How Much is Too Much???

[Boopster]

I am a 38 year old female who works out 6 days a week. I am fortunate to be able to fit workouts first thing in the morning before work. It usually ends up being no more than 2 hours a day. But I feel great! I am trying to reduce body fat as now I am at 19%. I weigh 135#'s and 5'8". BMI is pefect according to the index. I do 45min. of interval cardio training each workout day which consists of treadmill running and alternate upper and lower body every other day as well as abs. I do all workouts before eating breakfast to burn more fat. All weight training is done before any cardio.

I eat 6 times a day usually every 3 hours with "in between snack" usually being a 15 gram protein snack. I eat only lean meats, chicken, turkey and plenty of fish, fresh veggies, fruits and drink tons of water. No refined sugars and completely stay away from fast food and chips, ccokies, candy. I really don't miss that stuff anyway.

So question is, how much exercise is too much and when is it no longer beneficial? I have read many posts about 3 times a week with full body workouts and others who are doing what I am. Any responses would be much appreciated.

[Boss Man]

19% is a brilliant achievement, and kudos for all the effort, you should be proud of yourself .

Bottom line is though, 2 hours of combined weights and Cardio a day is too much.

Cardio type and level is fine to me, weights may be a bit long, at 1hr 15, when coupled with the Cardio, so I would say a few things.

1. Possibly cut the breaks you have in your Sets, so if you do more than 60 seconds, keep them to 60 seconds, which will trim some time off your workouts.

2. You could incorporate more multi-muscle exercises in there, and go for less Isolatory exercises, so you cut some more time off. That's depending on what most of your weights workouts comprise of.

3. Drop the workouts to 5 days a week, so that's 4-5 days Weights, 5 days Cardio.

If you do something like a 6 day split, then you could tag Biceps onto Triceps and turn it into a 5 day split.

Alternatively, go for an Upper body / Lower Body split, and do both twice a week, 2x Upper, 2x lower, but not consecutively for 4 days.

Or you could mix your splits, so for example, you could do one like Chest, Tris, Shoulders and the second one being Leg, Back, Bi's as an example, with Abs as a 3 day a week thing, with a day between each Abs session, and again do both splits same as the UB / LB ones.

This could be an option if a whole Upper body workout as part of your split, feels too intense. To train all those muscles in one session, might feel too full on, so something like I suggested could split the workload, if a UB / LB type split doesn't feel comfortable.

Also if you're training 5 days a week, split the off days. Don't have the two non-training days back to back, the inactivity for two days, will put on some fat mass. Not a lot but 99.99% probability a bit will store, plus then you workout 5 days straight, which might be hard on your body.

So for example, this is how you might work that 5 day system.

Workouts

Workouts

Off Day

Workouts

Workouts

Workouts

Off Day

That stops the off days being back to back, as explained just before.

Hopefully you have some food for thought there.

GOOD LUCK, and best wishes. You're doing great, and at 19% it will get harder to achieve results, when the obvious solutions are already being used, and especially with your Metabolism slowing after 35, but it sounds like you're mentally and emotionally strong, and I think you'll be able to keep focused, and get what you want.

I know of someone who went from 31%bf, to 16%bf, in roughly 12-18 months, and she's now 41, so you should be a.o.k .

[Sportsman4920]

I am a 38 year old female who works out 6 days a week. I am fortunate to be able to fit workouts first thing in the morning before work. It usually ends up being no more than 2 hours a day. But I feel great! I am trying to reduce body fat as now I am at 19%. I weigh 135#'s and 5'8". BMI is pefect according to the index. I do 45min. of interval cardio training each workout day which consists of treadmill running and alternate upper and lower body every other day as well as abs. I do all workouts before eating breakfast to burn more fat. All weight training is done before any cardio.

I eat 6 times a day usually every 3 hours with "in between snack" usually being a 15 gram protein snack. I eat only lean meats, chicken, turkey and plenty of fish, fresh veggies, fruits and drink tons of water. No refined sugars and completely stay away from fast food and chips, ccokies, candy. I really don't miss that stuff anyway.

So question is, how much exercise is too much and when is it no longer beneficial? I have read many posts about 3 times a week with full body workouts and others who are doing what I am. Any responses would be much appreciated.

The full body workout 3 times per week is for people trying to build muscle. If you are simply trying to lose weight and stay toned, than 5-6 days a weeks isn't necesarily bad for you. But, you must make sure you are getting enough protein, carbs, and fats, as well as vitamins, to sustain such a vigorous workout. Plenty of professional athletes and people training for events such as a triathlon probably do even longer and more difficult workouts than a 2 hour cardio/ lifting session 6 times per week. So it is possible for the human body to remain in good health under these conditions, but again, you must make sure you are getting near perfect nutrition.

[Boopster]

Thanks Boss Man & Sportsman4920 for the advice. I am really not trying to lose any weight as I am happy with current body weight. goal is to enter a fitness competition by 40th birthday. I really need to focus on reducing body fat. But I feel slower works better for me. I am not in any hurry but so far I am proud of accomplishments. Your input is very appreciated.

[sameey70]

I am a 38 year old female who works out 6 days a week. I am fortunate to be able to fit workouts first thing in the morning before work. It usually ends up being no more than 2 hours a day. But I feel great! I am trying to reduce body fat as now I am at 19%. I weigh 135#'s and 5'8". BMI is pefect according to the index. I do 45min. of interval cardio training each workout day which consists of treadmill running and alternate upper and lower body every other day as well as abs. I do all workouts before eating breakfast to burn more fat. All weight training is done before any cardio.

I eat 6 times a day usually every 3 hours with "in between snack" usually being a 15 gram protein snack. I eat only lean meats, chicken, turkey and plenty of fish, fresh veggies, fruits and drink tons of water. No refined sugars and completely stay away from fast food and chips, ccokies, candy. I really don't miss that stuff anyway.

So question is, how much exercise is too much and when is it no longer beneficial? I have read many posts about 3 times a week with full body workouts and others who are doing what I am. Any responses would be much appreciated.

There is a misconception that working out before eating burns more fat. This is not accurate. After an overnight fast, the body's glycogen (carbohydrate) stores are depleted. The body will resort to burning protein(muscle) for energy at a greater rate than using fat for energy. This is counterproductive because the less muscle mass you have, the lower your metabolism. Fresh fruit (high in carbohydrate) and veggies (lower in carbohydrate) are great, but you don't mention eating complex carbs (whole grains, rice, potatoes, etc). The body prefers them as an energy source over protein which is expensive for the body to use as energy.

Regarding how much exercise is too much: If your workouts suddenly feel harder than usual, you're not progressing although you are working hard, you feel pain, or you have injuries that don't seem to heal. These are just a few clues.

[Sportsman4920]

sameey, it would seem jogging or running would burn mostly protein, but if you walk, does it still burn more protein than fat?

[swanso5]

12hours a week on an emopty is not good in book and as sammey says fasted exercise (of any kind) is a sure fire way to use muscle for fuel and thus decrease metabolic rate with possible wt gain the result...also i thing 45min interval training sessions are too long and would be better being kept under 20mins or your intensity will be compromised...simply alternaying wt and cardio days will do the trick and will cut your training time in half giving you an extra hour to have breakfast before training

[Boopster]

There is a misconception that working out before eating burns more fat. This is not accurate. After an overnight fast, the body's glycogen (carbohydrate) stores are depleted. The body will resort to burning protein(muscle) for energy at a greater rate than using fat for energy. This is counterproductive because the less muscle mass you have, the lower your metabolism. Fresh fruit (high in carbohydrate) and veggies (lower in carbohydrate) are great, but you don't mention eating complex carbs (whole grains, rice, potatoes, etc). The body prefers them as an energy source over protein which is expensive for the body to use as energy.

Regarding how much exercise is too much: If your workouts suddenly feel harder than usual, you're not progressing although you are working hard, you feel pain, or you have injuries that don't seem to heal. These are just a few clues.

Actually I changed a little something. I drink a protein shake before I go to work out as I was sooooooo hungry without having anything in stomach. I chose the EAS Whey protein because it has very little carbs in it and I like the taste. As far as the complex carbs are concerned, I do eat whole wheat breads, no white, sweet potatoes, brown rice, wheat crackers & whole wheat pastas. And I love peanut butter with anything especially Kashi Blueberry waffles. Yes, I do have complex carbs in eating plan throughout the day.

I have been eating like this for about 4 weeks. I am planning on getting body fat % checked in another 2 months to see if I reduced it all.

Thanks to all of you for your advice as I do take it all into consideration. I'll keep you posted on progress.

[sameey70]

There is a misconception that working out before eating burns more fat. This is not accurate. After an overnight fast, the body's glycogen (carbohydrate) stores are depleted. The body will resort to burning protein(muscle) for energy at a greater rate than using fat for energy. This is counterproductive because the less muscle mass you have, the lower your metabolism. Fresh fruit (high in carbohydrate) and veggies (lower in carbohydrate) are great, but you don't mention eating complex carbs (whole grains, rice, potatoes, etc). The body prefers them as an energy source over protein which is expensive for the body to use as energy.

Regarding how much exercise is too much: If your workouts suddenly feel harder than usual, you're not progressing although you are working hard, you feel pain, or you have injuries that don't seem to heal. These are just a few clues.

Actually I changed a little something. I drink a protein shake before I go to work out as I was sooooooo hungry without having anything in stomach. I chose the EAS Whey protein because it has very little carbs in it and I like the taste. As far as the complex carbs are concerned, I do eat whole wheat breads, no white, sweet potatoes, brown rice, wheat crackers & whole wheat pastas. And I love peanut butter with anything especially Kashi Blueberry waffles. Yes, I do have complex carbs in eating plan throughout the day.

I have been eating like this for about 4 weeks. I am planning on getting body fat % checked in another 2 months to see if I reduced it all.

Thanks to all of you for your advice as I do take it all into consideration. I'll keep you posted on progress.

Actually carbohydrate is what you want to comsume prior to (and after with some protein)exercise because the body prefers to use it as fuel and is less expensive to use as energy source than protein.

[sameey70]

sameey, it would seem jogging or running would burn mostly protein, but if you walk, does it still burn more protein than fat?

Muscle loss is a normal occurrence during aerobic exercise (as well as resistance training) which is called protein turnover and you burn it throughout the entire session, but you don't need to stay away from cardio. Doing an extreme amount of cardio and not getting enough protein (and total calories) in the diet is when you need to be concerned.