Does this count as 'fit'?

[awsedrftghyh]

Would you say that someone has a good level of fitness if they:

1. Swim (fast, mostly front crawl) for a full hour x4 a week (plus a 40 minute walk there and back each time at a good clip)
2. Do 30-40 minute dumbbell workouts x3 a week, on the days they don't swim
3. Walk or cycle everywhere they need to go and also walk for pleasure when time allows
4. Do yoga several times a week

And would you say there was more they should be doing for optimal health and fitness?

Yes, that was me. Well spotted/remembered.
I am doing much better and getting closer to my usual set weight. The ED was more a brief dramatic relapse and I'm getting back on track but keen to make sure I'm doing the healthiest things I can to get my body back to a place of healthy fitness and strength.

Stick with where you are then - mix things up and make a set of static and dynamic exercises - so squats , squat and hold for a minute, squat and jump , press up and clap,

you may get to the point when you want to have something heavier but upping every 6 weeks clearly isn’t necessary for health

And well done on getting yourself back towards his health !
its woorth remembering that extremes are often easiest - extreme over or under eating or seeing the world simplistically like all immigration is bad/good

the world is full of delicate balances and that’s what you need to strive to - not excess , a delicate balance

When you swim, what do you actually do? Do you swim continuously (more or less) for the whole time, or do you mix in intervals? The reason I ask is that I think that swimming continuously, while you will see improvements, doesn’t contribute as well to fitness as doing a mixture of different intervals, varying speeds, kicking on a kickboard, isolating the arms with a pull buoy, and so forth. There’s lots of great programmes on the web, or even AI can design you one. I use MySwimPro, it’s an app that designs swimming programmes and you can tell it what you want. For example, I said I had a 200-metre race on X date, and it designed a programme for me around that. The ‘race’ was simply a day I usually go swimming but I decided to do a time trial on that day in the 200 metres, and see how fast I could go. Keeps it interesting! Now I’ve done that, I have a new programme with a different focus.

Sorry, double post.

You obviously have nothing better to do and too much free time on your hands.

In terms of beating obsessiveness, it sounds like it's too much.

In terms of preparing for perimenopause, it sounds like you should add in a couple of 10 minute jump sessions a week. Or rather, build up to 2x10. With a history of ED, there is a very real risk that you haven't laid down enough bone mass throughout your fertile years (particularly if you've had no periods at any point?), so you should build it up over months, while ensuring you've got a balanced intake of calcium & vitC from actual food (leafy greens, beans, dairy, fresh fruit) in your diet. Skipping is a good start, but having some non-linear work is better. Runners get lots of impact, but adding a 5 minute session doing sideways & diagonal jumps is better for their bone health.

It sounds like what would the MINIMUM effective weekly program be might be a better challenge for you though!

2/3 plus headspace activity is ideal, especially as you move into perimenopause. So your body can have fewer stress hormones floating about & more time to recover effectively.

So 2 weights, 3 cardio (with emphasis on sprint/recovery sessions to vary heartrate, not just long slogging it out). Or 3 weights, 2 cardio. 2 jump sessions tacked on to any of them. Then as much walking/yoga/tai chi/meditation as you need to not want to strangle other people ;)

For those without the luxury of the free time you have, it should be possible to do that within 3.5 hours a week (plus walking).

It sounds like it might be beneficial for you to look at limiting your weekly time, to concentrate on what might be most EFFECTIVE for your body - particularly to optimise recovery. Rather than the most caloric?

If you are not sure just do some more!!

Hard to know from that if heart rate is high, it’s possible they aren’t doing anything that pushes heart rate above zone 2. How far are they swimming in the hour? I do 2.5km in an hour which is moderate and probably zone2 rather than anything higher.

I'd love to see you do one of my daughter's tough Ashtanga sessions, I think you'd realise how much exercise Yoga can be.....🤣🤣🤣🤣

Who knows. If they've been doing it for a week probably not 🤣

Sounds super fit and a lot more than most people do.

Have you read any of the thread? This is possibly the least helpful thing you could say to someone who has made herself seriously ill through obsessively exercising.

You’re lucky - my garmin only allows me to drop a max of 4.5 years from my real age!! Which doesn’t seem very fair 🤣

The weights need to be very heavy for muscles supporting bones ..

Also jumping as the impact is good for bones …

Most people are sedentary and don’t get enough exercise or do a little and think it’s enough. Personally I think you’ve a great mix which could only be improved by learning to weight lift heavy with a trainer and jumping of some description. The swimming isn’t resistance and yoga is only low resistance but they are valuable for aerobic fitness or flexibility purposes. A rest day a week is good but make it an active rest day with walking or something low key.

I think you’ve got balance. Time wise, I know lots of people who say they have no time to exercise and then spend ages sat on the sofa watching telly, browsing social media in bed, waiting for the bus to work when they could walk or frittering away lunch breaks pissing about