Is an Hour Enough?

[SlipknotRlZZ]

So I decided to join a gym. I mean, I really didn't want to, I wanted to keep relying on soccer and gardening and home work outs, but it just doesn't work, I don't have enough time, and most days when I get home I'm too tired to work out.

I decided that I'll get up early ever Saturday or Sunday and visit the gym for a work out, and that I will walk to school every morning (it's approximately a mile). So I did go today, and in about an hour I did everything I thought was enough...do you think an hour is enough? Since I go only once a week, I mean...

[zeon]

Hello,
When i used to belong to a gym i went for 5 hours a week.... I also did swimming three nights a week and spent two nights a week at home... My bf got upset at this as i didnt spend much time with him so i stopped

[Gpbi]

I really dont know but a friend of mine do that and she said that its ok... And she doesnt have any weight loss or gain any kilo... so i think its ok if you just want to keep your body in a balance but maybe it whould be better if you do it for 2 days a week. Depends on your schedule

[dfiant]

Ryan, I think an hour is fine. They say 20 minutes of solid exercise a day is enough to keep you fit and healthy.

I would stick with the hour for now and if in time it feels like it isn't enough, then increase the time.

[Drew]

Are you doing cardio or lifting weights or a combo of both during that hour? If you're playing/practicing soccer and walking to and from school each day and you think you're still a little overweight (not sure what you're goals are), you might want to think about switching up your diet, too. Healthy diet + comfortable combo of working out and resting = good healthy body. Old fashioned advice but time-tested.

[Pix]

I'm not sure. It would depend on what you do there, what you want to accomplish, and other aspects of your life (like how active you are or how often you're sitting down).

It's better to start small and build yourself up. But one good thing I've noticed is that while it can feel bad at first, after awhile the adrenaline and endorphins that build up from exercise can make you feel really good. Working out has become addictive for me, I feel bad if I DON'T. Hopefully, if you keep at it you'd become the same, too. Once it starts feeling good then the hard part is not to go. mile:

Another thing to try is using a hot sauna (I don't think you should do more than 10 minutes at a time at first if you're not used to it) and a cold shower. I know when I get out of the sauna and then under a cold shower, the water is an intense physical sensation that while jarring is also awesome and I emphatically know I'm alive. I normally spend about an hour in the sauna with a brief cold shower every 15-20 minutes (with a normal shower at the end) You can also use aromatherapy in the sauna. Still, some hate it because of the sweat. I guess my growing up in Texas made me used to that anyway. :tongue: But I wanted to let you know about it in case it's an option for you.

[marshlander]

I'm not an expert by any means, but my daughter is a gym instructor and I am sure she would say that it is better to go more than once a week for shorter periods than once a week for an hour. Anyway, good luck and I hope you enjoy it

[JShell1265]

I've become a gymaholic since I've lost over 100lbs. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Loosing weight? Gain muscle? Just toning?

I would never say that an hour is not worth your time. An hour is great!! I would see about doing an hour more than once a week though.

I do weight training: 3 days a week for 90 mins (Sun, Tue and Thr) and 2 half hour classes on Tue & Thr. I also do 2 hour classes on Saturday. I'm still working on loose this last bit of fat.

Good luck . . . working out is addictive!!

[Crs30]

Some exercise is better than none. That said, one hour a week isn't enough to benefit noticeably.

First, it's a good idea to know what your goal is for going to the gym. Are you trying to lose weight? Build muscle? Train speed? Train endurance? Become more flexible? Be able to stand on your hands or do breakdance? Know what you expect to gain. The more specific your goal, the better. For example, instead of "I want to lose weight" say "I want to lose 10/20/30 pounds." You want your goal to be measurable. Then you can set periodic goals.

Second, find a workout regimen that meets your needs. If you are trying to become faster, slowly jogging on a treadmill over and over isn't going to really help much. If you are trying to build muscle, swimming a lot of laps isn't going to be very useful either. Decide what you want to do, then pick a workout plan that matches. Once you have a workout plan, follow it consistently. You will gain some benefit from working out sporadically, but if you want real results then you must maintain your workout schedule.

Picking a workout schedule isn't very hard. Take into consideration your goals, time constraints, and distance restraints. If the only gym is a 30 minute drive away and you don't normally get home until 7pm, you may not want to go to the gym everyday. If you want to lose weight, but not necessarily very quickly, you can do fewer workouts per week as long it's consistent.

A sample workout schedule might be:
3 days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Monday - Run 1/2 a mile, take a 5 minute break. Do this 4 times.
Wednesday - Run 1 mile, take a 7 minute break. Do 3 times.
Friday - Run 1.5 miles, 10 minute break. Do 2 times.
Also incorporate stretching.

Another sample workout would be:
Monday: Work on chest and biceps
Tuesday: Abs and legs
Wednesday: Back and triceps
Thursday: Abs and legs
Friday: 2 mile run

I strongly recommend the book called Body By Design, written by Kris Gethin. It's probably $10-15 on Amazon. He covers a nutrition plan too.

Focusing on your health can take a lot of time. But your health is something you have to live with your whole life, and you only have one body.

If you have any questions for me feel free to shoot me a PM.

[pellaz]

i would guess one day at the gym is not quite enough. if you have time spend another day running too ro two days at the gym. what ever you do schedule the stuff so your body has time to recover.

if your main goal to to loose weight than exercise will not get you there any faster. main thing is to change your diet.

lite cardio will help keep your metabolism running. if you loose weight, after ~10bls your metabolism starts to shut down and your weight loss will plateau. exercise or not at some point this will happen and you will have to change the diet to go further.