Is exercising five days a week too much?

Question

I work out 5 days a week straight, trying to average about 700 to 800 calories a day. I do this by trying to look into how long I can do a certain work out.

Lately, I've been tired with it. How do I get a maximum workout without burning myself out? My DR recommends working out at least four days a week. I need to burn at least 3500 calories a week to lose one pound. How do I lose one pound by cutting out one day from my exercise routine to make sure I don't burn out?

I used to do 45 min. on the elliptical machine for two days, and do 30 min. for three days (just started doing this for a couple of months or so...not including weights or swimming at the gym pool for 30 min), then toned it down to reduce the burnout.

I want to burn at least one pound a week without killing myself. Any ideas?

So far, I've lost 35 lbs. in about 11 months and I am trying to get rid of that extra 5 lbs. to make it an even 40 lb. weight loss.

Or am I being obsessive-compulsive?

Answer 1

you sound like you already know what you are doing. you are not ocd. you are dealing with classic burn out scenarios. i've been at it for almost 2 years, and i also burn out every so often.

5 days a week is not too much, you are probably just getting bored of the same old routine over and over for the past 11 months.

if you have the means, hire a trainer and talk to him/her about your goals and your accomplishments. in just a few sessions, i'll bet you can get loads of ideas on different ways to burn that 800 calories per day.

if not, here are some ideas of my own.

1. try breaking things up. do 20 minutes elliptical, then flip to 20 minutes on the treadmill, then 20 minutes on the bike. doesn't seem hard, but you are working different leg muscles on each machine, you will be sore the next day.

2. try running outside, the change of scenery does it for me when i burn out sometimes.

3. does your gym offer classes? if so look into see if they offer a boot camp class, in my opinion that's the fastest way of burning calories.

4. get a partner. can you convince someone to work out with you? teaching someone what you have learned in the last 11 months could be just the ticket to getting you excited about it again.

5. always watch others and their routines to learn about new weight lifting exercises. then try them out yourself.

6. combine cardio and weight training. this is really hard, and have to do with access to a gym studio, so best to do it when the gym is not very crowded. pick a weight training exercise, like bench press. pick a weight you can do at least 10 times. first set. 10 reps of bench, 1 rep of suicide sprints in the studio. second set 9 reps of bench, 2 reps of suicide sprints in the studio. thirds set 8 reps of bench 3 reps of suicide sprints in the studio. you get the idea. all the way down until you are doing 1 rep of bench and 10 suicides. this whole thing should take you about 30 minutes. the next 30 minutes do similar reverse pyramid with shoulder presses and knee tuck squat hops.

have fun.

Answer 2

That would be considered unhealthy by most peoples term, by having about 1000 a day in 3 meals is still under many recommendations but it is manageable without feeling like you are completely starving. Try and do 45minutes of cardio 5 or 6 days a week to keep it consistent and then on the other 1/2 days do something like yoga or pilates which will feels a little less intense but definitely still important.

Answer 3

Hi
Try this simple plan for some time so here goes,
If you are serious about losing weight, the calories in the food you eat should be less than the energy you use. You will have to increase your metabolic rate now, and plan your diet carefully.
Formulate your own weight loss plan and you will lose weight faster. More details available at http://tinyurl.com/m7ckx

Good luck

Answer 4

Any doctor will tell you that you should average out 30 minutes a day for exercise. So i would say no thats not alot. Drink plenty of water/gatorade so you don't dehidrate, especially if you are doing any out door activity. If you can you should mix water and gatorade together for the best possible result

Answer 5

Its ok to exercise every day but make sure you are alternating what you do every other day

1 day do cardio, the next day do strength - give your body time to recuperate and doing both will get the results you want faster!

Answer 6

take B complex vitamins 4 times a day

make sure you don't work-out the same muscle groups in consecutive days

reduce carbohydrate intake

Answer 7

Try eating smaller portions so you won't have to exercise that fifth day.

Answer 8

no just remember to cool down drink lots of water and no sweets

Answer 9

read tips on workouts on this site that will help you out

Answer 10

OCD for sure!!