How much is exercising too much? (my last question)

[Deja Q]

Today I'm going to do 4 twenty-twentyfive minute sessions of elliptical trainer/weight lifting (15 pound computer).

I've done one session so far, at 8:15AM. Next session is at noon, followed by 3PM, followed by 7PM.

From now to October, I will do 3 sessions - one at 6:30AM, one at 5:00PM, and one at 8:00PM.

Is this too much, considering I'm out of shape and want to get rid of flab? (I'm not totally terrible, but I could be rather better looking...)

I might also consider metabolism enhancing pills, at least for the first couple of weeks - once I get into full gear, I'll drop these faster than Britney Spears would a husband.

My diet is already OK (steamed frozen or fresh vegetables, ground turkey, water, milk, pineapple, tunafish - basically basic cooked ingredients without extra fat or processed products) though I will eat breakfast and NEVER eat after 7PM again and I'm dropping the sugar free Wyler's Lite (empty calories)...

Thanks!

[Massacure]

1. Pills don't work. Don't bother wasting the cash.

No such thing as exercising too much. Just don't try and kill yourself.

[Misunderestimator]

2. Never too much as long as you don't stress yourself...

Sometimes I exercise 2 or 3 or more hours a day .... that's usually when I'm trying to get BACK in shape from letting things go a little... after it's back, I still do about an hour a day and more on the weekends.

[Deja Q]

3. Wow!

I'll make the time, at least for a while.

My legs and arms are still sore from this morning, I am really out of shape... especially when I didn't do much work with the arms! So I am, for the moment, compelled to do more sessions of fewer minutes followed by lengthy rest periods.

Eventually I will have to cope with hour-long sessions... But I will look good again! :D

[Misunderestimator]

4. Start slow so you don't resent exercising...

that's my only real advice... and good luck... it does feel good to look good... but the best part is the feeling good... and strength and good health do that. ;)

[emulatorloo]

5. Was told no more than 45 min weight lifting and no more than 30 min cardio

If you exceed that you are "overtraining" which is detrimental to the results you are looking for. No longer building muscle but destroying it.

I and others have had success with eating 5 or 6 small meals a day. Breakfast Lunch Dinner and 2 or three small snacks. This keeps your metabolism up . . .what you are doing may instead convince your body it is starving, so it will slow its metabolism down.

Don't do the fat burning pills. Add Green Tea to your diet if you want a safe (and cheap) boost to metabolism

You need to have some good fats in your diet . . . olive oil, almonds, peanuts, just a little bit.

[Misunderestimator]

6. I agree with limiting the weight training....

But I don't agree with the 30 min of cardio. For maintenance that probably makes sense, but, for example, I've never seen a marathon runner doing anything detrimental to their body by training for hours a day. Or a gymnast. Or a swimmer. Certainly it has to be worked up to, but it's definitely not detrimental.

[Deja Q]

7. Some good fats, will do! Peanuts are yummy and I can share them with

my parrot. (the unsalted variety)

Right. I won't go overkill on the exercise and do the more albeit smaller meal plan, though I love eating. :-)

Thanks for the advice! (to all!)

[emulatorloo]

10. Two Books that helped/are helping me

Body for Life by Bill Phillips

http://www.bodyforlife.com/

Enter the Zone by Dr. Barry Sears

http://www.drsears.com

Your library oughta have both. . . .

[jpgray]

8. Take it easy! Slow and steady for months is the ticket

People who make a goal to lose weight / get in shape real quick tend to give up just as quickly. Just lift three times a week and do 30 mins of heart-pumping cardio each day. In three months you will see a big difference. Everyone wants to know if there's a way around the hard work, or if there is some way to radically compress it--there is NOT. At this point you aren't aiming to bulk up anyway, since bulking up and losing flab at the same time would be difficult if not impossible, so just eat a sensible, healthy diet with sugars, overly refined foods and animal fats to a bare minumum, and you should do fine. :) The weight lifting at this point will help you lose the fat, but don't expect to gain significant muscle mass at the same time you are trying to cut fat--keep up the 30 mins cardio and work all your major muscle groups with the weights and just be patient and consistent.

If you work too hard, you will not progress, and you will either give up or injure yourself. :(

[emulatorloo]

11. I hate to do this, but ME TOO!

Jp is on the money. . .

[Philosophy]

9. Here's my workout

I developed this by trial and error when I was about 19 in college when I got tired of being a skinny geek - it's been working for me for 12 years, I don't know if it would work for everyone else, and you definitely have to build up to it because it's pretty intense. I get in a 2-hour weightlifting session 3 days a week - covering every muscle group so I don't overtrain any one part. The other four days I just do a half-hour calisthenics routine including about 100 push-ups and 50 pull-ups, do a bunch of stretching, and then go on a 3-4 mile run keeping a very fast pace of a about 6 min/mile. I have to watch my diet a lot more now than I did when I was 19 and could eat anything and still look good, but otherwise I'm in just about as good shape as I was then.

[Nikia]

12. Start slower

I had this discussion with my little brother who will be running cross country for the first time this fall. He hasn't been running yet and they have a mileage goal this summer. He plans on running 3 miles to the school, weight lifting for a while, and then running back everyday. Even if he (and you) have the will to start out exercising at the level of a conditioned person, he (and you) will get hurt and be unable to exercise.
I was a runner and had to run high mileage for college cross country. Guess what happened to people on the team who did not condition properly during the summer. It didn't matter that they had the drive to do the workouts. They didn't have the strength to take all that pounding.
What your doing isn't as stressful on your body as running but you still could get injured if you do too much too fast. If you haven't been in the habit of regular exercising, you should only do one session per day for a week and see how you feel. If you feel fine, add more. If you hurt and are fatigued, stay at that level for a while. Maybe in a few months you will be able to exercise like you described.
Physical conditioning cannot be rushed.

[Doctor Smith]

13. You shouldn't lift weights more often than every other day,

to allow time for recovery.

You might find that it works to alternate days of aerobic exercises and weightlifting.

I think you would be more likely to succeed, if you were to do something that would get you out of the house, and away from the refrigerator, like bicycling.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

14. Not too much. You are on the right track with the diet and exercise.

Leave the pills alone.

Don't make your regime so extreme that you are likely to quit altogether though.

[2cents]

15. Weightlifting tip...

When lifting, if you see something rolling on the floor - don't step on it. ;)