BamaTanya Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I'm losing weight. Slowly. I'm shooting for exercising 30 minutes per day. I know working out more would benefit me, but it doesn't fit into the schedule right now. In fact, 30 minutes is hard (sometimes impossible) to squeeze in. What if I were at my optimal weight? How long do you need to exercise daily to maintain/keep muscle/prevent osteoporosis, etc? If you're not in training for any kinds of competitions or meets . . . just if you want to stay healthy? This fitness thing is pretty new to me. Until the last few years, I *couldn't* gain weight. And I never exercised. I know now that I wasn't any healthier skinny than I am now overweight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplemama Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 For me, since I turned 35, I have about 15 unwanted pounds that I cannot get rid of no matter how much I exercise or watch what I eat. I am only 4' 11" tall, so it looks worse on me. I exercise nearly every day. While my daughter is at gymnastics three times per week, I spend 20 minutes on an elliptical and 20 minutes on a treadmill walking hills part of the time and jogging part of the time. I also walk our dog every single day, except when it rains. That is at least 20 minutes as well, and I have to run with her part of the time in order to let her run off some energy so that she doesn't pull me through the neighborhood :) On the days that I don't work out at my daughter's gym, I do weight training/core muscle toning at home. We also have a Wii Fit that I have used for something different every once in a while. The best shape I have ever been in my life was when I worked out at a Curves gym. I wish I could do it again, but we can't add the monthly membership to our budget right now, and they don't have a place for my kids to hang out while I'm there, so until my oldest is old enough to keep my younger ones, and we have more money to spend on wants, I'll have to wit on that. My main motivation for exercising is to avoid the type 2 diabetes that is rampant in my family. I had gestational diabetes twice, so I am the perfect candidate. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I'm still losing weight, too. :) After a little over a year, I'm just over halfway to where I'd like to be. I'm now up to exercising about an hour 4-5 days a week. At least 40 min. of that is rigorous cardio or work with weights. Every other day--sometimes more--is cardio, and the other days are strength training & pilates stuff. I really get bored with strength training, though, so it's hard for me to keep up with it! I'd rather run on the treadmill or ride a bike. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I exercise for about 1/2 hour/day. I stopped eating sugar and dropped 15 lbs right off the bat. If I lose anymore, I will look skeletal so the 30 minutes is a good maintenance amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I have bumped it up to 45 min to 1hr 15min a day. 30min works out just don't cut it any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janna Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 30min works out just don't cut it any more. Yeah, here either. Recently, I have been working out for close to 2 hours a day for 4-5 days a week. This includes race walking (this is new for me. I have found someone at our church whom I have become friends with. She is an exercise physiologist and is showing me the correct form for this. It's hard! And it hurts!) as well as weight training and muscle toning. I have determined this so-called "friend", is really not, because she is *killing* me, LOL. Anyway, I haven't lost weight yet, but I *feel* different (aside from feeling sore). Hoping my body will kick in and start losing weight soon, though. I can't change too much how I already eat, however. If anything, I should probably be eating more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheWillFly Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I exercise 30 minutes a day year round but in the nice weather at least twice a week I commit to at minimum an hour of cycling or 45 minutes of running. In the winter I work out to maintain my health, in the summer I work out to improve my health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janna Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I wanted to add that workout intensity really matters. It's not so much about how much time you spend working out, as it is about how long your heart rate is up. If you can have an elevated heart rate for at least 30 min a day, that is optimal. Someone can easily say they're "exercising", but their heart rate never goes much above a resting rate. That kind of "exercising" isn't going to do much, if anything for you. Likewise, someone can work out for 20 min a day and be so intense with it, that it's all they need. Everybody's body is *so* different in how it responds too. Keep that in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muffinmom Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I've been doing the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels that is on Comcast On Demand (though you may be able to get this elsewhere). It is circuit training (goes back and forth between 2 min. cardio, then 2 min. strength training) for just under 30 minutes. I've only done it 3 times (with a day between workouts) and I can already tell changes in my body. I'm thinking this could be a good solution for me. It is intense, but you can get through it because you know it won't last forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I walk about 45 minutes five or six times a week. Usually once a week, I'll try for an hour. A couple of times a month, we try for a longer hike at the nature center. After age 45, 30 minute workouts didn't cut it for me either. Add some more weight lifting would help me out by building muscle, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 (edited) I am ridiculously healthy, pretty darn active, and exercise [formally] exactly 0 minutes per day. We do so much in the normal course of our day that it works for my body type. High metabolism paired w/ lotsa cokes [diuretic, lol!]. I could probably stand to lose about 10 pounds and firm up my abdomen/thighs, but I am just not worried enough about it. Nothing that some spandex can't take care of when i'm wearing my Catwoman outfit ;) eta: ok, just for y'all, I spun my chair to the side, held my left leg straight out and did 10 little leg lifts, and did the same for my right leg. Then I rested each foot [one at a time] up on the desk to stretch out my calves/thighs while I typed this out. Does that count? :D Edited March 26, 2009 by Peek a Boo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I workout M-F and do about 45 min. cardio (alternating between jogging and elliptical with Fridays being a lighter intensity day) followed by about 20 min. of strength training. I would love to get back to swimming as well and am anxiously awaiting the completion of construction of a YMCA that will only be a few minutes away from me. I found that I can only exercise while being at a gym (no other distractions and my dd loves the childwatch people) and only if I go first thing in the morning, right after breakfast (again because of no distractions). With this routine, I find that I can eat whatever I want, although I am a fairly healthy eater. Now that I am pregnant again, I will cut back a little on the intensity of my cardio workouts (honestly, my cardio capacity seems to decline a little), but keep up with the strength training. It's amazing how well some cardio can quench the naseau even though it's the last thing that you feel like doing that moment. Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 You can get a great cardio workout in 30 minutes if you add intervals to your cardio routine. It is very easy to do and efficient. Once you hit age 40 you really, really need to add some weight training. I just turned 50 last week and I am so thankful that I started lifting weight 5 years ago. The best decision I made in my 40's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamnkats Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I started losing weight (food portions and exercise) last May. I've lost 13 kilos so far and have another 11 to go. Before I started running (about a month ago) I would exercise 45-70 minutes 6-7x/week. Now that I'm running, I do running 4x/week and Ashtanga Yoga (an hour) 3x/week. I need to add strength exercises in there too but right now I'm about to start Hal's Spring training and I think he adds that in with running/cross days. I'm thinking that 30min/day alternating jogging/heavy cardio and lighter strength/stretch on alternate days is going to be my lifetime schedule. Oh, and I'm 48. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I'm losing weight. Slowly. I'm shooting for exercising 30 minutes per day. I know working out more would benefit me, but it doesn't fit into the schedule right now. In fact, 30 minutes is hard (sometimes impossible) to squeeze in. What if I were at my optimal weight? How long do you need to exercise daily to maintain/keep muscle/prevent osteoporosis, etc? If you're not in training for any kinds of competitions or meets . . . just if you want to stay healthy? This fitness thing is pretty new to me. Until the last few years, I *couldn't* gain weight. And I never exercised. I know now that I wasn't any healthier skinny than I am now overweight! Dh and I are currently participating in a program through my work; we wear pedometers and shoot for 10,000 steps per day (this works out to about 5 miles of walking according to our treadmill). I have to eat a lot of ice cream and cookies to maintain my weight at this point...I was 127 when we started this two weeks ago, but I've lost over 4 pounds (and that's with the ice cream). Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I exercise for an hour a day, 5-6 days a week. I am not at my optimal weight or health. I took a break from exercise over the winter because I was sick for a long time, and then we had home renovations and many family issues, so I am back on track. When I am my optimal weight, I plan to exercise at least 30 minutes a day during the school year and an hour during the summer -- 5 to 6 days a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I'm losing weight. Slowly. I'm shooting for exercising 30 minutes per day. I know working out more would benefit me, but it doesn't fit into the schedule right now. In fact, 30 minutes is hard (sometimes impossible) to squeeze in. What if I were at my optimal weight? How long do you need to exercise daily to maintain/keep muscle/prevent osteoporosis, etc? If you're not in training for any kinds of competitions or meets . . . just if you want to stay healthy? This fitness thing is pretty new to me. Until the last few years, I *couldn't* gain weight. And I never exercised. I know now that I wasn't any healthier skinny than I am now overweight! I think 30 minutes a day is great and realistic if you are healthy and at optimum weight- that is where I am at too. I vary my exercise- often its brisk walking outside (I hate gyms or machines), sometimes I do some yoga, chi kung, an extra long walk, a bike ride. I think the point is to be active every day (or most days), to enjoy your exercise and to vary the type of exercise so that sometimes your heart is getting pumped, other times you are getting a good stretch, other times your might be building muscle. I follow my interests. I don't like being rigid about anything and I certainly don't think exercise shold be hard and gruelling- to me that seems like some sort of self punishment for being overweight. Unless you actually enjoy really pushing yourself. I used to, but not anymore. You can always be fitter than you are- if you always feel gulty for not being as fit as that other person you know, or as all the gym advertisements promote- you wont be happy. I am happy with my level of fitness, which is just...fairly normal. I could be fitter- who couldnt?. But just like I dont live to eat, I dont live to exercise- its not an obsession. I just enjoy what I do. BTW if you are concerned about osteoporosis, make sure you are doing exercise that involves your foot hitting the ground. That is what builds bone- bike riding and swimming dont. Thats why my favourite exercise is a good walk outside. It builds bone, it pumps my heart, and I get the benefit of fresh outdoor air and the relaxation of walking in nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) I exercise 5-6 days a week. I do an hour long workout 3 days a week and run on the treadmill for 30 min the other 2-3. (Depending if I have time on the weekend to squeeze in that third treadmill session). I need to lose about 15 lbs and have lost 4 so far. I much prefer being active over the course of a day: when I worked and went to school, I would park far away and walk a distance, I love the outdoors and used to be outside walking and biking whenever I could, and dh and I used to go dancing a lot. Now that I live in TX, it's too hot outside for a lot of the year, and even when it's not, I live in concrete suburbia which isn't very inspiring to walk around in, I'm home with the kids a lot, and gone are the dancing days for now. So I must live with my treadmill and The Firm workout dvds. Edited April 3, 2009 by Annie Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becca Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I excercise 5 Xs a week, averaging about 40 minutes each time. Some days I'll only get in about 15-20 minutes of weights, but other days I'll spent over an hour doing everything! That doesn't include walks, unless part of my walk is a run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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