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.

Ditto twinkie1 same as you with the odd parkrun thrown in as well.

I'm sceptical that one would be able to force oneself to do 4 mins of exercise at a high enough rate to give a huge amount of benefit, but my cardio these days mostly consists of 20-30 s bursts interspersed with recovery for about 10-15 mins overall.

I absolutely love my heart rate monitor and it shows that during an average weights session my heart rate can go as high as 145 (damned goblet squats with a 16kg kettlebell) so if short of time I'd definitely sacrifice the slow steady runs before anything else.

Well last night I did 25 minutes of interval, so joged at 8.5 km's for 5 minutes as warm up (this was after my 10 minute walk to the gym), 12km's for 2 minutes, 8.5 for 3 minutes, 12k for 2 minutes, 8.5 k for 3, 12.3 for 2, 8.5 for 3, 9.5 for 1, 8.5 for 1, 7.5 for 1, 6.5 for 1, 5.5 for 1.

Then I did a 20 minute full body kettleball workout that's left me a bit sore in the thighs and core today.

All in all I felt pretty good. The ADHD meds have raised my heart rate though, so I'm trying to adjust for that.

Excellent what a fab start.

Do you think you could do smaller intervals but at a higher speed. Say 16kmph for 45 secs then 6kmph for 1 minute?

Would mean you had to do less reps.

Definitely, but then would I shorten my jog time too?

If by elite you mean at the upper range of your own potential then yes, a trained person will achieve greater intensity during hiit sessions than an untrained one
But most people will respond to training
Idk if hiit really has any advantage compared to burning the same amount of fuel in the same time but in a steady state, eg run 3 miles in 30 mins at 6mph vs same distance same time but fast and slow intervals

Just do what you enjoy most

suzannecaravaggio if I did what I enjoy most, it would certainly be my long slogs. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of time anymore. :(

I understand, I'm very lucky that I have enough free time for regular 2 hours runs as well as strength training sessions I would really miss the euphoria if I couldn't do it

Since time is of the essence could you jog to the gym?

Could you do any strength training at home?
There's a ton of body weight exercises that are really worth trying

My gym is 10 minutes away, so not much of a jog. And I've thought of buying some dumbbells and kettle bells and doing strength at home, but then I get home and get pounced on by DC's (4 & 2) and I know that's not going to happen! LOL. The workout was pretty good, and after talking with DH we decided that I will do 45 minutes 2 times a week, and then 90 minutes 2 times a week, so I can get my longer jog in then. I think it's a good compromise for the time being. :)

No need for equipment if you want to train at home and if you want to max calorie burn then turn that 10/min walk into a 6 min jog😁

Up to you of course I'm just thinking about what I'd do if time was limited, you're ahead of the game just by virtue of exercising at all😇👼

I know there's no need for equipment, but I'd want to get some anyway. It's more a quiet space where DC's can harass me!

I've been viewing the walk as my warm up and cool down really, that way when I get to the gym I can just get going.

OP for what its worth, I often find that when I have to be in and out of a gym within 45 minutes rather than having up to 90 minutes available, I am a lot more focused and work much harder and take less rest so there really ends up being little difference in what I achieve with more time (possibly I even end up getting a better work out). Train smart, with the compound exercises and supersets that Suzanne suggests, plus HIIT ad you will be fine.

There's also a school of thought (which I believe) that for a lot of people, shorter periods of more intense exercise (HIIT) are less stressful for your body than longer endurance sessions. Less stress means less cortisol, which is good news as cortisol triggers fat storage and leaches nutrients from your body and may deplete muscle tissue. So you may find you even do better as another pp suggested .

In your situation (WoH, small DC) that amount of gym time sounds quite ambitious! Ditto lunchtime gym sessions.

My situation is similar and like you I find it helpful to identify regular "time slots" for exercise (and healthy food prep). Sleep is important too (re your early starts). Often I can't get to the gym but can squeeze in an exercise DVD at home.

You could always take a walk at lunch: seems a big change (and not great for you)!to go from a gym session to lunch at your desk!

I might start going for walks during my lunch break in a few weeks if things cool down. Unfortunately that will probably not last long as the weather is heating up around here and it's 30+ degrees in the middle of the day again now :( (another reason I prefer a gym). I work at a uni, so I've chosen to start walking to a bathroom at the far end of the campus and up a couple flights of stairs. No doubt the people near that bathroom think I'm nuts, but at least it's a bit of a walk.

As for sleep, I'm out by 9pm the latest every night. I've never been able to go without sleep. The new meds I'm on is supposed to cause insomina, but I'm not experiencing it.

If I were you I would go to the gym in my lunchhour and run for 25 minutes and save the toning stuff for the weekend.

I really can't go during my lunch hour anymore. Office politics. My lunch hour is no longer an option.

OP - a 30/40 minute work out is fine and if you go at it hard can be quite effective. I work out about 6 hours a week - mostly split into 30 or 45 minute work outs during the week with an hour on Saturday and Sunday. From my heart rate monitor I know I burn around 300 calories in a 30minute TRX/weight work out where I mix up weight lifting/body weight exercises with cardio (sprints, jump jacks, jump squats etc). If you can alternate cardio days with weights based exercise days, that will help keep fitness levels up - and there are loads of pilates or yoga based exercises (with minimal equipment needs) you can do at home. Check out fitness blender for ideas.

If your workout takes more than an hour you're doing something wrong!

5 x 45 mins is more than enough,

You need to have rest days too.

A really good book I've found is "burn the fat, feed the muscle"