How much cardio do you do?

[gshoemate]

Well, I have been told that I overtrain. I do an hour and 20 minutes of cardio and then the weight circuit 5-6 times a week. I don't feel overtrained but I do usually have to take a nap in the afternoon (I workout in the morning). But I have had days that I don't work out and I still need a nap.

So I am curious as to how much cardio everyone else is doing?

 

[cheerdancer11]

I usually do 30-50 minutes of cardio a day, some days doing weights as well. Just make sure you take a rest day once in a while to give your body a break and you'll be fine

 

[luvmydogs]

If I'm looking to maintain my weight, I do three one-hour cardio sessions (one being interval-based), two total-body weight workouts (or a two-day split), and one cardio/weight circuit per week.

If I'm doing a strength/muscle building rotation, I do a three day upper/lower body split and three days of lower-intensity cardio.

If I'm looking to lose a few pounds, I do three days of pure cardio (one interval) alternated with three days of AWT or cardio/weight circuits. That's the combination that really seems to blast the fat for me, along with eating clean. (that's my biggest problem!)

I take an active rest week (light walking, yoga or stretching) once every 2-3 months, and I take a rest day or lighten my w/o's whenever my body tells me it needs it. Classic overtraining signs are boredom, injury, workout avoidance, dread factor and irritability. I've found that I'm much happier and can put much more effort into my workouts when I'm not burning out by working so intensely 6 days a week. If my body says to rest an extra day, I do it. If it tells me to do a lighter w/o when I've got a heavy one on my rotation, I do that. I used to feel so guilty by not working out at the most intense level everyday, but not anymore. Ask yourself what your body's telling you. Do you feel worked out and exhilerated after your routine, or do you just feel wiped out and exhausted? Does your body feel good--do your muscles have that good kind of soreness, or do you have exercise-related aches and pains on a daily basis? These are the questions I had to answer myself, and when I realized that I was not losing any strength and cardio-capacity by allowing myself extra rest when needed, I not only enjoyed my workouts a lot more, but I could put so much more energy into them because I was rested enough to have that energy in the first place!

 

[ZerasPride]

I used to do mainly cardio work outs - about 30 minutes 5 days per week with a day or two of body sculpting. This helped me to take off the majority of my weight. I am now concentrating more on sculpting with heavy weights so I do 4 or 5 days per week of sculpting and 2 or 3 days of cardio that last between 40-50 minutes. So as you can see I don't do nearly as much as you. Maybe I need to step my work outs up even more! (lol)

 

[Spoisal]

i do cardio 5 days a week (30-60 minutes)....and strength training 3 days a week.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Federal Guidelines have been raised and they actually recommend 60 - 90 minutes of exercise a day to lose or maintain weight.


I try to workout at least 60 min a day - lately it has been closer to 90. I do not do it all at once - i usually break it up so that I workout in the AM and PM. I do cardio daily and weights 3 times a week.

 

[Spoisal]

I think those federal guidelines are terrible! I think they make women give up or not try at all if they don't think they can put in all of that time. I think whatever you can fit in is better than nothing - I have been losing with 5 cardios a week & 3 strength trainings....so far I don't see any federal authorities coming to tell me I haven't been doing enough.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

The federal guidelines also recommend at least 30 minutes a day for heart health in hopes that it will get more people to start exercise. They agree that something is better than nothing. The reason for the higher requirements of 60 -90 is that most people today have a hard time cutting their calories, they do not want to change the way that they eat therefore higher standards were set but as far as I know they do not highly promote the 60 - 90 minutes because they do not want to discourage people. However I find it ridiculous that someone is told that they are over training when they fall with in the guidelines. I agree that exercise is an individual choice and you need to decide what is right for you.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

30+...up to an hour if I can.

 

[plutosmyfav]

I do at least 90 minutes of intense cardio 6 days a week. I do upperbody (heavy) weightlifting on Tuesdays and Thursdays and lower body (heavy) weightlifting on Wednesday and Friday. My day off (Sunday) I often do Pilates or at least walk and play/run around with my son. I've worried that I might be overtraining but there's a whole group of people at my gym who do as much or more than me and have been for years so unless I feel symptoms, I'm not going to worry about it.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

I do cardio 5 days a week for 30-45 minutes. Strength training 3-4 days a week. Seems to be working for me as I have kept all that weight I lost for my wedding off...and my 1 year anniversary is in 2 weeks!

 

[Kimickey]

I do 60 minutes of cardio (running or elliptical (sp)) and then 40 minutes of weight training. 5 to 6 days a week.

 

[gshoemate]

Thanks guys, I feel better. I cut back last week, even took an extra day off and I was still tired and needed a nap. But I also took a look at my sleeping pattern and I am no where close to getting 8 hours of sleep, so my needing a nap might not have anything to do with overtraining. So next week, back to 60-90 minutes of cardio. Thanks again!!