What's your total exercise time per day?

[pink_sugar]

Wow you all put me to shame. I do 20-30 minutes a day 5-7 days a week on my elliptical and a 3 mile hike on a weekend. (work and go to school full time)

[StarlaStardust]

Wow you all put me to shame. I do 20-30 minutes a day 5-7 days a week on my elliptical and a 3 mile hike on a weekend. (work and go to school full time)

 

That's pretty good, girl! You put most of the American population to shame. I feel impressed for sure.

[EasyHeart]

Yikes! I was getting nauseous reading the first page of this thread. At least we're finally getting some common sense on this page.

 

I lift weights twice a week and do some sprinting/interval training once a week (and at my age, I definitely can't squat more than once a week!!!) None of those workouts is more than 30 minutes total and, like Hokie, it's probably about 10 minutes that I'm actually pushing weight around. That's plenty. When the weather's nice I like to hike on the weekends, and in the winter I like to cross-country ski, but I consider those hobbies, not workouts.

 

I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make is thinking they can control their weight through exercise. You can't. Period. Once you get on the dark side of 30, your metabolism is going to keep slowing down and all the chronic cardio in the world ain't gonna stop it (and will almost assuredly make you sick in the long run). Think about what you're doing to your telomeres, people! THINK ABOUT IT!!!

 

It's one thing to work out hard -- that's a good thing -- but this "more is better" and "you have to work out every day or you're a loser" mentality that many people preach is lunacy. And, more to the point, it's really, really unhealthy.

[MollyBrown]

I'm guilty of chronic cardio, but that's because I love it. Health and fitness forums always make me feel bad about it. I make myself do three hour long classes per week that involve weights and cardio drills. If it weren't for the drills, I wouldn't want to do them at all. One day per week my I do 90 min of cardio. That's my favorite day. The other two or three days I do 45- 60 minutes.

 

I would like to learn to enjoy lifting more because I see the benefits of it in other women, but I really dislike doing it. Oh, well. My doctor says I'm very healthy and he commends what I do. Most importantly, it makes me feel good. For me, there's something exhilarating about starting to become fatigued and catching that second wind. It's like a natural high and I'm always looking for something more challenging.

Edited July 8, 2012 by MollyBrown
Edited to add: I never think people have to work out everyday or else they are losers. It's just what I like for myself.

[xxoo]

I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make is thinking they can control their weight through exercise. You can't. Period. Once you get on the dark side of 30, your metabolism is going to keep slowing down and all the chronic cardio in the world ain't gonna stop it (and will almost assuredly make you sick in the long run).

 

I'm not an advocate of chronic cardio, but I am an advocate of very active living. I look at the life of a hunter or gatherer, or farming family for perspective on how much activity we were built to have in a day, and compare that to the average desk worker, and that leaves room for a LOT of time up and moving. That doesn't mean we need to be sustaining a raised heart rate all those hours, but moving is important imo.

 

I haven't gained weight from 20 to 40, and haven't cut back on calories--and I do think that maintaining my activity level has been the reason for that (the years I had small children, and less time for my own activities, I was a 5-10 pounds heavier).

[EasyHeart]

You're hooked on drugs.

 

When your body is stressed with lots of cardio, it pumps out natural pain killers because it thinks you are running away from a tiger and doesn't want you to get eaten. That second wind is the pain killers flooding your body. It's just as easy to get hooked on those 'natural' pain killers as it is the prescription ones.

 

As with any addiction, the first step is admitting you have a problem. . .

[Emilia]

 

I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make is thinking they can control their weight through exercise. You can't. Period. Once you get on the dark side of 30, your metabolism is going to keep slowing down and all the chronic cardio in the world ain't gonna stop it (and will almost assuredly make you sick in the long run). Think about what you're doing to your telomeres, people! THINK ABOUT IT!!!

 

 

You can control your weight through exercise! Anaerobic training will do that for you, it's very different from 'chronic cardio' of course, it's about using your time effectively rather than wasting it on the treadmill

Edited July 8, 2012 by Emilia

[brahmabull117]

I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make is thinking they can control their weight through exercise. You can't. Period. Once you get on the dark side of 30, your metabolism is going to keep slowing down and all the chronic cardio in the world ain't gonna stop it (and will almost assuredly make you sick in the long run). Think about what you're doing to your telomeres, people! THINK ABOUT IT!!!

 

 

 

What terrible defeatist attitude

 

 

 

42 years old - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Shemar_Moore_Cannes_2012.jpg

 

 

40 years old - http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/fp/Dwayne+Johnson+Dwayne+Johnson+Shows+Huge+Muscle+zbWUPIf0EZOl.jpg

 

 

38 years old -

http://img2-1.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/news/080630/mario_lopez.jpg

 

 

 

U can be in great shape until you're 90. Come on now

[xxoo]

What terrible defeatist attitude

 

 

 

42 years old - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Shemar_Moore_Cannes_2012.jpg

 

 

40 years old - http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/fp/Dwayne+Johnson+Dwayne+Johnson+Shows+Huge+Muscle+zbWUPIf0EZOl.jpg

 

 

38 years old -

http://img2-1.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/news/080630/mario_lopez.jpg

 

 

 

U can be in great shape until you're 90. Come on now

 

I'd assumed these were going to be women. Nice surprise!

 

The oldest one looks the best to me (sooooo good ). I wonder what is his total exercise time per day?

[EasyHeart]

U can be in great shape until you're 90. Come on now

Of course you can, but you're never going to do that by running more and more. You need to be scrupulous about your diet if you want to keep your weight under control.

[EasyHeart]

You can control your weight through exercise! Anaerobic training will do that for you, it's very different from 'chronic cardio' of course, it's about using your time effectively rather than wasting it on the treadmill

How do you figure?

 

Show me the math!!!

[xxoo]

Of course you can, but you're never going to do that by running more and more. You need to be scrupulous about your diet if you want to keep your weight under control.

 

If you keep your muscle mass higher, your metabolism stays higher, and you can eat more.

 

One of the reasons metabolisms slows with age is loss of muscle mass.

[EasyHeart]

If you keep your muscle mass higher, your metabolism stays higher, and you can eat more.

 

One of the reasons metabolisms slows with age is loss of muscle mass.

Yeah, but not that much. Your metabolism at 40 or 50 or 60 is simply never going to be the same as when you were 25.

 

I could control my weight pretty much at will until I got to be around 40. After that, I had to be way more careful about what I ate.

 

I guarantee you that everyone of those guys in the pics are fanatics about their diets. In fact, I remember see an article in a magazine about what Mario Lopez eats in a day, and the guy is pretty much on a starvation diet.

[brahmabull117]

I'd assumed these were going to be women. Nice surprise!

 

 

 

We post pics of girls here all the time, I thought I would give you guys a nice treat

 

 

The top one is Shemar Moore. He looks phenomenal and he's one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. I think he works out 5-6 days a week

 

 

 

In reality though, it's all about controlling your calories. you can work out 3 days a week and be in fantastic shape if you just restrict your calories enough

[brahmabull117]

Yeah, but not that much. Your metabolism at 40 or 50 or 60 is simply never going to be the same as when you were 25.

 

I could control my weight pretty much at will until I got to be around 40. After that, I had to be way more careful about what I ate.

 

I guarantee you that everyone of those guys in the pics are fanatics about their diets. In fact, I remember see an article in a magazine about what Mario Lopez eats in a day, and the guy is pretty much on a starvation diet.

 

 

 

I have male bodybuilder friends around 45 who have a horrible diet and are in great shape. It's true that your metabolism slows down, but you don't have to eat like a rabbit to stay in shape. Just have to workout more and eat LESS

 

 

Eating less is what dieting is all about - I've dropped 30 LBs last 3 months eating horrible food, but I'm just eating very small portions

[xxoo]

Yeah, but not that much. Your metabolism at 40 or 50 or 60 is simply never going to be the same as when you were 25.

 

I could control my weight pretty much at will until I got to be around 40. After that, I had to be way more careful about what I ate.

 

I'm right around 40, and no change yet. I guess the next 5 years will tell!

[Chocolat]

Weight Training

4 days a week, about 45 minutes per session. Only one super heavy session (i.e., to failure) per week.

 

LISS Cardio

Long (4-5 mile) walks at night after dinner, usually 4-5 nights per week

 

Kick-boxing

2-3 times per week, 30 minutes

 

Diet

Clean, clean, clean... with one cheat day.

[brahmabull117]

I just realized Michael O'hearn is 43 years old

 

 

Holy cow, how inspiring is that?

 

 

 

[Emilia]

How do you figure?

 

Show me the math!!!

 

Change in body composition. More muscles burns more calories. I'm 40 and my metabolism is much higher than when I was 30. As long as I am capable to keeping up a high muscle ratio in my body, my metabolism will stay high enough for me to eat pretty much anything I like (although obviously it's not practical necessarily to eat anything I like from nutrional point of view)

[Emilia]

Yeah, but not that much. Your metabolism at 40 or 50 or 60 is simply never going to be the same as when you were 25.

 

I could control my weight pretty much at will until I got to be around 40. After that, I had to be way more careful about what I ate.

 

I promise you I'm not lying when I tell you that I don't have this problem. Boxing is an amazing sport

[EasyHeart]

Change in body composition. More muscles burns more calories. I'm 40 and my metabolism is much higher than when I was 30. As long as I am capable to keeping up a high muscle ratio in my body, my metabolism will stay high enough for me to eat pretty much anything I like (although obviously it's not practical necessarily to eat anything I like from nutrional point of view)

Show me the math!!!

[Emilia]

Show me the math!!!

 

Metabolism and weight loss: How you burn calories - MayoClinic.com

 

it's only age related because people lose muscle as they get older. if you don't lose muscle, you can maintain your weight. you can google the exact science behind this by the way

[Els]

Change in body composition. More muscles burns more calories. I'm 40 and my metabolism is much higher than when I was 30. As long as I am capable to keeping up a high muscle ratio in my body, my metabolism will stay high enough for me to eat pretty much anything I like (although obviously it's not practical necessarily to eat anything I like from nutrional point of view)

 

This is correct, but, especially for a woman, it takes an incredible amount of muscle to counteract a naturally low BMR. I'd wager that if you're not a professional athlete (ie you didn't spend hours everyday in the past with the sole purpose of building up muscle) and can literally eat ANYthing you like as much as you like without gaining any weight or doing any cardio to burn the weight off (as in you actually tried, and aren't just hypothesizing), you must have started off with an incredibly high metabolism to begin with. The majority of people, especially women, need both diet and exercise to maintain their weight.

[zengirl]

Muscle burns calories, it's true.

 

Also "I can eat anything I like" means different things to different people. I don't necessarily think it really means the person can eat ANYTHING -- just that they don't have to watch it. I mean I can eat anything I like, basically, without eating too much I get sick, and work out fairly minimally and maintain my weight. But it's partially because I wouldn't "like" to eat 6 pizzas a day or whatever. In fact, I don't think I could keep it down if I tried.

 

At any rate, to answer the question, I spend anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour on fitness a day (more if I actually go do something sporty for fun or go to yoga class that day), and I do some kind of physical exercise daily. If it's only 15 minutes, it's generally intense, such as high-level cardio WITH weights and resistance. I vary the amount of time and activities. It's all maintenance and mostly to stave off anxiety, so cardio is the focus. I have a reasonable % of muscle for my shape (very much an ectomorph) but not much and am not strong. I focus more on muscle than when I was younger though, for the metabolic benefits. Maintaining a high metabolism is something I prize for more than just weight loss.

 

ETA: My Mom is in pretty great shape and doesn't exercise much more than I do, if more at all, and she's over 50 now. Still extremely slim and fit. Doesn't really diet, though she doesn't eat 6 pizzas either! She eats what she wants mostly. It's often healthy because she likes healthy foods, but she doesn't fuss about it and no starvation. In fact, she's a foodie! She, like me, is an ectomorph with a high metabolism though. I'm sure hers has lowered somewhat, but not really noticeably.

Edited July 10, 2012 by zengirl