How Much Exercise Each Day
I'm trying to set some realistic goals for myself on my exercise program, and I'm curious how much some of you do each day? It looks like pretty much no one sticks to just 30 minutes, and I'm not sure how far to push myself and how long it should take me to get up to speed -
Any suggestions or recommendations on duration out there (I can't do strength training for another month) ?
Thanks so much!
Rho
Any suggestions or recommendations on duration out there (I can't do strength training for another month) ?
Thanks so much!
Rho
Rho,
I think Sporty Jill would be best to answer this question but I can tell you what I do. Most would say it is too much but it works for me.
I run 5-6 miles every morning before work, rain or shine. In inclement weather I use the treadmill but try hard to do the nature time with my doggies. I also do something every other day other than the running. I do the eliptical, walks around the block or at the park, ride bikes, etc and try to do a minumum of 30 minutes at that.
It is too much for most people but it works into my schedule great. It took me about 9 months to work up to the running daily but I have always worked out a minimum of 30 minutes every other day since about three weeks after surgery. With my runs I started walking then walked faster then would run a little/walk a lot then gradually I was able to run farther and now I rarely walk in the mornings.
Congrats on making the decision to incorporate exercise into your routine. You will feel better once you get a good routine going.
I think Sporty Jill would be best to answer this question but I can tell you what I do. Most would say it is too much but it works for me.
I run 5-6 miles every morning before work, rain or shine. In inclement weather I use the treadmill but try hard to do the nature time with my doggies. I also do something every other day other than the running. I do the eliptical, walks around the block or at the park, ride bikes, etc and try to do a minumum of 30 minutes at that.
It is too much for most people but it works into my schedule great. It took me about 9 months to work up to the running daily but I have always worked out a minimum of 30 minutes every other day since about three weeks after surgery. With my runs I started walking then walked faster then would run a little/walk a lot then gradually I was able to run farther and now I rarely walk in the mornings.
Congrats on making the decision to incorporate exercise into your routine. You will feel better once you get a good routine going.
Tammy C
down 260+ pounds and loving life more than ever!!!
proud mom to Kara 12-08-1994 and our newest addition Claire Makenna born 03-26-09 weighing 6 lbs 13 ounces and 19.25 inches long and very healthy. happily dating...i honestly never knew it could be this good! there is that special Guy for everyone out there...either you already have him or you will find him when He is ready for it!
open RNY 04-25-2005
Life could not get any better than this!
Here is the quick answer...and I don't mean to be flip.
Yes.
That is how much....
Here is the thing to keep in mind..you are changing your life (as trite as it may sound) one step at a time.
So, let's start with what you can do. If you do nothing now and you start by walking 20 minutes a night around your neighborhood, you are RADICALLY increasing your activity. Walk that 20 minutes for a while until you feel like you can walk more. Walk 30...walk 40...whatever....At some point if you stick to that you may want to run some....DO IT!!
There is no magic formula for you yet. There are guidelines for cardio and ideal training and all kinds of hooey...but right now you need to just move.
So start with what you can do...try to walk 20...if you can keep going, do it....the key is to do what you feel comfortable with. When I started after surgery it took everything I had to walk a mile on the tradmill....now I am running half marathons. Believe me I didn't just get there...I had to keep ekeing it up all along the way.
I hope this helps.
Yes.
That is how much....
Here is the thing to keep in mind..you are changing your life (as trite as it may sound) one step at a time.
So, let's start with what you can do. If you do nothing now and you start by walking 20 minutes a night around your neighborhood, you are RADICALLY increasing your activity. Walk that 20 minutes for a while until you feel like you can walk more. Walk 30...walk 40...whatever....At some point if you stick to that you may want to run some....DO IT!!
There is no magic formula for you yet. There are guidelines for cardio and ideal training and all kinds of hooey...but right now you need to just move.
So start with what you can do...try to walk 20...if you can keep going, do it....the key is to do what you feel comfortable with. When I started after surgery it took everything I had to walk a mile on the tradmill....now I am running half marathons. Believe me I didn't just get there...I had to keep ekeing it up all along the way.
I hope this helps.
I think Blair has a good point - what you can do is good! Listening to your body is important.
But I'll tell you what my trainer had me doing when I first started back pre-op. I had a heart rate monitor, so I was monitoring my heart rate pretty closely. He had me do 40 minutes twice a week at my moderate pace, 30 minutes once a week at least partly at a harder pace, and 75 minutes once a week at an easier pace. (It was a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea - he wanted the length of my workout to be proportional to how hard I was working)
But now that I'm not meeting with him regularly anymore, I average about 40-45 min. 4-5 days a week (I'm about 2.5 months post-op) and when I told my doctor that, he said "Well, you can't ask for better than that" so I guess he's happy with it.
Keep in mind that I am in no way qualified to give advice on this - just sharing my experience. Jill, on the other hand, is actually qualified so you should probably give more weight to her opinion than the rest of ours
P.S. - If 30 minutes is a good workout time for you, I wouldn't stress about "almost no one" else doing that. I would have to figure it's better to get in 30 minutes - or even 15 or 20- of exercise than feel like you have to do more and get frustrated and give up right? It really does get easier to keep going the more you do it. But it takes a while. Good luck!
But I'll tell you what my trainer had me doing when I first started back pre-op. I had a heart rate monitor, so I was monitoring my heart rate pretty closely. He had me do 40 minutes twice a week at my moderate pace, 30 minutes once a week at least partly at a harder pace, and 75 minutes once a week at an easier pace. (It was a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea - he wanted the length of my workout to be proportional to how hard I was working)
But now that I'm not meeting with him regularly anymore, I average about 40-45 min. 4-5 days a week (I'm about 2.5 months post-op) and when I told my doctor that, he said "Well, you can't ask for better than that" so I guess he's happy with it.
Keep in mind that I am in no way qualified to give advice on this - just sharing my experience. Jill, on the other hand, is actually qualified so you should probably give more weight to her opinion than the rest of ours
P.S. - If 30 minutes is a good workout time for you, I wouldn't stress about "almost no one" else doing that. I would have to figure it's better to get in 30 minutes - or even 15 or 20- of exercise than feel like you have to do more and get frustrated and give up right? It really does get easier to keep going the more you do it. But it takes a while. Good luck!
Hey there....congrats on thinking of this. Many people think that the life change only occurs with diet and totally forget that exercise is equally important. But, it really is a package deal.
Starting out, the goal is to move at least 30 minutes a day. In the beginning, you may need to, break it up into 10 minute segments (10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch and then 10 minutes before dinner). By doing this, you can achieve some of the same benefits and it might not be so overwhelming to you. In fact, if you have a desk job, this is a great way to get your blood moving and regroup. Since I'm no longer going to the gym during my lunch break, i try to walk around and "visit" for about 5 minutes every hour. Helps my back.
The best exercise is one that you will do consistenly. Some of us run, some of us kickbox, some do yoga, some dance....whatever makes you want to move is great. I always suggest that you try many different things. This will help keep you from getting bored, gives you a back up plan if something falls through the cracks and heck....it's always good to try new things.
Listen to your body. Be your own competitor is what I say. You push yourself as far as you want (or can) to go. Some of us are trying to make up for lost time, some of us are just trying to maintain. I say this because it really is difficult to be competitive with each other when we all have very different goals, schedules, desires, etc. That's why you don't see anyone with any specific time goals.
Ok...so what is consistent? You really do want to shoot for doing something 5 days a week, but make sure that you give your body a break and a chance to recover. And, make sure that during those 5 days, you incorporate 2 days of toning work. In fact, that can be your workout for the day. For example:
Mon - Walk 30 minutes
Tues Upper Body and Abs (once you are cleared....until then, walk)
Wed - Walk 30 minutes
Thurs - Rest
Friday - Walk 30 minutes
Sat - Lower Body and abs (once you are cleared....until then, walk)
Sun - Rest
As you become stronger, you can add time, or hills or increase your pace. I recommend changing your pace/route/exercise/weight about every 6 weeks. Not only will this keep you from getting bored, but it will also challenge your body.
If you find that you do like being a hamster in a wheel (treadmill) during the winter time, there are many other things that you can do to incorporate cardio. Dancing, workout dvds (my fav has always been Turbo Jam), swimming, etc. Many recommend walking because not only is it cheap to do, but it provides lots of benefits.
Also, walking dvds are great. Leslie Sansome has a great set out there that is perfect for beginners. Might be able to find them at the library.....
Now, if walking is difficult for you, try non-weight bearing activities such as biking, swimming or maybe even an ellipticle.
Again...work to your rate. You want to get your heart rate up, but not dieing. You want to be able to talk to someone (with a little difficulty). Also, always rememebr, just because you are sweating does not necessarily mean that you are working within your zone - it means that you drank a lot of water and you are hot. I saw this, becuase some people think that because you are sweating you must be working very hard, when that is really not true...it just means that you are hot.
The goal for today is to move....the goal for tomorrow is to challenge yourself.
Starting out, the goal is to move at least 30 minutes a day. In the beginning, you may need to, break it up into 10 minute segments (10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch and then 10 minutes before dinner). By doing this, you can achieve some of the same benefits and it might not be so overwhelming to you. In fact, if you have a desk job, this is a great way to get your blood moving and regroup. Since I'm no longer going to the gym during my lunch break, i try to walk around and "visit" for about 5 minutes every hour. Helps my back.
The best exercise is one that you will do consistenly. Some of us run, some of us kickbox, some do yoga, some dance....whatever makes you want to move is great. I always suggest that you try many different things. This will help keep you from getting bored, gives you a back up plan if something falls through the cracks and heck....it's always good to try new things.
Listen to your body. Be your own competitor is what I say. You push yourself as far as you want (or can) to go. Some of us are trying to make up for lost time, some of us are just trying to maintain. I say this because it really is difficult to be competitive with each other when we all have very different goals, schedules, desires, etc. That's why you don't see anyone with any specific time goals.
Ok...so what is consistent? You really do want to shoot for doing something 5 days a week, but make sure that you give your body a break and a chance to recover. And, make sure that during those 5 days, you incorporate 2 days of toning work. In fact, that can be your workout for the day. For example:
Mon - Walk 30 minutes
Tues Upper Body and Abs (once you are cleared....until then, walk)
Wed - Walk 30 minutes
Thurs - Rest
Friday - Walk 30 minutes
Sat - Lower Body and abs (once you are cleared....until then, walk)
Sun - Rest
As you become stronger, you can add time, or hills or increase your pace. I recommend changing your pace/route/exercise/weight about every 6 weeks. Not only will this keep you from getting bored, but it will also challenge your body.
If you find that you do like being a hamster in a wheel (treadmill) during the winter time, there are many other things that you can do to incorporate cardio. Dancing, workout dvds (my fav has always been Turbo Jam), swimming, etc. Many recommend walking because not only is it cheap to do, but it provides lots of benefits.
Also, walking dvds are great. Leslie Sansome has a great set out there that is perfect for beginners. Might be able to find them at the library.....
Now, if walking is difficult for you, try non-weight bearing activities such as biking, swimming or maybe even an ellipticle.
Again...work to your rate. You want to get your heart rate up, but not dieing. You want to be able to talk to someone (with a little difficulty). Also, always rememebr, just because you are sweating does not necessarily mean that you are working within your zone - it means that you drank a lot of water and you are hot. I saw this, becuase some people think that because you are sweating you must be working very hard, when that is really not true...it just means that you are hot.
The goal for today is to move....the goal for tomorrow is to challenge yourself.
Certified Personal Trainer
"I'm tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. if that makes me a bitch, okay." - Madonna
Beginning Weight: 265 Current Weight:143
So I run like a Girl....now keep up!
Thank you so much, Jill!
It's good to know that I'm about where I need to be right now - I think I did maybe push a little too hard yesterday and I'm feeling it today - I need to be more aware of that, it's amazing how hard it can be to listen to your body, when you've never really done it before!
Rho
It's good to know that I'm about where I need to be right now - I think I did maybe push a little too hard yesterday and I'm feeling it today - I need to be more aware of that, it's amazing how hard it can be to listen to your body, when you've never really done it before!
Rho
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