Exercise experts ~ how quickly will working out 2 hours day help in getting toned?

[RQINFL]

There are so many different things mentioned about how much cardio and resistance a person should do daily for fat burning and fitness. It seems like 30 minutes a day is the norm. What increase would be seen with doing 2 hours of cardio/strength training per day? A little quicker results, or much quicker? Meaning does it correlate directly with the increased time or does it also require time in days? Thanks~

[dexter99]

There are so many different things mentioned about how much cardio and resistance a person should do daily for fat burning and fitness. It seems like 30 minutes a day is the norm. What increase would be seen with doing 2 hours of cardio/strength training per day? A little quicker results, or much quicker? Meaning does it correlate directly with the increased time or does it also require time in days? Thanks~

Simply, yes it will be quicker, but there are a lot of things to consider, such as how much cardio and/or strength training, intensity of workout, food consumption, and current weight (which relates to daily caloric needs), etc.

 

So, for example (using #s for my wife and I) a 5'5" 140 pound 40 yr old woman with a daily caloric balance of about 1700 will maintain her weight. A 45 yr old man, 6'1" 180 lbs requires about 2250 daily. The daily caloric balance being the difference between what you consume and what you burn each day. Of course, daily means little until it is averaged over a long period.

 

Simply, 3500 calories more = 1 pound gained; 3500 less = 1 pound lost.

 

Using a week as an example, I could eat about 15750 calories/week, no exercise, and not gain weight. Using my elliptical machine, I (my weight, height) can burn about 1200 cal per hour on full intensity, so if I were to do that for 3 hours per week I would lose 1 pound. 6 hours/week would lose 2 pounds, etc. So doing that 2 hours a day would knock off over 5 pounds. But that is also dangerous because a daily average under around 1200 or so isn't healthy.

 

Becuase of lower weight and using a lighter setting, my wife only burns about 500/hour on the elliptical.

 

Strength training probably comes out at more like 250 cal per hour for me, though doing it for an hour is pretty much impossible. Days I do it, my routine is probably 30 minutes. But then you also have to account for gaining muscle weight.

 

So, in a nutshell, yes 2 hours of exercise a day will burn fat and take off weight faster than 1 hour will, but you have to be careful to not lose weight too fast because it isnt't healthy (you can end up losing good mass, not just fat), and also not sustainable. No more than 1-2 pounds per week, or maybe more - up to 1% of your body weight - with medical supervision, is the standard recommendation.

[RQINFL]

Thanks for your reply! My goal is toning up rather than weight loss ~ I probably have about 5 lbs. that should be converted from fat to muscle.

 

From what you are saying, it sounds like working out 2 hours a day could make me lose some of my muscle and be conterproductive to toning up?

[dexter99]

Not sure if you meant that literally, but 'converting' doesn't happen...

 

5 pounds of fat you can easily lose in a month very safely and healthily. reduce your caloric balance by 500-600 calories per day from what you are currently at. 30 - 45 minutes of cardio a day, and little things such as, for example, black coffee instead of cream, and it will be easy.

 

Then to tone up, weights every second day. Doing any more often than that and you will hurt yourself anyway! Your muscles need time to recover, so work out a plan that works different muscles each day - say biceps, shoulders, pecs, thighs one day, lats, triceps, abs the other day...whatever works for you. 2 or 3 sets of 10-15 reps each exercise will tone you up. That's probably about anther 30 minutes. More than that, you might end up building more muscle than you want.

 

You can lose weight faster, but building muscle has to happen slowly. I have a good friend who is a competitive body builder and her regime is 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, each day dedicated to a body part...arm day, butt day, etc. So she doesn't actually work each muscle group more than once a week. Her workouts are brutal though, and that's how you end up with huge muscles. So unless that is what you want, no need to work out that much - toning works better with more frequent, less intense work.

 

Food choices also make a difference - cut back on fats (but not all), and carbs (but not all) and up the protein. Chicken, eggs, almonds...good for building muscle. Some carbs a while before working out for the energy to do it. Some good fats - olive oil, yoghurt, nuts - to help you process fat-soluble vitamins in fruits and veggies...

[RQINFL]

Not sure if you meant that literally, but 'converting' doesn't happen...

 

No don't mean it literally, just mean that I want to tone up, but my bmi is 18.8 so weight loss is not really my goal. I'm saying 5lbs. because that is what seems to jiggle combined over my body.

 

So would dieting and exercising to lose 2 lbs. per week leave me even more jiggly because my skin will be loose?

 

Not sure I am making sense.

 

You say that building muscle takes time. So would it be better to lose the 5lbs. really slowly as I build muscle?

 

Also, you say to have some carbs a while before working out ~ what is the ideal amount of time before a workout to have a snack?

 

Thanks again~

[dexter99]

No don't mean it literally, just mean that I want to tone up, but my bmi is 18.8 so weight loss is not really my goal. I'm saying 5lbs. because that is what seems to jiggle combined over my body.

 

So would dieting and exercising to lose 2 lbs. per week leave me even more jiggly because my skin will be loose?

 

Not sure I am making sense.

 

You say that building muscle takes time. So would it be better to lose the 5lbs. really slowly as I build muscle?

 

Also, you say to have some carbs a while before working out ~ what is the ideal amount of time before a workout to have a snack?

 

Thanks again~

 

An 18.8 bmi is on the very very low side of 'normal'. 5 pounds over a person's body doesn't jiggle. I wouldn't worry about losing anything. I'd actually be thinking about going the other way. Take a look at the charts and calculators on here http://www.myfit.ca/bmi_calculator_chart.asp

 

I would focus on doing some muscle toning with pretty much no cardio - just 10 minutes or so at the start of your workout to get your heart going. The weight training is going to burn a bit of fat anyway, probably as much as you have to lose.

 

When to eat relative to working out really depends on how much. Say you want to work out mid-morning, then wait 90 minutes after a carb-including breakfast. If it is in the evening, and you had a large dinner then 3 - 3 1/2 hours is better (too sluggish right after big meal). If you want a snack before working out, give it 20 - 40 minutes.

[RQINFL]

Dexter ~ thanks for all of your information! I looked at the link you posted, and I think that bmi calculators are a good general way to monitor weight, however I am very small boned and therefore don't think that it is totally accurate for me. I looked at the high side of a "normal" weight for my height, and at that weight I would be definitely overweight. And since the calculator is the same for men and women, a man at my height that is much bigger boned would have the same range.

 

So please don't think that I am being unrealistic when I say that I do have some fat that needs to be burned ~ trust me I have jiggle :)

 

I definitely don't want to look too thin, and that is the reason for all of my questions. Looking for the quickest and best way to tone up and I thought that in order to do that I would first need to lose the fat. But I don't want to overdo it on cardio and get "skinny fat" looking. Know what I mean?

 

So is it ok to do exercises that focus on whole body with light weights every day if I mix them up? Some body parts would end up have resistance training every day as part of the overall workout, but only with 10-15 lb. weights, and the focus would be mainly on one part.

[dexter99]

Dexter ~ thanks for all of your information! I looked at the link you posted, and I think that bmi calculators are a good general way to monitor weight, however I am very small boned and therefore don't think that it is totally accurate for me. I looked at the high side of a "normal" weight for my height, and at that weight I would be definitely overweight. And since the calculator is the same for men and women, a man at my height that is much bigger boned would have the same range.

 

So please don't think that I am being unrealistic when I say that I do have some fat that needs to be burned ~ trust me I have jiggle :)

 

I definitely don't want to look too thin, and that is the reason for all of my questions. Looking for the quickest and best way to tone up and I thought that in order to do that I would first need to lose the fat. But I don't want to overdo it on cardio and get "skinny fat" looking. Know what I mean?

 

So is it ok to do exercises that focus on whole body with light weights every day if I mix them up? Some body parts would end up have resistance training every day as part of the overall workout, but only with 10-15 lb. weights, and the focus would be mainly on one part.

there are more accurate bmi and weight calculators, and lots of good info about all of this on the web. The Mayo Clinic website is very good and trustworthy.

 

As for daily working out, yes you can but muscles do need time off to heal so they can grow. A good plan would probably even take one full day off weekly to give yourself a complete rest. It won't slow your progress down, will probably actually speed it up.

[snorkelman]

So is it ok to do exercises that focus on whole body with light weights every day if I mix them up? Some body parts would end up have resistance training every day as part of the overall workout, but only with 10-15 lb. weights, and the focus would be mainly on one part.

 

whole body routines are fine but you do need an "off" day. There is no reason to restrict your self to "light" weights if you want / can lift heavier with proper form.

 

"tone up" are words used in gossip rags, the reality is that you do not tone a muscle. It either grows or it doesn't. if you want it to grow, then you need to expose it to progressive resistance.

 

2 hours of cardio will burn more calories at the end of the day than 30 minutes. I would suggest that you lift weights to gain muscle, and just use cardio as a tool for general heart health and added calorie burn.

[hazeleyez3]

Becuase of lower weight and using a lighter setting, my wife only burns about 500/hour on the elliptical.

 

Does she have it on max intensity? I am lucky if I get 250/hr.

[Gathina]

I still swear by p90x which to me is a genius..I noticed a change in my body within a week..no kidding...and the workouts were only an hour.

 

I used to work out with a trainer for 2 hours a day..I saw noticeable differences fast, but the thing is, it was all different types of exercises combined with cardo. Plus he taught me how to lift weights safely.

 

I like the Stew Smith series ..great website www.stewsmith.com All of his workout routines involve mostly using your own body and are the old school military style routines with calesthenics, and cardio. He is widely acclaimed in military and LEO circles and it's a no nonsense apporach anyone can do anywhere.

 

2 hours a day IS intense..and if you are going to work that much, do it safely and smartly.

[RQINFL]

I just posted a question about some dvds I'm researching ~ Kettleworx. WOndering if doing the three main dvds every other day as suggested on their site, and the additional ones on the in between days (also suggested as being ok to do on their site) is ok or would I need a rest day in between? Thanks

 

kettleworx.com