How much exercise a week do you do ( and do you see the results?)

[Tiredemma]

I have recently hit that stage in my life where food appears to be literally sticking to my arse, belly and hips and I can just feel the weight gradually creeping on.
I have run a couple of half marathons over the past few years but my training is hit and miss and I have to be really strict with myself to get out and run.

Last week I purchased monthly membership for a local keep fit group and plan to do 4 classes a week plus my runs. My week should look like this if I am strict with myself.

Monday - 5 k run before work
Tuesday - clubbercise class ( 1hr) followed straight after with 45 mins kettlebells class
Wednesday- 30 min HIIT class followed by 45 mins fitness Pilates
Thursday- rest
Friday - 5 k run before work
Saturday - long run gradual up to about 10 miles as have a HM coming up.
Sunday - rest

I imagine a huge chunk of how I look physically boils down to junk I'm consuming. I suppose I'm asking if those who do exercise, how frequent do you do it and does it "show" ?

Bloody hell, that sounds like a lot of intense exercise to me 😮

My main type of exercise is walking; I walk 45 minutes before work, 30 minutes during my lunch break and if I have the time, another 45 minutes after work. All of that is done at a fast pace, on hilly terrain, but obviously it’s nowhere near as intensive as what you’re describing.

Do I see the results? Well, physically I feel great and it’s done wonders for my mental health. My legs are pretty toned, but that’s about it.

There’s a saying that you can’t outrun a bad diet. I don’t know what your diet is like, but if you want to see results I’d suggest you also need to look at that.

I do 4 or 5 HIITS a week - 30 minutes. I've lost a stone since March and I'm starting to get more definition in places and my thighs are much firmer.

This is in combination with mostly cutting out crap food, eating more protein and healthy fats, and only having heavy carbs (pasta, bread, potatoes) on training days.

I feel so, so much better mentally and physically.

Your exercise routine looks very intense - how do you fit it all in?!

I do crossfit four times per week and visually no, you can't see any results.

I feel I'm getting fitter because I can complete longer sets and runs, there is less muscle soreness and I'm lifting heavier weights.

But I look exactly the same as when I started and I hadn't exercised for years.

I have been exercising regularly for three years. That is to say I hit the gym 6 or 7 days a week. I don't usually exercise for much more than 45 mins (excluding warm up before and stretch after) but I work damn hard in those 45 mins. Before that I thought I was exercising but all I was doing was wasting my time on a treadmill, hardly breaking sweat and certainly not getting red and out of breath. I have lost weight, but that is due to calorie control.

The results you can see visually are largely down to the amount of weight I have lost. However my body fat percentage is still on the high side (though much less than when I started exercising). So although I can see a significant difference in my muscles when I flex them, particularly in my back, in normal everyday life there is nothing obvious to see. My thighs are firmer, as are my arms, but since nobody is going to go round poking my thighs (and if they do, they'll get a poke in the eye) it is not obvious to anyone but me.

Also, I think a large part of the reason I can see a difference in my muscles when I flex them is because I have been doing a lot of resistance training. There's not much in your schedule other than the kettlebells class that appears to involve hefting much weight, and it is my understanding that if you want to change your body shape you need to do it with weights.

All that said, the benefits of exercise have been immense. I feel happy and confident and have bags of energy. I sleep well and care about eating a nutritious diet because I am working on losing more body fat and gaining muscle.

Run twice a week (one long, one fast)
Bootcamp twice a week
Cycle once a week
2hour walk with dog 5 days a week.

Unfortunately I use the exercise as an excuse to eat more so I stay about the same weight.

I do 125 minutes/day on avg. Not super intense. The results I care about are.... I eat a lot. My sleep would be impossible & my mental health poor if I didn't do so much.

I had a few years off exercising but started again 15 months ago and you can really see the difference. I lost 5 stone but also you can really see the definition in my legs and arms. People tell me that I "look fit". In fact they think I'm a trainer/gym instructor. I did watch my diet carefully to lose the weight but these days I just eat what I want pretty much (I try to each plenty of protein and veg but I don't restrict myself from eating cake etc), and if a few pounds creep on, I just watch my diet again for a week.

My training is roughly this:

Mon: 1 hour PT (weights and strongman work), 40 mins HIIT plus 20k steps (on average)
Tues: 30 mins intense cardio intervals, 1 hour bootcamp plus 20k steps
Wed: 1 hour PT, 40 mins HIIT plus 20k steps
Thurs: rest plus 20k steps OR 30 mins intense cardio intervals followed by 1 hour steady state cardio plus 20k steps
Fri: 40 mins HIIT OR 1 hour bootcamp plus 10k steps
Sat: 1 hour bootcamp plus 10k steps
Sun: rest OR 1 hour bootcamp plus 10k steps

I rest when my body needs it but I usually train 6 days a week. I'm 49. For me it's just as important for my mental health as it is for my physical health.

This is my ideal. I'd say on average, I manage 5 days out of 7.

Monday: Freestyle slalom skating or trail/urban inline skating 1.5-2 hours.
Tuesday: Skatepark. 1.5-2hrs.
Wednesday: Roller Rink dance/artistic session. 1.5-2hrs.
Thursday: Trail/urban skating for 1.5-2hrs.
Friday: Rink session. Minimum 2 hrs but I'll do 4hrs+ on the floor if I can.
Saturday: Freestyle slalom session. 1.5hrs.
Sunday: Gentle urban/trail skate. 1-1.5hrs.

I do 50 morning push-ups and 50 evening push-ups every day. (Except I don't at the moment as I'm resting an injured shoulder.)

I don't manage to do that every single day, every single week. I'm a single parent, I have work, I have trips away, I might have an injury that needs rest, etc. But that's how much I ideally aim to skate and often do. If I had nothing else in my life, I'd probably do double that. During the day, I'm on my feet a lot, mainly outdoors, so I also rack up lots of steps, though as a skater, my steps are often lower than they otherwise would be, because I spend a lot of time gliding.

Skating is both an excellent aerobic and anaerobic exercise so with the amount I do, I do see the results. I have really good endurance and stamina. I'm regularly told I look really strong and fit. My legs and arms are toned and muscular. My belly fat and c-section pooch are nearly gone and I have a 4 pack (visible upper abs). My butt has pretty much gone back to where it was 20 years ago. I feel great. And mentally I'm just soooo satisfied.

It can take a lot of weeks before the results show. I think it is an intense plan but not impossible

Also kettlebells after clubber ... I take my hat off to ya, I just want my bed after teaching it

Exercise does not make much difference to my weight. Eating less does that (if you run for cake, unless it's a Half or longer, you've just wiped out your exercise calorie expenditure, and probably more). And the term 'rungry' was coined for a reason - running can leave you ravenous!

I run usually about 3 or 4 times a week (up to about 10 miles per run, weekly total up to about 25 miles), plus one or two classes (Pilates/resistance bands). I used to do another sport too, but that's only really on holiday now. And I do walk quite a lot.

Oh, and my legs are very toned, and my tummy flatter than it's ever been. But no change to anything else.

Agree that there are huge benefits to MH, especially from running and walking outdoors

I run 3 times a week
Do 1 HIIT class a week

I have exercised more and seen results quite quickly (3x runs and 3x HIIT) but I was exhausted.

I saw.more.of a change when I cut out sugar

Which I need to do again.

3-4 hours of weights/HIIT A week.
I have been doing this since Jan....have lost a stone but dropped 2 dress sizes. And am 60.
I bloody love weights.

I try to swim 4 times a week, each time I do 1k of breaststroke with my head out of the water (I.e poor technique and fairly slow). Also run about 15k a week and usually try to go to the gym once or twice. Have at least one rest day and try to keep my steps above 10k a day. I started 18 months ago from being totally inactive and also cut out a lot of crap from my diet. Toned up within a couple of months (I am very short and it only takes a couple of extra llbs which I always carry as belly fat for me to look really out of shape) and now feel like I look pretty fit. Lately I have let the exercise slip (school hols, sore neck prob due swimming technique),eaten loads more crap, and have developed a nightly glass of wine habit. At the moment as long as I exercise 4-5 times a week it doesn't seem to be making any difference. However, I'm fully expecting the slightly bad habits to bite me on the arse soon.

There is a great saying: You can’t outrun the spoon.
Yes - exercising will build up muscle. However, it will not turn fat into muscle. So you can be really toned but if it’s covered in a layer of fat you won’t see it.
I do a mixture of cardio and weights several times a week. I have also lost weight due to cutting out a lot of crap. I have lost weight and I definitely look more toned. However, for all my new definition to show properly I would hab to lose more weight again and I’m not prepared to do that because a) life is too short, b) I would have to starve myself and c) my face would look like a drug addict’s if I lost more weight. So I just stay as I am, enjoying my reasonably fit and strong body and the impact that having a mostly healthy and active life has on my mental health

In addition to cycling at least 1 hour daily I do the following:
Mon: 1 hour HIIT/ body conditioning
Tues: rest
Wed: 1 hour HIIT/ weights
Thurs: 1 hour Swimming
Fri: 2 hours ballet
Sat: 1 hour step Zumba
Sun: 1 hour Pilates
After 3 months of this I was very toned but no change in body weight I had to reduce my calorie intake to lose a stone

I do weights a few times a week, Pilates/yoga when I can, sometimes walk and do exercise at home most days. I’ve lost three stone and I’m very very toned. Seeing the progress is pushing me on. I love exercise these days.

I have been running 3 times a week for 2 1/2 years. Generally two short (5k) and one long (10 -20)k.

I only began to loose weight when I started to cycle to work 3 times a week - 6 miles each way and fairly hilly.

I know I need to add in some strength training too. My legs are really toned and my but firmer but that’s it.

Lose

I am in awe of how much exercise you all do. I was thinking I’d be doing well if I did 30 mins of cycling 3-4x per week (starting from being a couch potato). Feel my efforts are a bit pathetic now!

I weight train 4 times a week and run 3 times a week. I look fit and toned to my eyes but I do t think people see me and think wow Red is so fit. I look like an average woman. I'm moderately slim at size 8, but have wobbley thighs and a slight bit of wobble covering my abs. I'm strong though, and I know I'm very fit. I have good posture and have worked hard on my personal weak areas. I like to get faster and stronger but I compete with myself and don't compare myself to others.

I run 5-6 times a week, totalling between 35-50 miles depending on how much time I have at the weekend. I'd try and fit another 5k in your schedule or gradually increase your 2 5ks to 10k each which will help with half marathon training too.

I do a 20 minute fitness dvd 4-5 times a week. Then 30 hours of weights (as heavy as I can) once or twice a week. Yes I see the results - especially from the weights, the changes to my figure were quicker and more noticeable than with just cardio.

I run 4-5 times a week, totalling 30-50 miles depending on what I'm training for. One of those sessions is a targeted speed session; one long run, usually a Parkrun too, and then steady miles for the rest.
I also cycle to and from work every day, which only totals around 35 mins, but it's hilly and hard work.
I try and do a weights session too, but sometimes that falls by the wayside.

Yes, I see the results. I'm a toned-ish size 8-10, whereas before I started running and cycling I was a wobbly 12-14.

OP - your training week looks unbalanced to me, if you're training for a HM. Are those short runs targeted (ie, do they incorporate hill reps/intervals/speed work etc) or are they just steady 3 milers? And are you aiming for a time at the half?

I meant 30 minutes not 30 hours