How much exercise?

[ivemesseduphelp]

I am in recovery from an eating disorder and have something of an exercise addiction although I eat well and am a healthy weight now. Over the years the exercise has changed - running, cross training, cycling etc but it is all to burn calories. Currently I use a mini trampoline. I have gradually reduced my trampolining to one hour 5 days a week from just over an hour 6 days a week and this has felt like a more 'normal' amount. I also do 15000 steps per day.

However, I am starting a course next year which requires me to be at uni 9-5.30 5 days a week. With an hour commute each day I'm starting to realise that even one hour of trampolining 5 days a week could be too much as I want to have time for my partner, friends, family etc

Now I am thinking of reducing further to 3 days of 60 mins of trampolining per week - this would probably be a bit more manageable with my course. But is that too little? I am also obviously afraid of the inevitable weight gain that will follow, although I haven't gained any after reducing to 5 days.

I find it hard to know what a heathy amount of exercise is as exercise is viewed so positively in our society. Can anyone give me any guidance or advice please?

The Chief Medical Officer recommendation is 150 minutes/week. 3x60 minutes would put you still above their recommendation.

150 mins a week of exercise that elevates your heart rate. Brisk walking in itself is enough. Plus two sessions of weight/resistance training.

I would suggest if possible you really step back from exercising with the sole aim of burning calories, or pure cardio, which trampolining is. Would you be willing to try something else like strength training or yoga and Pilates? A mixture of exercise will benefit your health more than just one, and even if you want to continue with trampolining I'd minimise the amount if possible.

Thanks everyone. Is it really 'normal' to only do 150 minutes of exercise per week? My perception is so skewed but I have to say I don't miss doing the exercise I've cut back by.

@safetyzone you are right that I need to step back from exercising just to burn calories. I didn't realise how much of a hold it had over me until I contemplated not doing it. If I am honest with myself I am looking forward to not having to make time for it like I do now as it is quite stressful - I have to plan it around my work/social life and there is no option of not doing it. I am definitely interested in strength training and my boyfriend has got me some resistance bands so I guess they would be a good place to start.

150 minutes equal 30 minutes for 5 days which is plenty, and more than most people do.

One thing that is a good mindset change for most women is to remember that exercise is to make you stronger not thinner. Look to build not burn.

150 mins is quite a lot. Most people won’t even do that. You are also walking 15,000 steps a day. That in itself might be enough, depending on various things - how fast you walk - without any trampolining at all. I echo the previous poster - aim to get stronger, and that might mean actually gaining some weight.

I'm not being facetious but too little for what? It depends on your goals which I appreciate are complicated by your history. I really really love going to the gym and I go 4x a week for an hour each time, because my goals involve training v hard and also getting enough rest. Some people exercise daily. Some people exercise never. What you're suggesting would I imagine put you in the more active part of the population. I agree with PP that getting strong rather than trying to make yourself small is a beautiful life changing thing.

150minutes a week is probably a lot more than many people do! Your bouncing is clearly to burn calories and probably isn't doing much for your overall fitness, which is really why you should be exercising. I'd definitely agree with the PP about adding in some strength work or swap your trampoline for HIIT and you'll get better fitness results for 20-30 of effort than you will from an hour bouncing on the spot.

@RayKray that is such a good question! I don't think I even know what I mean by 'enough'. Enough for cardiovascular health? Enough for overall wellbeing? Enough to burn calories? Something for me to ponder on. I guess I just see the message about exercise being a good thing everywhere so I want to make sure I'm doing 'enough' of it, whatever that means!

I really appreciate all your replies. I am definitely going to look into strength work. Something that has prevented me from doing it before is that it looks pretty boring - at least trampolining is fun. Do you have any suggestions on how to make strength work more fun/enjoyable/interesting?

To me, it seems that bouncing on the spot for an hour would be so boring. Could you go to a gym, book some sessions with a personal trainer, learn how to use the machines and dumbbells etc? There’s such a variety. Try a Pilates class too.

How to find weight training fun? Easy.

Find a proper program (or trainer) to make sure you're doing things right. Then watch the numbers of weights go up. The challenge of getting better is the biggest motivation.

It is 'normal' to do just 150m exercise a week. I have borderline issues myself so know where youre coming from.

My suggestion is ditch the trampoline and take up a sport like karate or tennis. Challenge yourself to learn something new and develop new skills, making exercise not just about calorie burning. You'll also make friends and training will be restricted. I did that with kickboxing, it meant i could only train when there were classes, I was focussed on the skill not the burn and it made me healthy all the same.

Good luck X

Another vote for strength training- it’s so empowering.

We’re all different and I would personally find bouncing on a trampoline boring and repetitive, but I enjoy lifting weights. Listening to a great playlist or a podcast will help if you find it boring. But as you haven’t tried it yet, hopefully you’ll find it’s not as boring as you expected!

I used to be an obsessive exerciser and at the time it was all about how many calories I was burning. I also had disordered eating at the time. I started doing strength training and yoga and it’s completely changed my attitude to fitness. I never weigh myself now and never count calories eaten or burnt. All of that has ceased to have any relevance. I’m not trying to make myself smaller and lighter any more- Instead I’m trying to get stronger/fitter/more flexible. I’ve found I like my body shape more now than I did when I used to do loads of cardio so that’s an added bonus.

Daily Wail says (quoting Univ of Essex study stats) that only 1/20 people do at least 150 minutes/week.