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Original poster

How many hours of exercise do you do each week?

179 replies

iknowwheretheothersockgoes · 17/02/2023 22:02

I'm starting to think I need to get myself into shape, but I can't work out if it will be enough. How much do you do per week?

Here's my plan :

Monday - 1 hour Pilates 1 hour swim
Tuesday - 1 hour gym (cycling, cross trainer, rowing)
Wednesday - 1 hour swim
Thursday - 1 hour gym (as above) or swim
Friday - 1 hour pilates

Is that enough to get me feeling physically fit? It's only 6 hours, which doesn't seem like a lot.

OP posts:
Snoken · 19/02/2023 08:02

I can’t do high impact training due to having arthritis, so I do pilates 6 days a week (45-60min each), and I walk my dogs 2.5-3 hours a day. I also don’t have a car so I walk or cycle everywhere. It seems to maintain my fitness level as I’m getting older and it keeps my arthritis more or less at bay.

Chesneyhawkes1 · 19/02/2023 08:03

@Floofydawg

How many hours of exercise do you do each week?
izzy2076 · 19/02/2023 08:03

4 hours of strength training following push pull legs programme.

I'll sometimes tag on sprint intervals for 10/15 minutes at the end.

Very little cardio bar walking and cycling to work.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Exercise & fitness Fitness
HeartInDrive · 19/02/2023 08:04

Floofydawg · 19/02/2023 07:57

There's another thread basically accusing us all of lieing or having an exercise addiction which is a risk to health 🙄

I saw that. 🙄

I wouldn’t say I’m addicted, but as exercise has helped my mental health so much, I definitely feel worse when I can’t do it. If it’s an addiction, it’s one that is hugely beneficial to me so I couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks.

Pippalooo · 19/02/2023 08:07

Lol at people who never exercise accusing people who do of risking their health.

lifter · 19/02/2023 08:09

Floofydawg · 19/02/2023 07:57

There's another thread basically accusing us all of lieing or having an exercise addiction which is a risk to health 🙄

Well, some people probably do have obsessive patterns, I know I do. And I would have been one of the ones posting on that thread a few years ago in disbelief before getting into exercise, so I can't blame them.

What saddens me the most looking back is how sports at school really ruined exercise for me. It could have transformed my life if it had been more inclusive and one-to-one.

I know why it couldn't be - that's the reality of corralling hundreds of kids around sports lessons - but it put me off for life until recently. Since exercising I am so much stronger and healthier and happier, I wish every able person could do proper strength exercises, it makes such a difference.

hoardod · 19/02/2023 08:19

By far my main exercise is walking. I'm lucky that I can walk to work so easily hit 10k plus steps. I'm not f/t but my day off will be more walking, errands & seeing friends & family. DH is the same, lots of walking & will do a lunchtime gym session if he's in the office. I try & do yoga & something with weights once a week & DH will go swimming.
We struggle to fit anything else in, I couldn't get out of bed at 6am unless for work & in the evenings after dcs activities, homework & dinner we are not fit for much else. Most Fridays dh & I go out either with friends or just us. Weekends have more dc activities, their play dates or seeing family & friends. Saturday night one of is is usually out to see our own friends. I have got quite a large close family though so that does take up time.

Goatinthegarden · 19/02/2023 08:28

Pippalooo · 19/02/2023 08:07

Lol at people who never exercise accusing people who do of risking their health.

It’s bizarre. I am a bit of a crazy exercise convert. I want everyone to join me in feeling as good as I do and I find I have to keep my mouth shut because no one wants to know.

DH and I both really upped our exercise over the last five or six years and in all that time DH and I have realised we’ve barely had a cold (we used to get them regularly…and I work with primary children so I’m fully exposed to it all). We are very fit, eat brilliantly and are full of energy. Our mental health really benefits from exercise.

I used to sort of bop sedately around gym classes in my twenties and call it exercise. I also walked quite a lot.

Something changed when I took on a running challenge for a month just after I turned 30 (I previously hated running). It taught me to push myself past a limit of tiredness and really exert myself. It’s led to actively enjoying exertion and now I do it for fun.

My daily average according to my Apple Watch over the last year is 110mins exertion a day. I often cycle to work (30mins each way); I join in P.E. with my class, take them outdoors and run and climb trees with them; DH and I do 100km cycles together at weekends for fun; we climb mountains; I trail run quite a bit in school holidays. We have a gym in the house with an indoor bike and I do 4 HIIT sessions a week.

I don’t make myself follow a routine because for me that’s the quickest way to suck the fun out of it. I’m a bit like a dog that needs a walk now though, so I will do something every day, even if I just jump on the indoor bike for an hour before dinner. It’s probably worth noting that I don’t have children.

MirabelMax · 19/02/2023 09:04

lifter · 19/02/2023 08:09

Well, some people probably do have obsessive patterns, I know I do. And I would have been one of the ones posting on that thread a few years ago in disbelief before getting into exercise, so I can't blame them.

What saddens me the most looking back is how sports at school really ruined exercise for me. It could have transformed my life if it had been more inclusive and one-to-one.

I know why it couldn't be - that's the reality of corralling hundreds of kids around sports lessons - but it put me off for life until recently. Since exercising I am so much stronger and healthier and happier, I wish every able person could do proper strength exercises, it makes such a difference.

Show quote history

Oh I completely agree with this about school sports. I am not naturally gifted when it comes to sport so I was always being shouted at for being at the back and too slow when we did cross country or ran round the track. I absolutely feel like it was hammered into me that I was shit at sport and any effort I made was meaningless.

This is so different to how it feels when you take up running as an adult - thinking of the ethos of running clubs and park run. If only that kind of encouragement had been offered to me as a teenager, I would have been active my whole life instead of taking up exercise in my late 30s.

lljkk · 19/02/2023 09:37

squtable · 18/02/2023 12:44

Do people have partners who use the same number of hours on exercise or another hobby?

He does similar or more than me.. lot more possibly. Our youngest is 15 yrs. We didn't live like this when we had little kids.

megletthesecond · 19/02/2023 09:42

Monday - pump
Tuesday - kickboxing
Friday - circuit or gym
Saturday - parkrun

I also do 14k steps and day and carry heavy shopping home. Too heavy some days when I misjudge it 😬. I'm going to add Sunday pilates when the weather warms up.

firtreesv · 19/02/2023 10:09

Floofydawg · 19/02/2023 07:57

There's another thread basically accusing us all of lieing or having an exercise addiction which is a risk to health 🙄

I know the thread. To be fair some people exaggerate on these threads. I haven't seen much of that on this one.

I won't list what my dd does as part of her sport that she competes in, or her friend at vocational dance school who does hours a day of exercise, with rehearsals and access to gym and weights for evenings and weekends, swimming for the rest day! My daily exercise pales into insignificance by comparison there.

I've become healthier and stronger through taking up exercise again in the last few years. I do it daily with yoga on any rest days. I know the warning signs of injury well enough now and when to take a day off or do cross training. Also benefits to mental health as has been said.

Original poster
iknowwheretheothersockgoes · 19/02/2023 10:28

Floofydawg · 19/02/2023 07:57

There's another thread basically accusing us all of lieing or having an exercise addiction which is a risk to health 🙄

It's the same on any high earner threads. Posters can't believe that everyone isn't earning the national average wage.

I'm sure there are a small number of people that bullshit but who really cares? 🤷🏾‍♀️

OP posts:
Original poster
iknowwheretheothersockgoes · 19/02/2023 10:29

izzy2076 · 19/02/2023 08:03

4 hours of strength training following push pull legs programme.

I'll sometimes tag on sprint intervals for 10/15 minutes at the end.

Very little cardio bar walking and cycling to work.

What kind of strength training do you do? (And if you are strong now, how did you start out?)

OP posts:
Reclaimtheoutdoors · 19/02/2023 11:16

I do about 30 minutes a day of either walking outside or walking on a treadmill at an incline or a YouTube cardio or dumbbell video. It isn’t much but I find when I do much too soon I end up being flat out tired and not doing anything for days.

Hoping to increase that to 3 x one hour gym session in March and daily walks of 30-60 mins on days I’m not at gym.

I WFH so I can fall into being extremely sedentary once I’ve done my exercise which can slow down metabolism thus making the exercise I do less effective in terms of weight loss and fitness .

To avoid that and increase my NEAT activities I try and move for 5 minutes every hour. So I get up from the laptop and stretch or dance or go down to check my mail using the stairs in my flat building.

MidnightMeltdown · 19/02/2023 11:23

Intentional exercise? None

I do walk everywhere and do my own housework though and I've never been overweight, despite wfh most of the time

I find it funny when people drive everywhere, get a cleaner etc and then go to the gym to keep in shape. Unless you want to bulk up, I find that the small everyday tasks are enough, without dedicated exercise time.

Floofydawg · 19/02/2023 11:46

MidnightMeltdown · 19/02/2023 11:23

Intentional exercise? None

I do walk everywhere and do my own housework though and I've never been overweight, despite wfh most of the time

I find it funny when people drive everywhere, get a cleaner etc and then go to the gym to keep in shape. Unless you want to bulk up, I find that the small everyday tasks are enough, without dedicated exercise time.

You're either very young or are blessed with a fast metabolism.

MidnightMeltdown · 19/02/2023 12:07

@Floofydawg

Mid 30s so not especially young. I suppose that things might be harder after the menopause

HeartInDrive · 19/02/2023 12:11

MidnightMeltdown · 19/02/2023 11:23

Intentional exercise? None

I do walk everywhere and do my own housework though and I've never been overweight, despite wfh most of the time

I find it funny when people drive everywhere, get a cleaner etc and then go to the gym to keep in shape. Unless you want to bulk up, I find that the small everyday tasks are enough, without dedicated exercise time.

It’s not just about weight though. You can be slim and unfit/unhealthy.

Floofydawg · 19/02/2023 12:14

MidnightMeltdown · 19/02/2023 12:07

@Floofydawg

Mid 30s so not especially young. I suppose that things might be harder after the menopause

Definitely. I'd also say that the kind of activity you describe doesn't necessarily equal good cardio fitness and heart health.

I'm overweight but very fit. I struggle to lose weight because I love food too much and menopause makes it very difficult so I choose to stay a bit fat, but happy and fit.

firtreesv · 19/02/2023 13:01

It's the same on any high earner threads. Posters can't believe that everyone isn't earning the national average wage.
I'm sure there are a small number of people that bullshit but who really cares

The financial threads are the worst for the fibbers, I've found.

firtreesv · 19/02/2023 13:03

It’s not just about weight though. You can be slim and unfit/unhealthy.

Yes definitely.

confessionstoday · 19/02/2023 13:26

To all the people saying it must be lies. It's really not. This week I've done 10 hours of swimming running and biking. plus walked the dog everyday.

I'm training for a half Ironman and exercise is priority to me.

I have older teens and I work for myself.

firtreesv · 19/02/2023 13:33

I have older teens and I work for myself.

Same here. I think it makes it more manageable than when they were younger.
I also prioritise certain exercise/classes now, and work around, and will not cancel them unless it's something important.

Hernamewaslola1 · 19/02/2023 13:40

I do:

X3 45 minute HIIT spin classes using the peloton app
1-2 45 min strength sessions (the peloton weight sessions have cardio too - burpees etc so not typical weight training)
x2 90 min Bikram sessions

I work out in the mornings around 6 am when my toddler is still asleep and the yoga is usually in the evening and a weekend. I also work FT with nights and on calls so sometimes I will only manage 5 sessions in a week. I think it would be difficult to manage the evening yoga if I didn’t have someone to look after my son

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