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Carrie6o6
Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
As I read some posts, it seems a lot of you work out a lot! Like some 5 days a week, and other at least 3, but for 1-2 hours at a time?? Should I be doing this as well? I try to go for an hour walk 3 times a week... Is that not enough? I live in a small village in the middle of no where which has no gym, no aerobics or yoga classes, the roads are half covered in ice, and I have no vehicle to get to any gym! (The closest is a 40min drive). Not only that, I'm a stay at home mom with 2 toddlers! I have DLed some work out videos like taebo (and try to keep up to that my best!)... Any suggestions? Oh, one more thing, how do I know if I'm working hard enough? How do I check my heart rate without fancy watches? :tongue: Thanks for your responses ahead of time!! :bigsmile:

Replies

  • Carrie6o6
    Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
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    As I read some posts, it seems a lot of you work out a lot! Like some 5 days a week, and other at least 3, but for 1-2 hours at a time?? Should I be doing this as well? I try to go for an hour walk 3 times a week... Is that not enough? I live in a small village in the middle of no where which has no gym, no aerobics or yoga classes, the roads are half covered in ice, and I have no vehicle to get to any gym! (The closest is a 40min drive). Not only that, I'm a stay at home mom with 2 toddlers! I have DLed some work out videos like taebo (and try to keep up to that my best!)... Any suggestions? Oh, one more thing, how do I know if I'm working hard enough? How do I check my heart rate without fancy watches? :tongue: Thanks for your responses ahead of time!! :bigsmile:
  • proudmama0118
    proudmama0118 Posts: 433 Member
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    To check your heart rate count your heartbeats for 6 seconds and multiply by 10. You can figure out your target heart rate and everything by searching on the internet. It sounds like you are off to a good start, maybe once it warms up try adding in some jogging into your walks. I would watch for a treadmill or something at a good deal if you come across one. Ever since I got mine it has been much easier to "get ambitious" even though it is yucky outside. Plus chasing the kids has to count for something right!!! :tongue:

    Good luck!
  • jbuehrer
    jbuehrer Posts: 285
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    I walk everyday... I too live in a village in the middle of nowhere. I walk only an hour. If the snow is really bad I walk 20 minutes and just do sit ups and pushups and stuff. I've almost lost 10 pounds by not over doing it. I'm being careful with what I am eating. If I do go over board with food... I just jog in place or run around the house for 20minutes.
  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
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    If you do not regularly work out I wouldn't suggest such a radical change in your style but a gradual one so that you don't cause your muscles big problems and then just quit working out altogether.

    By the way with two toddlers you get more exercise than you think just keeping up with them, picking up after them, picking them up, up and down stairs, etc., etc.

    You're probably doing better than you think with your current exercise routine than you think.
  • Jenna423
    Jenna423 Posts: 178 Member
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    As I mentioned before I do Turbo Jam. They are ideal if you don't have a lot of time. The workouts that are only 30 minutes are awesome...I burn so many more calories doing these workouts than just walking or running. So, as your jamming to Turbo, your kids can dance around with you and you'll be done in no time! :happy:
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    The amount of training you should do depends on how long you've been exercising. I've been lifting for 3 years now, so that's why it's acceptable for me to lift up to 6 days a week, but that's not right for a beginner. Here are training levels and appropriate resistance training frequencies:

    Beginner (0-2 Months) 1-2X per week
    Intermediate (3-6 Months) 2-3X per week
    Moderate (6-12 Months) 3-5X per week
    Advanced (1+ Years) 4-6X per week

    You don't have to lift for two hours. Just lift for long enough to do one or two sets of 10 reps for Chest, Back, Biceps, Triceps, and Legs. That can be done in 30-40 minutes. When you stop seeing improvement, increase the sets to 3. Then when you have to make another change, increase the amount of weight you're using. As you can see, the frequencies overlap because some of us advance differently than others.
    Cardio should also change with your experience level. If you're just starting out, 20 minutes 3X a week will make a difference. You can increase that by 5 minutes every week.
    To find your max heart rate, subtract your age from 220 (I'm 20, so mine is 200). You should work within 65-80% of that range for improved cardiovascular performance and health.
    You can take your pulse with your index and middle finger; you can find it inside your wrist or at your neck. However, if you find it on your neck, be sure not to press too hard or check it too often as massaging those arteries can cause huge changes in your blood pressure and cause you to faint.
  • zaybedowop
    zaybedowop Posts: 14 Member
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    It depends on what your goals are really.

    A good way to figure out how many times a week you should exercise is:

    3 times a week to maintain
    5 times a week to improve

    30 minutes is a good time to try for and when you start to progress then shooting for 60 minutes for your max.

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