[qwerty1]

I stationary bike 30 minutes a day 5 days a week and sometimes 6 or 7. That translates to 5 miles a day according to the odometer. This has worked well, although I will need to pump up what I am doing to lose additional weight.

[Ruiptuptubre]

Hello everyone!

I am so confused about how much and how long I should exercise. Right now I am doing the couch potato to 5k training on www.coolrunning.com. I am jogging/walking 3x a week for 30 minutes.

This is what I have read and heard on t.v. over and over again....If you want to maintain your weight, exercise 3x per week for 30 minutes. If you need to lose weight, you should exercise for 1 hour 5-7x a week.

I'm just curious if people who are successful on atkins are exercising this much. I love exercising and would love to do it an hour a day. I just don't make the effort to work out for more than 30min.

What is everyone's feelings on this???

[xgnuwdd]

Hi Beetledriver2

Firstly every one is different so you have to match your exercise to your capabilities. I'm no expert on this but my Doc advised me to do 30 mins a day of an aerobic exercise that raises your heart and respiration rate but not so much that you cannot hold a normal conversation.

The best guide is "Target Heart Rate" To find this you first need to calcutate your max heart rate which is simple at 220 bpm minus your age.
So for me at 52 my max heart rate is 168 bpm. The target rate is then a percentage of this 50%-60% is enough to exercise your heart. 60%-70%is enough to help weight loss 70%-80% is an aerobic workout 80%-90%is an anaerobic workout 90% > is asking for trouble

Obviously you need some means of monitoring your pulse rate but it seems a safe way to go about it. I am ticking along at the second level and I am really beginning to feel the benefit after a couple of weeks.

I hope this helps.


Steve

[EarnestKS]

Iwent from no exercise to an hour or more daily. I think it really makes me feel better, mentally and physically. Its so stress relieving and the weight seems to slowly go down. I really think I need to build more muscle.

[Fouttysotlalf]

Age and physical/medical condition make a difference in how intense one can get but I think the hour a day minimum is a good overall level. I walk an hour and some a day and then try to do some yardwork too.

Just activity helps, if one cannot do more. Anything to get your metabolism going.

Good Luck!

[orgagsUpsepsy]

I had that same question, Beetle. I've been starting out about 30 mins. 3 times per week, and I'm kinda scared that I'm doing no good. I heard that to lose fat you should find your target "Fat Burnin" rate and keep at it for about 1hr. However, I beleive (as someone already mentioned in another topic) that that rate is WAY TOO SLOW. SOOO, I've been doing my 30 minutes (instead of an hour because I get too bored) between my target "Maximum Heart" rate and my "Aerobic" rate which is faster. Is this OK? Will this speed my weight loss.

[HassFks]

What week are you on in the program? How do you like it? Once you get to the end, you'll find that you'll be able to run for longer than the 30 minutes, which will equate to more exercise.

This time last year, I was running 3-4 days per week (12-18 miles per week), and strength training for 2. This is when I had the best results. I was down to 122, and couldn't gain weight for anything.

After New Years, I started a mileage buildup program that required 5-6 days of running. I had no time for strength training. Slowly, I gained weight. I reached 136 before I decided to try Atkins.

Now, I know the combination of strength and running works best. I just find it hard to get that many days in. I also need to watch my diet. If I'm not careful, it slowly creeps up.