardio
Day 2: 60 minutes low-resistance cardio, 30 minutes C25K
Day 3: 30 minutes upper/lower body, 60 minutes high-resistance cardio
Day 4: 60 minutes low-resistance cardio, 30 minutes C25K
Day 5: 30 minutes upper/lower body, 60 minutes high-resistance cardio
Day 6: 60 minutes low-resistance cardio, 30 minutes C25K

What are your thoughts? Suggestions?

Replies

  • foreverloved
    foreverloved Posts: 220 Member
    I'm no expert but I've seen many articles lately about how short sessions of HIIT cardio is much more productive than long bouts for many things. Supposedly you burn 9x more fat that way and it's good for burning nasty visceral fat.


    Either way if you guys do 2 hrs of exercise or less but intense make SURE you're getting lots of protein/nutrition.
  • rharris86dc
    rharris86dc Posts: 635 Member
    I generally work out for about 1.5 hours, to get both my strength and cardio done. Now I do 5 days a week.

    When I first started out, I would go to the gym as many days in a row as I could stand, just to get into the habit, really. I think I went bout 2 weeks straight a couple times, and when I would go with my friend, we'd be there for quite a while.
    But that wasn't really sustainable for me, and my 5 day schedule has been working very well for me.

    My point really is that you and your girlfriend are different people, and there really isn't a "one size fits all" workout plan. Just figure out what works for each of you to attain your goals. Once you each have set something up for yourselves, them get together and tweak it a bit to make it work for both of you, if that's your aim.

    Good luck!
  • jessicahelene
    jessicahelene Posts: 77 Member
    I would say listen to your body and do as much as you have time for and feels good to do. Don't overdo it or you'll quit. But don't cut back just because some sources say that less is more. Do whatever feels right.
  • nursespoony87
    nursespoony87 Posts: 11
    I'm no expert but I've seen many articles lately about how short sessions of HIIT cardio is much more productive than long bouts for many things. Supposedly you burn 9x more fat that way and it's good for burning nasty visceral fat.


    Either way if you guys do 2 hrs of exercise or less but intense make SURE you're getting lots of protein/nutrition.

    You know, I've heard a lot about HIIT. I think it'd be worth checking out but Ashley and I really don't have the room at home or at the gym to sprint like that.
  • GreenSkinnyJeans
    GreenSkinnyJeans Posts: 204 Member
    during the last school year I got about.....3 hours of intense exercise, and 1 hour of gym class(Which we all know isn't intense). 5 days a week.
    I don't remember if I was eating more, but I do remember I didn't loose any weight.
    I think as long as you get your nutrition and aren't really aiming for anything except exercising, then its fine either way.
  • pkarim
    pkarim Posts: 171
    When I had a significant amount of weight to lose i worked out 2 hours a day 6 days a week. Now that I am closer to my goal, I do more boydbuilding and less cardio so my workouts are about 45 min-1 hour 5 days a week.
  • kellycasey5
    kellycasey5 Posts: 486 Member
    My thoughts: if your viewpoints vary so greatly, why not work out separately? Each workout should be at your own pace anyways.... and then you BOTH are happy :)
  • rmsrws
    rmsrws Posts: 639 Member
    I work out about 2-3 hours most days every day. My DR. said it was fine as long as I don't hurt myself, and keep hydrated. You can always try cutting back, and see if you are still getting results. There is no one solution for everyone. We are all different, and different things work for different people.
  • nursespoony87
    nursespoony87 Posts: 11
    My thoughts: if your viewpoints vary so greatly, why not work out separately? Each workout should be at your own pace anyways.... and then you BOTH are happy :)

    This is something we're doing together to keep each other accountable and to support and encourage each other. We also like spending the time together. I mean, if you look at the routine I came up with, it's only half an hour short of two hours. It's not a big deal, I was just wondering if it's bad for your body to workout that much or if it just varies from person-to-person. It sounds like the latter. :)
  • RoanneRed
    RoanneRed Posts: 429 Member
    I find the exercise bike or an elliptical easiest for HIIT - but I still hate it and hardly ever do it. Looking back over the past 10 years, long-term moderate-high intensity cardio seems to have worked for me - including 10-hour waitressing shifts but no gym workouts.

    I do 2-hour workouts - including abs and stretching at the end - but can't do it 3 days in a row as I have no energy or strength on the third day. So I do 2 days on, 1 day off and then a smaller/easier 5th workout on the weekend when trying to lose weight.

    I have read once you get past about an hour, your body may no longer be burning fat.
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
    I'm no expert but I've seen many articles lately about how short sessions of HIIT cardio is much more productive than long bouts for many things. Supposedly you burn 9x more fat that way and it's good for burning nasty visceral fat.


    Either way if you guys do 2 hrs of exercise or less but intense make SURE you're getting lots of protein/nutrition.

    You know, I've heard a lot about HIIT. I think it'd be worth checking out but Ashley and I really don't have the room at home or at the gym to sprint like that.

    you can accomplish HIIT in a variety of ways. you can use jog/sprint (or walk/sprint or walk/jog, depending on your fitness level)...and you can do that on a treadmill, on a track, in your neighborhood street, or at some park somewhere. OR, you can do HIIT on a bike...either a stationary bike or an actual road bike. the key to HIIT is that you are alternating high intensity work with low intensity work. OR you can do HIIT with purely resistance training exercises...see bodyrock.tv for an example of what that looks like.
  • foreverloved
    foreverloved Posts: 220 Member
    I'm no expert but I've seen many articles lately about how short sessions of HIIT cardio is much more productive than long bouts for many things. Supposedly you burn 9x more fat that way and it's good for burning nasty visceral fat.


    Either way if you guys do 2 hrs of exercise or less but intense make SURE you're getting lots of protein/nutrition.

    You know, I've heard a lot about HIIT. I think it'd be worth checking out but Ashley and I really don't have the room at home or at the gym to sprint like that.


    HIIT doesn't have to be running, Turbo Fire has a few variations of HIIT training that only takes up a small space in front of the TV and it always gets my heart rate zooming. It does require a lot of jumping though so downstairs neighbors are a no go, Unless you wait til they aren't home like I do, haha!
  • nursespoony87
    nursespoony87 Posts: 11
    I'm no expert but I've seen many articles lately about how short sessions of HIIT cardio is much more productive than long bouts for many things. Supposedly you burn 9x more fat that way and it's good for burning nasty visceral fat.


    Either way if you guys do 2 hrs of exercise or less but intense make SURE you're getting lots of protein/nutrition.

    You know, I've heard a lot about HIIT. I think it'd be worth checking out but Ashley and I really don't have the room at home or at the gym to sprint like that.

    you can accomplish HIIT in a variety of ways. you can use jog/sprint (or walk/sprint or walk/jog, depending on your fitness level)...and you can do that on a treadmill, on a track, in your neighborhood street, or at some park somewhere. OR, you can do HIIT on a bike...either a stationary bike or an actual road bike. the key to HIIT is that you are alternating high intensity work with low intensity work. OR you can do HIIT with purely resistance training exercises...see bodyrock.tv for an example of what that looks like.

    Hmm. I think I'm going to try including HIIT on the bike and see how that works out. I guess that could be considered my high-intensity cardio in the routine I wrote up.
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
    My thoughts: if your viewpoints vary so greatly, why not work out separately? Each workout should be at your own pace anyways.... and then you BOTH are happy :)

    This is something we're doing together to keep each other accountable and to support and encourage each other. We also like spending the time together. I mean, if you look at the routine I came up with, it's only half an hour short of two hours. It's not a big deal, I was just wondering if it's bad for your body to workout that much or if it just varies from person-to-person. It sounds like the latter. :)

    when I was in college, didn't have a wife, didn't have kids, and didn't have a full time job....I worked out between 90 minutes and 2 hours 5x per week (roughly 45 minutes on the stairmaster and then split routine weight training). I ate well and I was in the best shape of my life. I don't have that kind of free time any longer (haven't for a while) so I learned about more efficient work-outs. To answer your question, the 2 hour per day work-out can work. However, you don't need to do that.
  • ashesoh1234
    ashesoh1234 Posts: 132 Member
    I don't know, it kinda seems like a lot to me. On the days you do 60 min of cardio plus 30 min of C25K, you're doing 90 min of cardio, right? And then you're not having any recovery because you're going right back at it the next day. I think the amount of time in itself is o-kay, but it seems that you're not building in enough recovery time. And over time, you've got to take breaks. Now, I'm overweight and out of shape. But, five years ago, prior to having three kids in five years and using that as an excuse to get fat and out of shape (!!!), I was in excellent shape, ran marathons, etc. Let's say I did 90 min of cardio one day, or an 11 mile run. I wouldn't have gone and done 60 min of hard core cardio the next day. I trained with some very good trainers/runners and they were all quite serious about the importance of giving your body time to rebuild and recover. I'm not an expert by any means. But it seems like a lot.
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