Page 3 | How many hours a week do you exercise?

HIITPrincess · 2020-09-30T12:09:50+00:00

Just curious what other people do? How many hours a week do you exercise and what kind of things are you doing? Last week I did what felt like a lot and just want to check I am in the realms of normal and not getting some kind of addiction going on. So HIIT - 2.30 Strength and conditioning - 3.30 Heavy resistance - 2 Total 8 hours of exercise. This week is looking pretty much the same too except an extra hour of strength and conditioning so 9 hours total.

monkeyonthetable · 01/10/2020 22:35

This is so interesting. It's clear I don't do nearly enough.

I will soon be doing 2-3 bootcamps per week, taking over from PT sessions, as well as one 90 min yoga, and I walk with family and friends a few times a week but feel like I should add a couple of other things as my job is entirely sedentary.

Any suggestions of something to add to the mix?

KnitFastDieWarm · 02/10/2020 09:14

Any suggestions of something to add to the mix?

Proper heavy weightlifting - squats and deadlifts. Torches calories, great for bone density, gives you a great bum, makes you feel like a viking warrior queen/badass

monkeyonthetable · 02/10/2020 09:28

@KnitFastDieWarm - I really like that idea. I've done a bit of weight lifting and really enjoyed it. Thank you for the suggestion. And I would be very happy to look like a badass Viking warrior queen!

sociallydistained · 02/10/2020 09:36

Usually religiously 6-8 hours a week .. this week zero! Had a car accident Monday that has shaken me. I am physically able to but haven't bothered (very unlike me) as a result I feel so awful, sluggish, unmotivated in everything. I will start again Monday (busy weekend) and I imagine I'll feel a bit better for it!

ShortFatandDumpy · 24/10/2020 22:36

18 to 19 hours most weeks.

45 mins cross trainer 3 x per week
30 mins exercise bike 3 x per week
2 to 3 hours fast hike/hill walking 6 days per week

Roominmyhouse · 24/10/2020 22:40

2.5 hours of Bootcamp type classes
45 mins Pilates

Plus I try to walk at least 3 days a week after work or at the weekend. Minimum 1hr but can be for 2-2.5 hours on the weekend.

ThatScottishGirl · 24/10/2020 23:13

My god I am absolutely appalled with myself reading this.

Figgyboa · 24/10/2020 23:34

6 days a week, one day of rest. 3 days out of six in the gym with a PT for 1hr. Remaining days hiking/walking. I do at least 1hr/3 miles each day.

Franticbutterfly · 25/10/2020 08:10

I've just started a new job and am not fitting as much in as normal. On a good week I would workout for 40 mins with kettlebells 4-5 days a week. Treadmill (steep uphill brisk walk adding up to 2-3 hours) and maybe some more weights a couple of times a week. I also walk about a lot (to and from work, and keep busy all day) which adds up to about 5 miles a day.

roundtable · 25/10/2020 08:20

I do about 7-8 hours a week.

However, I couldn't do this amount until my youngest was in reception and I built it up gradually from 3 hours a week.

So don't feel bad if you've young children and can't fit it in, I couldn't either. If DH was traveling with work still I'd struggle to fit it in too. I used to be able to take kids to the gym which was ideal but can't anymore and they're not old enough to be left alone. So DH being at home is a godsend and we pre-book our sessions so we commit to it (both work) and can both fit it in.

qwertypie · 25/10/2020 08:23

@polkadotpixie

Erm, none 🙈

I'm lucky in that I'm naturally fairly slim but I know I should do some for health reasons, I just don't know where people find the time

I'm relatively slim too but was seriously unfit before I started Couch to 5k recently. Couldn't even climb a couple flights of stairs without losing my breath.

I'm on week 6 (of 9) of Couch to 5k and I'm very surprised at how well it's worked and the fact that I haven't given up! I guess it only equals about 1.5hrs exercise a week but it's a lot more than I did before. I only used to do some occasional yoga.

pinkbalconyrailing · 25/10/2020 08:28

10 min a day specific physio to strengthen core and hip.
a walk every day 30-60 min
a run 30-40 min 3x a week.

looking at that I should probably add some strength exercises for my upper body...

Splodgetastic · 25/10/2020 08:40

It looks quite a lot, but within the realms of normal. Do you feel good though or tired? If you are tired and aching and not sleeping well, you could be overtraining / need t watch nutrition and hydration. Formal exercise I do about four or five hours a week depending upon what the plan has in store for me. It could be tempo, power, foundation or rest. I don’t do any strengthening exercises and can’t lift a box above my head without passing out. That needs to change! I also do some steps every day but I don’t count that as exercise. That would probably add about an hour and a half.

TranquilityofSolitude · 25/10/2020 08:52

My Apple Watch has given me a target of 5150 exercise minutes this month! That's nearly 3 hours every day.

pinkbalconyrailing · 25/10/2020 09:08

@TranquilityofSolitude

My Apple Watch has given me a target of 5150 exercise minutes this month! That's nearly 3 hours every day.

which is achievable if you count walking to the shops etc

165EatonPlace · 25/10/2020 09:13

I walk 1 hour every day as fast as possible (3 miles/7000 steps) I carry a 1kg weight each hand and do arm exercises whilst I am walking.

Hariborocks · 25/10/2020 09:16

I haven't RTFT but is that you Lucille?

Original poster

HIITPrincess · 25/10/2020 12:02

@Hariborocks

I haven't RTFT but is that you Lucille?

yep it's me Lucille, posting between my classes when I should be firing off emails!

Ah this week I have done nothing, been struck down with Covid and just feel so rubbish. On house arrest until Saturday so feel like my fitness will have disappeared by the time I get back to it.

OP posts:

Sarahlou63 · 25/10/2020 12:06

Officially none but given that we have 6 horses that need feeding 3 x 30kg bales of hay daily and 2 hectares of hilly, currently muddy, land that we poo pick twice a day I don't feel the need to exercise!

Hariborocks · 25/10/2020 13:15

Haha OP/Lucille . Go and answer the phones at the council instead of doing all those classes at the gym!

On fitness, I wouldn't worry about it. Fitness returns after a short break, and you sound pretty fit already. I was just pondering that women a generation ago never 'did' formal exercise and now it's part of our daily schedule.

alittleprivacy · 25/10/2020 15:38

20+ hours a week. It's pretty easy for me though as my main exercise is skating. So I can go to the rink with my 7yo DS and spend a few hours skating while he either plays speed games or dances with me or does his own thing. Or we can go to the skate park or trail skating together. If we trail skate together, I'll skate up and down past him so I can keep up a faster speed and do 2 or 3 times his distance. Though I do try to get out a couple of times a week without him too. I can do strength and flexibility at home watching tv.

I often describe how I feel about skating as an addiction. But that's honestly not accurate. I was married to an addict. It's incomparable. I'd never harm myself or others to skate. (Obviously I fall down sometimes and get a little hurt but I know when it's not safe to skate due to an injury, life stress or ground conditions and even if I'm disappointed, I don't do it.) I'd never fail to pay bills so I could buy new skates. I'd never leave my DS when he's upset just so I could skate. I have stopped mid-skate as soon as I'm needed at home. I'd never lash out at someone physically if they tried to stop me skating. I've never flown into a rage because skating is cancelled. I'd never drive in my skates and crash into a wall. I'll never skate my liver and kidney into failure and start skating again as soon as I'm out of hospital. I sure as hell hope I never skate myself to a point where I've pissed my pants in an alley and abuse the emergency services who try to help me. If I do, I'll certainly be having a damn good think about how to make sure that never happens again, not ending up in that same position a few weeks later.

Wanting to spend a lot of time doing something that you love, something that is good for you, is normal. It's not an addiction. It's just really, really enjoying doing one of your favourite things. And if that thing happens to be something that makes you fitter and healthier and makes changes to your body that you find pleasing, it's still not an addiction or an obsession. It's just you having gotten lucky and found a love in something healthy.

alittleprivacy · 25/10/2020 15:47

@HIITPrincess Ah this week I have done nothing, been struck down with Covid and just feel so rubbish. On house arrest until Saturday so feel like my fitness will have disappeared by the time I get back to it.

Ah I've just seen this post. You have Covid, so forget about your fitness for the next month or so. Take it easy. Rest, rest, rest, rest. I had Covid in March and obsessed about getting back to normal. A few days after recovering I went back to my normal activity levels and relapsed in "long Covid" that night. (In reality triggered several types of post-viral inflammation.) I was in bits for months, either bedridden or just managing a gentle walk and some stretches on good days, and I still have some lingering issues.

I'm back to pretty close to normal activity levels now but I do have some pain and irritation. This is one of those points where you should just take it easy. Your fitness will come back much faster if you take the time to recuperate completely, rather than try to go back to normal too soon and cause months long issues.

fellrunner85 · 25/10/2020 18:26

I was just pondering that women a generation ago never 'did' formal exercise and now it's part of our daily schedule

Yes, absolutely- a lot of people on this thread are counting just walking around, taking kids to school, doing shopping etc as "exercise". It would never have been considered as such even in the 80s and 90s.

For me, that's one of the flip sides of exercise watches. Yes, for many people they're great as they encourage you to move when you ordinarily might not have done so. But you see so many threads on here with people wondering why they're overweight when they do 10,000 steps a day just pottering around, yet no "real" exercise that gets their heart pumping at all. All steps are not equal...but many seem to think 10k steps of pottering around is equivalent to 10k steps of hard running. It really isn't.

user1493494961 · 25/10/2020 18:39

I walk 5 miles a day and sometimes an hour of on-line yoga.

Original poster

HIITPrincess · 25/10/2020 19:42

[quote alittleprivacy]**@HIITPrincess* Ah this week I have done nothing, been struck down with Covid and just feel so rubbish. On house arrest until Saturday so feel like my fitness will have disappeared by the time I get back to it.*

Ah I've just seen this post. You have Covid, so forget about your fitness for the next month or so. Take it easy. Rest, rest, rest, rest. I had Covid in March and obsessed about getting back to normal. A few days after recovering I went back to my normal activity levels and relapsed in "long Covid" that night. (In reality triggered several types of post-viral inflammation.) I was in bits for months, either bedridden or just managing a gentle walk and some stretches on good days, and I still have some lingering issues.

I'm back to pretty close to normal activity levels now but I do have some pain and irritation. This is one of those points where you should just take it easy. Your fitness will come back much faster if you take the time to recuperate completely, rather than try to go back to normal too soon and cause months long issues.[/quote]
That is excellent advise, thank you for sharing your experience with me. So sorry you have suffered through long covid, it is so unpredictable isn't it.

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