Reassure me that 45 minutes/5 times a week at the gym is enough

[Thefitfatty]

I usually go for about 90 minutes, but my work schedule is changing and I won't be able to fit that, work and family in anymore. Please reassure me that a 20 minute intense run and 25 minutes of weights/kettle bells will be enough to keep me fit!

I'm used to a nice moderate 40 minute run followed by about 35/40 minutes of weight lifting and 15ish minutes of core.

I hope so lljk

In some ways I think this might be a good thing because it will force me to focus on quality, rather then quantity.

If time is limited then IMO strength training and running would be the most efficient options

For weights I would stick to compound movements and superset with opposing muscle groups
2 or 3 way split

Sounds plenty to me. If you wanted to fit more in, which I'm not saying you need to, could you run outside in your lunch breaks if you have showers in your office ?

I reckon I've sent decades doing stamina so now I am focused on strength & speed, too (novelty).

I often wonder about women in middle east, if they have huge health issues because of the expected female lifestyle (mostly at home, very little sun so low Vitamin D, only poor women have physical jobs, patchy culture to encourage sport, etc).

rookiemere no showers in the office I'm afraid :)

lljkk Among Arabs yes those are huge problems, for both sexes. The UAE is one of the fattest countries in the world, with one of the highest rates of Type II diabetes. Sport and exercise isn't really encouraged for either gender, and the long hot summers make it hard to get outdoor exercise for most of the year. There are gyms but they are hugely expensive, or cheap but with nothing really on offer (like mine). Not to mention expected 9+ hour work days, and long commutes due to the high cost of living in the cities and traffic.

25 minutes of Kettlebells is fine if you go something like 45 seconds on 15 off. Use dynamic moves so swings snatches jerks clean and presses and squats.

Or like Suzanne says get a barbell and do compounds eg deadlift, clean, press, back squat, press, bent over row (that's one) and do a 10 down to 1.

Time wise it's plenty but if you're looking to lose weight you need to vary what you're doing. Running doesn't burn a great deal of calories and your heart rate is unlikely to her high enough to burn fat unless you are doing sprint intervals.

Try doing a 20 minute HIIT session and then weights. Start with 30 seconds on / 30 seconds off and decrease your rest time as and when it starts to feel easier. Burpees, mountain climbers, high knees, jumping squats etc will all get your heart racing.

Ah, just read you can't do burpees. There are lots of exercises you could do I'm sure had I think it's the best form of exercise given the limited time you've got.

Running doesn't burn a great deal of calories and your heart rate is unlikely to her high enough to burn fat unless you are doing sprint intervals
Nonsense

This is so interesting I'd never thought about the implications for women from a health perspective of living under that sort of regime in a hot country.

One thing as well on your workout OP - I've started seeing a P/T a few months ago and the difference between what I was doing and what he makes me do is upping the weights. Once your body gets used to a routine or weight then it stops being so effective - so basically all your gym visits need to be hard work. I go 3 times per week and workout for around 45-50 mins - which is about 35 mins weight based then 10 mins HITT on bike or ropes, I couldn't do that more often, although I sometimes do parkrun 5k as well.

However like you I seem to be unable to out train a bad diet so he has asked me to start keeping a food diary. I've got a sneaking suspicion I'm going to lose a shedload of weight this week as I'm too embarrassed to eat my normal way, so that should be a great thing !

I don't think it's nonsense at all. I'm not suggesting your HR won't increase but it'll stay at a steady rate unless you add in some sort change in speed. Interval training is regarded as a great form of exercise to a) increase fitness levels quickly and b) burn fat.

running burns loads of calories and is great cardio

My experience is that running doesn't burn as many calories as other forms of exercise. I'm not suggesting it's a bad thing.

I DREAM of being able to exercise 5 times a week for 45 min! Dream of it!!

@Kirinm: what HR do you think OP needs to achieve? How would she calculate it for her?

What form of exercise burns more than running?
I can only think of cross country skiing

You don't have a clue about substrate use during exercise do you kirinm

rookiemere I generally push myself at all my workouts. I certainly get my heart rate up nice and high, and I make sure I up the amount I'm lifting every other week, as well as making sure I switch up the exercises I'm doing.

I'll certainly do intervals tonight, and I'm going to do a full body kettlebell workout I found (did it a week ago and it killed me!)

My diet is pretty under control at the moment, mostly because I'm on ADHD meds and have no appetite.

Running does not burn many calories? Can you please clarify this, because I am pretty certain that my 10 mile runs burn more than just a few token calories (not that I run just to burn calories).

Always interesting when someone has to be rude rather than simply disagree. I've not said running doesn't burn calories at all.

OP enjoy what you're doing, 45 minutes is plenty. Just mix it up a bit.

1. Every time I reload this thread that friggin' ad at top bursts into playing & noise. Only this thread, other ads on other threads play soundlessly or don't play at all. I don't know what I did to make this automatic, does anyone know how to turn that off??

2. I read some online claims about kettlebells classes burning more calories than even vigorous running. I was/am fairly but who knows...

I'm doing intervals today, which is why I'm curious what formula Kirinm is using.

Clearly if you're running 10 miles you're going to burn more than someone doing 20 mins of HIIT cardio. Christ.

...I thought for intervals to achieve the ultimate gain (faster averaging running) the important thing was to return to a low recovery running pace inbetween efforts.

I think Kirinm's link says merely "Go by feel" which is way too waffly for me. I use a HRM to make myself get to a recovery run pace.

I was always under the impression that running is great, but to get a good workout, you need to do it for at least 45 minutes - hour at a moderate to intense pace, whereas you can up that (and reduce time) by doing interval sprints instead of the moderate run.

Personally I always preferred the longer moderate run because it's a great way to mentally veg out. However, now due to time constraints I will have to do shorter more intense intervals.

I also use a heart rate monitor and the point is (hence my suggestion of 30 secs on / 30 secs off) that your heart rate is given time to slow down in your rest period.

If the OP has 20 minutes, I think intervals are the way to go. If you've got time to run a marathon CLEARLY you'll burn more calories / burn more fat.