[themonkeysuncle]

Hi all!

Ive just got into the whole exercise thing and am totally loving it! Only prob is that my housemate keeps telling me off for doing exercise almost every day saying that too much exercise is bad for you, so....

I was reading a thread the other day about how much exercise people do per day, with the average seeming to be about an hour or so. I was just wondering, do you girls (and guys!) do this amount every day or do you have some rest days? If so how many? Is it really bad for you to want to exercise every day? Sorry about all the questions - but how much is too much?

[ladybugnessa]

i've been told that one day a week off is important.

i try to do cardio 6 days a week and weights 3 days a week... and nothing to excess.

[Sheila53]

I try for cardio 6 days a week for a minimum of 35 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes. I also try to lift 6 days a week. On the day I rest, it's usually an "active" rest where I walk or do something else like kayak or yardwork.

[nelie]

I exercise every day.

[baffled111]

I think it probably depends on what you are doing for exercise, but I would not worry about it too much.

I shoot for 6 days a week, but often only manage 5. I do 45 mins of cardio and I do weights at least 4 days a week, sometimes 5 or 6. Like Sheila, I find ways to move around on non-gym days too (usually I take my dog for a long walk or hike)--alas, staying in bed one or two days a week is not really an option As long as you have the energy, and vary the intensity of your workouts a bit, I see no problem with exercising every day. (I mean, just walking around counts as exercise too).

[nelie]

I know I answered before but I should've expanded on it.

I think moving every day is important. I have some harder days and some lighter days.

Let's see if I can try to capture my last few days
Day 6 (yesterday counting back) - Leg workout with weights
Day 5 - upper body workout with weights
Day 4 - Belly dancing DVD
Day 3 - Fat burning pilates DVD
Day 2 - The Firm cardio DVD
Day 1 - The Firm cardio/weight DVD

Not sure what I will do tonight but it may be an elliptical workout. I actually am trying to keep my workouts fairly light because I am switching up my eating plan and trying to get used to that. I don't really want to do the same thing every day because our body is very efficient and may get used to it if you do.

[booklover]

Right now, I aim for an average of 60 min at least 3 times a week. Some weeks I do 4-5 60 min sessions; other weeks only 2. But regardless of what kind of classes I take (or miss), I also add a few less intensive or shorter sessions (10 min walk breaks, floor exercises, use of personal step machine) every single day at home. The goal is to get more movement in my life on a regular basis.

Right now, I'm keeping the intensive stuff to about 3X a week for strategic reasons. When I hit the inevitable plateau, I want to be able to bump it up to something more challenging and jump start the weightloss again. I'm worried about burning out too soon or hitting that plateau early if I exercise every day for 60 min. (I have more than 150 lbs left to lose.) So far, I've had a lot of success. The exercise sessions are challenging but manageable, and the weight is coming off with significant exercise 3X a week.

My ultimate goal is to be able to work out every day for 60 minutes, plus maybe run a 5K now and again. However, my intense work schedule makes it really hard to schedule time to work out at that duration every day. That's why the little mini-sessions and walks breaks are such a blessing.

Anyway, good luck to you.

[BlueToBlue]

I exercise every day, that way there's no bargaining with myself about whether or not I'll exercise. I can't say to myself "I'll skip today and exercise on Sunday instead," because I exercise today and Sunday and every day in between. Exercising is a struggle for me and I've found it's easier to do it consistently if it is just part of my daily routine.

Here is my weekly routine:
Mon: 1 hour with personal training (mostly weights with some cardio)
Tues: 1/2 hour cardio on gym equipment and 15 min abs
Wed: 1 hour with personal training (mostly weights with some cardio)
Thurs: 1/2 hour cardio on gym equipment and 15 min abs
Fri: 1 hour with personal training (mostly weights with some cardio)
Sat: either a group circuit training class at the gym or 1 hour swimming
Sun: 6 mile run (about 1 hour)

That said, it is possible to overtrain. The article Preventing Overtraining - When Less is More on About.com describes how to know when you are exercising too much. I was doing an hour of pretty high intensity cardio (a 7 on Paige Waehner's 10-pt perceived exertion scale) on Tues and Thurs and I finally just decided it was too much. I was hungry all the time, exhausted when I finished my cardio, and I had to eat so much that I wasn't losing weight. By dropping my cardio back to 1/2 hour, I've been able to reduce the calories I eat, I'm no longer so hungry, I feel energized when I finish my cardio, and I'm losing weight again.

[themonkeysuncle]

Wow, thak you so much for all your help! It's so interesting and inspiring to see your daily/weekly routines - how do you fit it all in, I'm in awe!

[beautifulstruggle]

hi i've been going to the gym for a minimum of an hour 5 days a week. I go to college on the weekdays so I go straight after to the gym.. lol it's become a bit of a ritual. I take Friday and Sunday off but I make sure I don't try and pig out.
I do at least 45 mins of cardio and 15 mins of weights ... it all depends on the mood I'm in and when I'm feeling impatient the only way I get through is by counting down the time and looking at everyone else

good luck

[finn]

Hmm lets see...I exercise Monday to Friday generally as I like to have weekends free, but as said above I find ways to move anyway...its just not set.

Mon - 90mins gym
Tues - 2hr tag-rugby training
Wed - 90mins gym
Thurs - 2hr tag-rugby training
Fri - 50mins gym

[2frustrated]

A FULL week looks like this:

Mon - gym (weights or running and stretching) 1hr, kickboxing 1hr
Tue - gym (weights & stretching) 1hr, kickboxing 2hrs
Wed - gym (weights & stretching) 1hr
Thurs - gym (weights & stretching) 1hr, kickboxing 2hrs
Fri - kickboxing 1.5hrs
Sat - "active recovery" which usually involves a long long walk
Sun - "long run" this week it's 4 miles!!!

A slacking week looks like this:
Mon - kickboxing (light) 1 hr
Tues - kickboxing 2 hrs
Wed - gym 1hr
Thurs - kickboxing 2hrs
Fri - kickboxing 1.5 hrs
Sat - napping
Sun - long run

So somewhere inbetween. However I didn't start off doing all that all at once, I started just with 1 hour of kickboxing on a Tuesday 3 years ago, then built up to include weights and more advanced classes.

I think as long as you enjoy exercising, and it isn't a HUGE CHORE that you MAKE yourself do every day then you're fine. As long as you listen to your body, then you can exercise 7 days.

[wateraddict]

I do have a "rest day" but since I love to exercise and stay active I still go walking and do stretches lol.