How much time a day do you spend exercising?

Was wondering how much time a day do you spend exercising and how much weigh do you lose in a week?
I am currently doing about 20 minutes walking for 1 mile, double that for 2 miles. I can't seem to increase the speed to do more. Just wondering what other people are doing.
Thanks

Thu. Mar 27, 10:10am

I do 1 hour on the bike every day, 6-7 days a week. I have been losing 1lb per week.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 10:19 AM

Great job staying active...
I do 1 hour am + 40 mins afternoon, 5 days a week - I can lose a few punds a week depending on my diet...
In high school sports we always did three hours a day six days a week, and athletes do more than three hours a day, so you can do more time and 20 mins a day is not too much time to be healthy.
can you clarify "20 minutes walking for 1 mile, double that for 2 miles. I can't seem to increase the speed to do more" - are you now doing 40 mins a day?

I think you should take the intensity down a little notch and put in a little more time and tweak your diet if you want to lose more weight.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 10:47 AM

I can lose about 1-2 pounds a week if I spend 50+ minutes intense aerobics or weight lifting, 6 times a week, plus four 30-minute walks. I average about 1400 calories/day eaten.

However, bear in mind that I only weight about 120 pounds, so even my maintenance program is eating about 1800 calories and working out 50+ minutes 5-6x a week.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:06 AM

if you are active then losing weight is much more about diet than exercise

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:11 AM

PP - I agree, it's much easier to EAT 500 calories than to burn 500 calories.

However, if you are careful about both, it can be a 50/50 split. For example, if you cut 350 calories a day and burn 350 through exercise, you can still lose about 1.5 pounds per week. 500 and 500 will yield a 2 pound loss.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:15 AM

Maybe do a little interval jogging with the walking. Start off with like 3 min of jogging then walk, etc etc.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:15 AM

I run 2x week, about a 31 min 5K, then I do the elliptical 2x for 30 min on the other days. After each cardio I do about 20-30 min of strength training. Walking is great exercise, but if you can get your calorie burn up with another activity you'll see some results.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:19 AM

For me, losing weight without exercise is impossible, regardless of how much I diet! But people are all different. I'm not *that* far away from my target weight, so maybe that is part of why I can't lose any weight without lots of exercise.

You may be devoting plenty of time to working out, but not getting the most efficiency out of your workout. If you are walking as quickly as you can, but your heart rate isn't all that elevated, maybe it's time to try a different form of exercise. If you have a gym membership, the elliptical trainer is great because you can increase the resistance or increase the revolutions per minute, so you have many options for increasing your heart rate.

Also, as has been suggested in some other threads, interval workouts are great. Try a 10 min warm-up at your usual pace followed by short (30 s - 2 min depending on the intensity) bursts of much higher intensity. Then recover for twice as long as the high intensity period, or even longer until your heart rate comes back down to a lower rate. Do the intervals for 15 - 20 min and then cool down for another 10 min. If it's within your budget, buy an inexpensive heart rate monitor and do a little research to figure out your appropriate "zones" for each phase in the interval workout.

Limited time is a huge factor so don't feel guilty if you have too much going on in your life to devote more than 20 - 40 min per day to exercise. Good luck!

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:24 AM

op here, thanks for all the info. I do 2 miles a day of treadmill walking and it seems like it takes me about 40 minutes. I was just wondering if I should up the speed or just do what I am doing and walk longer, like going for 2.50miles. I also am doing ww so i am losing about 1lb a week, sometimes 2 depending on water bloat. I know what I am doing is working, but I just wanted to know how much time people put into their exercise routines. Was over an hour excessive? Sounds like it is not.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:26 AM

An hour is definately not excessive if you have the time. A tip, since you use a treadmill, try and up the speed just one up. Keep doing this every so often and your body will get used to going faster. You just have to keep pushing. That's what I've been doing. I went from 1 mile in 20 minutes to 1 mile in 17.28 in just over a week. You just gotta keep pushing.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:33 AM

thanks, i have started pushing up the speed, can go up to 3.3mph, stay on that for a bit and then push down in tenth back to 3.0mph.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:47 AM

I totally agree with the PP take it up a notch slowly!

I tried to goose my afternoon runs from 2 miles to 4 one day and whammo! shin splits and knee pain...( I should have known better) then I had to stop running for a couple of days.
Just up that treadmill one little speed notch per week. (eg 3.1 to 3.2 for a week then 3.3,the next week etc...) OR as this month's Runner's World suggests - if you go for longer distance, give yourself a little more time to do it.

It sounds like you are doing great! keep it up!

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 11:48 AM

and as long as you're on a treadmill, up the ramp too!

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 12:26 PM

I am working on pushing my runs on the treadmill (along with some wonderfully motivating group mates) - and for me it helps to have a big goal and then break it down into daily goals.
Example (this is an ideal plan for me):
I want to run 30 min at 6.2 on the treadmill continuously. I can currently run 30 min at 5.8
Day 1: 15 min 5.8, 10 min 6.0, 5 min 6.2 - bike 20 min
Day 2: easy jog 40 min - bike 20 min weights 20 min
Day 3: off
Day 4: eliptical and bike total 60 min - weights 20 min
Day 5: 15 min 6.0, 15 min 6.2
Day 6: hike, bike, ski, etc. - something to get me out of the gym!
Day 7: 30 min 6.2

To answer your original question - I am 5'7'', 150 lbs. and maintaining

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 1:14 PM

thank you all so much for taking the time to answer my post.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 3:15 PM

No problem, now go kick butt !

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 3:26 PM

I second the recommendation to increase the elevation on your treadmill. Even if you feel like you can't walk any faster, raising the elevation a few degrees will up the intensity and burn more calories.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 4:38 PM

going to start inclining and thanks

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 5:48 PM

I do 30 minutes of cardio most days, either at the gym on an Elliptical with various programs (vary the intensity of the workout) or hiking in the hills near my home with my dog. I work out with a trainer twice a week weight traing and doing Pilates for an hour each time. I also look for activities that are physical..swimming, bicycling, etc.

My diet is fairly balanced...lots of fresh food, no processed stuff, high quality complex carbs, low fat, yadda, yada, yadda. It's not rocket science. I don't deprive myself. Special occasions at dinner I'll share a rich dessert. But not every day is a special occasion.

Friday, March 28, 2008, 9:01 AM

hi

my average mile time is 8-10 minutes on a treadmill, 6.30 on the track. and i run at speed 9 miles for 20-40 minutes on the treadmill, then do one hour of weight training, like my arms, and i do 50-100 pushups and 300 situps 5 days a week. by the way, I'm 198-204 lbs and I'm 13, I'm also 181 cm tall, I am fat, i'm not afraid to admit it but I am still fitter than my classmates. You should take it slowly and and increase it to whatever feels comfortable for you. remember any pysical activity is better than nothing and forget the rule no pain, no gain, it does not work and if you have any pain whatsoever in your chest or whatever, you should stop immedialty. everyone is beautiful in their own way, and you will get to your goal weight or time soon, Also you should have fun in your execise, if you think execise is a chore, pick another activity, one that you like. Keep it up, you are going great.

Sunday, June 22, 2008, 10:04 AM

Related Content: How To Lose Weight- The Basics Weight Watchers Points System The Fat Smash Diet The Eat To Live Diet The Beck Diet Solution How To Get The Motivation To Lose Weight		How To Be Successful Using PEERtrainer How To Burn Fat Online Weight Loss Support- How It Works Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight? Tips On Using PEERtrainer Visit The PEERtrainer Community Diet and Fitness Resources
Fitness Weight Watchers Meetings Learning To Inspire Others: You Already Are Writing Down Your Daily Workouts Spending Money On A Personal Trainer? How I Became A Marathon Runner		Preventive Health How To Prevent Injuries During Your Workout Flu Season: Should You Take The Flu Shot? Are You Really Ready To Start PEERtrainer? Super Foods That Can Boost Your Energy Reversing Disease Through Nutrition
New Diet and Fitness Articles: Weight Watchers Points Plus How To Adjust Your Body To Exercise New: Weight Watchers Momentum Program New: PEERtrainer Blog Archive Review Of The New Weight Watchers Momentum Program		Weight Loss Motivation by Joshua Wayne: Why Simple Goal Setting Is Not Enough How To Delay Short Term Gratification How To Stay Motivated How To Exercise With A Busy Schedule
Real World Nutrition and Fitness Questions Can Weight Lifting Help You Lose Weight? Are Protein Drinks Safe? Nutrition As Medicine?		Everyday Weight Loss Tips How To Eat Healthy At A Party How To Eat Out And Still Lose Weight The Three Bite Rule Tips On How To Stop A Binge