Is this too much of exercise?

yellowpear
yellowpear Posts: 137 Member
edited October 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I go to the gym 6 days a week in the morning. I do the elliptical for an hour. Then strength training/floor exercises for 1-1.5hrs. That's from the gym. Then in the evening, I go for brisk walking (3 - 3.5 miles/hr) at the park close to my home for an hour.
I enjoy doing all this. But, when I told this to one of my friends, she said it's too much of exercise & it will effect my joints. Is that true?

EDIT:
I weigh 167 lbs. Height: 5 2"
Female, 27 yrs old

Replies

  • AimingHighWeighingLow
    AimingHighWeighingLow Posts: 192 Member
    Is your friend overweight?

    No it's not to much, it's more than you need but not to much.
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    How are you feeling? First signs of overtraining is fatigued, but it all really depends on your intensity levels and whether your CNS (Central Nervous System) is coping.

    Do you deel energetic or a bit run down?
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    It might be, it might not be. We'd have to know a lot more to even guess.
  • akaChuck
    akaChuck Posts: 233 Member
    If you're enjoying working that much then I would say no. Im physically active for longer than that every day and it's not considered too much. Try and mix your workouts up a little so you don't get stale.
  • sgha
    sgha Posts: 225
    Well...you are taking a rest day, so that's good. You should strength train on weights every other day so your muscles have time to repair. I remember "back in the day" when I was a member of the YMCA someone would joke that I had a cot in the ladie's lockerroom! Sure could use some of that again!! I can relate to your enjoyment of exercise.
  • amflautist
    amflautist Posts: 895 Member
    You friend needs to get up off her tushie. Have you ever looked at the exercise log of an elite athlete?
  • yellowpear
    yellowpear Posts: 137 Member
    She is a little overweight. But I am heavy. I wonder if it is of concern if I exercise like this with my current weight. I do love to do it even though occassionally I feel tired. I started out 1 month back with 1 hour of brisk walking at the park (not regular). This month I joined the gym.
  • barwwd
    barwwd Posts: 63 Member
    You can also alternate muscle groups if you really want to do strength training every day. We do shoulders and back one day, biceps triceps another and legs and lower back the third day. I think you're doing a great job!
  • yellowpear
    yellowpear Posts: 137 Member
    Is your friend overweight?

    No it's not to much, it's more than you need but not to much.

    She is a little overweight. But I am heavy. I wonder if it is of concern if I exercise like this with my current weight. I do love to do it even though occassionally I feel tired. I started out 1 month back with 1 hour of brisk walking at the park (not regular). This month I joined the gym.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    It's not too much if your body feels ok with it, but it's more than I would have time for. I would ditch the elliptical, but then I think it's boring and a little pointless. If you enjoy it, then keep on with it.
  • yellowpear
    yellowpear Posts: 137 Member
    How are you feeling? First signs of overtraining is fatigued, but it all really depends on your intensity levels and whether your CNS (Central Nervous System) is coping.

    Do you deel energetic or a bit run down?


    Initially I used to feel tired sometimes. I started out a month back with only brisk walking but not regular. This month I joined the gym. Now I am doing both regularly 6 days in a week.
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    Doing strength training for longer than 60 minutes is detrimental as your glycogen levels have been depleted and your body will start to use muscle and fat, known as catabolism which will only end a smaller fat version of you aka skinny fat...

    Ideally you want to retain as much muscle mass as possible which will help burn calories even when you rest.

    So my advice is to take it easy and don't overdo and make sure you get plenty of rest...

    Just to give you an idea how my schedule looks like:
    Monday - Rest
    Tuesday - Lower Body Strength Training
    Wednesday - Upper Body Strength Training
    Thursday - Light Cardio to loosen legs (20 min Incline brisk walk)
    Friday - Cardio ( 20 min HIIT)
    Saturday - Lower Body Strength Training
    Sunday - Upper Body Strength Training
  • yellowpear
    yellowpear Posts: 137 Member
    Well...you are taking a rest day, so that's good. You should strength train on weights every other day so your muscles have time to repair. I remember "back in the day" when I was a member of the YMCA someone would joke that I had a cot in the ladie's lockerroom! Sure could use some of that again!! I can relate to your enjoyment of exercise.

    The instructor have split up my exercise this way:
    day 1 - aims Upper body muscles
    day 2 - aims Lower body muscles
    day 3 - Floor exercises

    She had split up the cardio as 20 mins - Threadmil, 20 mins - Elliptical, 10 mins - Cycling. I used to follow this regime when I joined. But then I started to feel more at ease with the elliptical & I also found that the elliptical burns more calories than any other machines. Even though I sometimes feel tired, I get a good satisfaction from it. I hope I amnot doing wrong..
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    The instructor have split up my exercise this way:
    day 1 - aims Upper body muscles
    day 2 - aims Lower body muscles
    day 3 - Floor exercises

    She had split up the cardio as 20 mins - Threadmil, 20 mins - Elliptical, 10 mins - Cycling. I used to follow this regime when I joined. But then I started to feel more at ease with the elliptical & I also found that the elliptical burns more calories than any other machines. Even though I sometimes feel tired, I get a good satisfaction from it. I hope I amnot doing wrong..

    It's a lot better as you ideally want to raise your heart rate for 20 mins, when you are ready you can start with HIIT which is one of the best cardio exercises out there...spinning is considered to be HIIT but won't recommend it to beginners, I can hardly walk after a 45 minute spinning session.
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    Your young so your muscles might not object yet. Its great you have that much time. Alternate groups day to day if you can.
  • AimingHighWeighingLow
    AimingHighWeighingLow Posts: 192 Member
    Is your friend overweight?

    No it's not to much, it's more than you need but not to much.

    She is a little overweight. But I am heavy. I wonder if it is of concern if I exercise like this with my current weight. I do love to do it even though occassionally I feel tired. I started out 1 month back with 1 hour of brisk walking at the park (not regular). This month I joined the gym.

    Then maybe she doesn't want you to lose weight, because if you are larger than her she will feel better being the 'skinny' friend once you shrink maybe it will highlight her weight battle.

    You do what YOU feel comfortable doing, if you healthy enough to exercise that much then kudos to you, keep on pumping and keep on shrinking :)
  • adagolden
    adagolden Posts: 146 Member
    Hey if you have the time and it's not tiring you out, then I say go for it. Just stop when you feel it's too much. I wish I had that kind of time, so good for you.
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
    Doing strength training for longer than 60 minutes is detrimental as your glycogen levels have been depleted and your body will start to use muscle and fat, known as catabolism which will only end a smaller fat version of you aka skinny fat...

    Ideally you want to retain as much muscle mass as possible which will help burn calories even when you rest.

    Out of interest, how is this affected by doing, for example, 45mins weights followed by 60mins cardio?
  • ladyphoto
    ladyphoto Posts: 192 Member
    Everyone has already given you really good advice- but I say, listen to your body. I push hard 6 days a week and people always tell me it's too much too. Well, for me, that one hour aerobics class is not enough every day. The harder I push, the better condition I get into, the more I can do. Maybe for "those other people" it is too much- but once you're conditioned to do more, your body does it with ease.

    Listening to your body is the main thing- if you hurt, if you are tired or fatigued, if something is feeling sore- then slow down- if your body is handling it fine- go for it!
  • ansonrinesmith
    ansonrinesmith Posts: 741 Member
    My only concern is that you seem to have jumped into this amount of exercise pretty quickly and might burn out on it too quickly.
    Otherwise, if your body doesn't hurt and you aren't feeling fatigued, keep rocking!
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    Not for me. In fact you should be staying active even if you're not in the gym. If you only exercise for lets say 2 hours then turn sedentary for the rest of the day, you will not burn that much. I'm only an inch taller than you & my HW is just 2 lbs. short of yours so you do need to burn off more. I exercise 6 days a week, 3 days cardio for 30 mins & 3 days strength training (I do more circuit trainings) for an hour. But aside from that everyday I walk about 2 miles from office to the bus station, also lunch breaks I walk for 20 mins then when I get home, I do few housework. Not to mention that I also taking up martial arts classes & also football. So in my opinion, you're not overexercising as long as your body doesn't feel exhausted.

    My exercise schedule:

    Monday - either rest day (alternating w/ Sunday if I have an Aikido practice session)
    Tuesday - 1 hr. circuit training
    Wednesday - 30 mins. cardio
    Thursday - 1 hr. circuit training
    Friday - 2 hours Aikido session (I log my martial arts class as my cardio exercise)
    Saturday - 30 minutes cardio
    Sunday - 1 hour circuit training, 15-20 mins of boxing (sometimes rest day if I will be attending Aikido Monday practice session)

    Note: I'm focusing more on strength training than cardio because I want my muscles especially my biceps/triceps to be more visible
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    Doing strength training for longer than 60 minutes is detrimental as your glycogen levels have been depleted and your body will start to use muscle and fat, known as catabolism which will only end a smaller fat version of you aka skinny fat...

    Ideally you want to retain as much muscle mass as possible which will help burn calories even when you rest.

    Out of interest, how is this affected by doing, for example, 45mins weights followed by 60mins cardio?

    Doing constant exercise for 45 minutes will result your body going into a catabolic state which means your body will start breaking down muscles in order to provide your body fuel to continue exercising. So basically doing 45 minutes of weights your exhausting your body's glycogen levels, sugar stored within the muscles, and also breaking down muscle fibers which is a good thing as you want to gain muscle mass...but adding another 60 minutes of cardio will cause your body to feed off your muscles and fat which will result in a smaller your...

    This is why marathon athletes are so skinny and sprinters very muscular, keep your exercises within an hour and best to keep cardio on your off days. Also look into HIIT which is fantastic for losing weight and maintaining muscles.
  • yellowpear
    yellowpear Posts: 137 Member
    Thank you all of you for giving me so much information & support.. :)
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    My only concern is that you seem to have jumped into this amount of exercise pretty quickly and might burn out on it too quickly.
    Otherwise, if your body doesn't hurt and you aren't feeling fatigued, keep rocking!

    This is what i was thinking that her friend might be thinking. I know everyone prescribed nefarious motives to the friend but she might be worried that you are overdoing it and will get burnt out on it and/or hurt yourself. of course you know yourself best and I think you've already gotten some good advice here.
  • medoria
    medoria Posts: 673 Member
    How long have youve been keeping this routine? As long as you keep loosing weight and dont feel tired etc keep at it, but if you dont feel any soreness from the strengthtraining maybe you should up the weights and not strengthtrain two days in a row? Just a thought.
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
    it's up to you. if you feel like it's too much then back off a little. if you feel like it's right for you and you're motivated, might as well keep doing it.
  • gracemleone
    gracemleone Posts: 65
    I go to the gym 6 days a week in the morning. I do the elliptical for an hour. Then strength training/floor exercises for 1-1.5hrs. That's from the gym. Then in the evening, I go for brisk walking (3 - 3.5 miles/hr) at the park close to my home for an hour.
    I enjoy doing all this. But, when I told this to one of my friends, she said it's too much of exercise & it will effect my joints. Is that true?

    EDIT:
    I weigh 167 lbs. Height: 5 2"
    Female, 27 yrs old

    I think it depends on how you feel.. if you are constantly fatigued then you might be overdoing it but if it is giving you results, making you feel more energetic, and keeping you motivated, keep doing it.

    Also, your friend is wrong that it might be bad for your joints. She could have been right if you were doing a high impact exercise like running, but the eliptical is considered low impact and safer for the joints. This article (and many others) supports what I'm saying here.
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/100957-exercise-machines-bad-knees/

    One thing about the strength training though.. You shouldn't work the same muscles every day. (I don't know if you are doing this) I'm a beginner in strength training and I'm trying to come up with a strength routine for myself and have been doing a lot of research and reading lately. I don't know what your level is but I read that if you are a beginner (less than 6 months of consistent training=beginner), you would benefit the most from doing 2-3 full body exercises which include compound exercises that work all your large muscles. You might be overdoing it on the strength training but I don't know what your goals are and what your level is, so you might not..

    I think you are doing a great job, sticking to your exercise routine and enjoying it. But listen to your body, if you feel it's too much, you can cut down a little, if not, keep doing it..
  • Sweet13_Princess
    Sweet13_Princess Posts: 1,207 Member
    I don't think it's too much. If you feel fine and are happy with your workouts, then I would continue doing them. Pro-athlethes train a lot more than that and we don't see a problem with it.

    Shannon
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    I don't think it's too much. If you feel fine and are happy with your workouts, then I would continue doing them. Pro-athlethes train a lot more than that and we don't see a problem with it.

    Shannon

    You are comparing apples and pears, their nutrition is not the same nor are their supplement intakes. A pro-athlete would have a much higher calorie intake and a speedier recovery which allows them to train harder and longer, their diet also mainly consist of carbs if they are endurance runners.
  • yellowpear
    yellowpear Posts: 137 Member
    Thanks again everyone.. :)
This discussion has been closed.

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