Lean, toned and fit people - how much exercise you do a week?

[MissMildred]

And what has most helped your body? I'm fed up. I'm not hugely overweight - a size 12 occasionally at most, but this is heavier than I've ever been in my life and it's also the fact I'm very flabby and developing c-section overhang that is upsetting me. I know I shouldn't compare myself, but at school I am surrounded by skinny mums. I know exercise is a big thing here (I think there's definitely underlying competition between some of the mums - this is a Surrey prep after all ) and some seem to do nothing but exercise, but others - I don't know how they fit it in. They look toned, thin and great. How do you fit it in? What do you fit in? Have I just reached an age where genetically I'm going to pile on weight?

I'm presuming this is an age thing (early 40s). I definitely don't overeat, watch the carbs, don't snack much at all and don't have a sweet tooth. I do have a glass of wine most nights of the week though. One thing I do accept is that I move less due to changing my job - it involves a lot more sitting, but otherwise I'm rushing around the house, shops, school etc...

I realise this sounds like a very self-indulgent post, but I'm just so down and wondered if I just don't understand how much I need to do to stay in shape.

I would often rather take a nice nap though.

I go to the gym 4-5 times a week for 1.5 hours at a time. I do a mixture of cardio (spinning, stair machine, stepper) and weights, a mixture of the weights machines and free weights. I only started lifting heavier weights in the last year and now love deadlifts and kettlebell squats.

Fitting it in... well my kids are older (11 & 13) and my OH works shifts which helps. I get to the gym either before work at 6am, after work or first thing in the morning at the weekends. My kids are now at an age where they can be left so they're happy to stay on the X box while I head off to the gym which makes it so much easier.

I also second squeezing in exercise while the kids are at activities. E.g. the kids go swimming and I'll have a quick hour in the gym, they go out on their bikes so I'll do a quick workout video or drop them at their activity and I'll go for a run.

I do a lot of exercise, but I don't have kids. I do have a demanding job though. Cardio wise I walk or trail run around 2 hours every day with my dogs (often a lot more at weekends if we go for a proper hike on Dartmoor or the coast path), I run around 30km a week over 3 or 4 hilly trail runs. The main thing that keeps me very toned and strong though is rock climbing. I've been an obsessive climber since I was 11 or 12 years old and still climb at least 3 times a week, both indoors and outdoors. Climbing is all about lean muscle mass and having the greatest possible strength to weight ratio. The climbing itself is the best workout but I also do strength training as part of my routine, so some free weights, lots of pull ups, push ups, hanging knee raises, planks, climbing up and hanging off finger boards and flexibility work. I do 20 minutes of pilates or yoga every day, usually as soon as I get up before taking the dogs out, and try to get to an acroyoga class once a week which is great fun and really hard work!

Forgot to add, diet is also important and I try to make everything from scratch and eat clean 90-95% of the time. I hardly ever eat meat and don't really like cooking so try to get in as much protein as I can with quick and easy stuff involving eggs, fish, lentils, chickpeas, Greek yoghurt etc. I limit carbs and processed sugary crap but I love baking so I'm never going to give up sugar entirely, a life without cake would be miserable!

Yep as above get a horse. I have a full time physical job (lifting boxes of wine all day) and a horse as well as running a yard before and after work (reshaping the muck heap is a daily job). I’ve got no time to do exercise, or for that matter eat half the time. Got a bikini ready body all year apart from the odd tan lines 😆. I do think rather than signing up for gyms and all that sort of thing, try integrate exercise into your lifestyle, walking more for example, that way the exercise is done without noticing and you will save a bomb.

Another vote for weights! I much prefer my body shape now to how it was when I used to just do cardio. I would say I’m quite lean; my body fat is around 25%

Deadlifting, as mentioned upthread, does amazing things.

I am very lean and toned but I really don't do much, just a bit of running and I walk everywhere too. It's genetics I'm afraid. My sisters are all the same and my mum was until she got old.

I get up before kids do half an hour exercise dvd usually weights based. Then I run 4 times a week 5 k. Addding it up it around 5 hours of exercise per week I enjoy it and would love time to do more but work and kids stop that. I only also drink a glass of wine on a Fri and sat and watch my diet arpund 1500 cal a day. I'm a 10.

Do CrossFit 3/4 times a week.

It's really hard to get started but if you get into the habit it becomes easier. Can you do something early morning? I run with a friend 3 mornings a week. We meet at 6.30am so we're back to wake the children up. Could you manage that? We do a 5k run (and feel smug all day!). Having a friend to do exercise with has really helped me. We joined a local gym and go there early one weekday morning and one weekend morning. Do what you can and feel good about yourself.

I'm 62 and both lean & fit. However, the exercise has little effect on my weight. My cardio strength is much better and I am more toned but it's dietary changes that maintain my weight - no snacks, very little alcohol and lots of fruit and veg. For exercise I run 3 times a week for 30 mins, usually have a long bike ride + hours on the weekend and I do weights at home (but not very consistent with that at the moment)

I have a sport I love (and a second sport I quite like too) both of which are physically demanding. I train/play one or twice a week and cycle everywhere (busy job across a hilly city!). I can't do my sport due to an injury at the moment and my muscle tone has decreased. I quite like kettlebell classes if you like a class .....

I'm a massive fan of the Davina DVDs and do one most days. The 5 week fit DVD is particularly good and includes a program telling you what to do and when. Takes about 30 mins a day. I usually go to the gym at 5.30am twice a week and do two classes back to back too. I work full time but from home which does make things easier, I appreciate.

I’m relatively fit now after starting a massive health kick in January, going from a 14 to an 8, losing about 2 stone. I exercise 6 days a week- running mostly, varying from 5-10km with one run being an interval/training run; plus I also like circuits/home DVD’s as a bit of variety.

I never wanted to admit it to myself, but i didn’t do enough to tone up. I work really hard at it now and it surprises me how hard I have to work to burn a relatively small amount of calories!

Consistency is key really. Develop a habit you can stick to and you enjoy. Women typically are more social so class workouts could be a good start. Find a good crossfit box (there are a lot of bad ones) and do a trial as, imo, the class dynamic and type of workouts work very well with women.

Forget about what weight you want to lose, if you make performing better (lifting more, running further/faster etc) your body will be evolving to adapt. Nutrition is also important, but you’ll be eating to recover and you can worry about that once your new exercise regime is in place.

You may even gain weight, but look much better.

Wow - thanks so much everyone. It's amazing to hear how much you do and the advice is great. Well done thenewaveragebear1983, what a great achievement. As someone mentioned, I see I need to be aiming for at least 4x per week.
Ok, so I need to look more into deadlifting as I've never done or seen that before.
I think I'm more of a night owl than an early bird, so perhaps I need to be heading out to do regular (gym or class) exercise on an evening - this is what I always used to do many years ago. Exercising very early in the morning makes me feel ill - even when I was fit!
I don't think I can improve on my diet much, I've cut back significantly on alcohol over the last two years and I'm not a snacker. I make most of our food from scratch and it's generally low carb and protein high with plenty of vegetables.
It's the moving, isn't it. I need to dedicate time to moving.

Do you like classes? If so, you could try Body Pump or a kettlebell class to introduce you to some weights moves which you can then do in the gym/at home if you have some weights (which are not expensive).

I've still got a way to go, but am quite slim. I see a PT weekly / fortnightly (schedules allowing), go to a weekly circuits class, try to get to a Power Yoga session weekly, and maybe one other thing in between (although this time of year is so crazy with end of school year events, this isn't happening as much as I'd like).

I also have an Apple Watch, and health insurance that rewards me for my activity levels, so I'm forever trying to make sure I meet the various goals set by both - for my watch I need to burn 460 active calories (so when my heart rate is elevated) daily, do 30 mins of exercise and stand for at least a minute across 12 hours in a day. I can't just achieve that by pottering - if I'm not properly exercising, I'll need to go for 2 brisk walks of at least half an hour as well as try to move a bit in the day (my job is very sedentary).

Also, I don't drink very much alcohol - empty calories. a glass of wine has the same calories as a doughnut, and I don't know if you'd be happy eating a doughnut or 2 a day?

I'll just leave this here

What’s amazed me is how much my body shape has changed despite my weight loss slowing down. I’ve lost virtually nothing in the last 6 weeks, but I’ve dropped a whole dress size. My physique is much more ‘athletic’ now as well.

I think the key is findin something you like. Does your gym offer fast HITT classes. I find they are good to just get exercise over and done with. My favourite exercise is yoga and try to do 2/3 classes a week and then fit in some kind of strength/ cardio on another day. So 3/4 days of exercise depending on how busy I am.

@MissMildred there’s some great advice on this thread and respect to you for what you’re trying to do

No one has mentioned one thing however which I think could be a factor -

The glass of wine a day; it’s often treated as “invisible” calories in a diet or lifestyle but drinking lots of it can undo any other benefits of abstemious choices

I run 4-5K two or three times a week (started with C25K), then I do either weights, HIIT, crossfit or whatever, just to keep it interesting, 2 or 3 times a week. I try and do 30 minutes to 45 minutes of "proper" exercise at least 5 times a week, that is the type of exercise that gets you hot, sweaty, and/or out of breath.

I started off using Jillian Michael's DVDs and they are great for a quick initial boost.

Do any of you know the best way to tone bingo wings that doesn’t require going to a gym? I’ve gone from a size 16-18 to a size 10-12 and I’m toned all over other than my flabby arms.
I eat a very healthy diet and I walk 10,000 steps per day and go on my exercise bike every day for 15km when watching TV. I do use dumbbells too but my arms aren’t toning so I think they might not be heavy enough (only 3kg each)

No formal exercise but I have a toddler (so pushchair), live on the first floor, don't drive, and live on a big hill.

I spent my entire childhood/teens doing gymnastics and ballet but have never had as nice arms as I do now.

Are any neighbours new mums needing a rest? You could borrow their DC and push them round a nice hilly park