I’m hoping Michael or someone else can answer Pizzagirl 's question a few posts up. I just don’t know how to structure 2 blocks a day of all those different classes- with running. I know I couldn’t do it- even retired and with less running- unless one of the hours was very low intensity.
Even if my running is Couch to 5K? Remember I’m not you 
If most of it is high enough intensity to be worthwhile- not all of it has to be- that’s still a lot. Michael can put it together, though.
pg - I am also starting to run. Have been working my way up very slowly on my treadmill. Some people I know had a beginners running group this fall, but the timing didn’t work for me. I am planning to join if they repeat this spring. And my goal is a 5K, not anything more.
I also didn’t answer PG’s question because I knew I was not the expert! MK, guide her/us!!!
I will say, I personally think you build in a day or two a week where you do no classes - I know you’ll have the time and all, but I think your body and mind truly needs permission to not overexert on a “regular” basis. You might take a leisurely bike ride with your H on an “off” day or walk the dog (if you have one!) but not necessarily break out in a sweat.
It’s 50 and a little damp and foggy - almost humid out - headed out for a run right now!
And great job FallGirl! Lots of us began running on this thread. Your aspirations can and should be whatever you want them to be.
Fall girl - good luck! I have done about a dozen 5ks but my last one was in August and my time / endurance was pitiful. I mean, seriously, I could have walked it faster.
@pizzagirl, let me offer some concepts to help you structure things. Resistance training should be scheduled 2-3 times per week with 48-72 hours between sessions to allow for muscle repair and growth. I would consider the sessions with your trainer and the Orange Theory class as resistance training. If it were me, I would do 2 sessions with the trainer lifting weights in some form and 1 Orange Theory class per week. I would structure the treadmill running 3 times per week and not on the days you are lifting. (Some might argue for more days of running but you are not training to be a runner and the Orange Theory gives you a 4th day of cardio work.) The resistance training and running would serve as the core foundation of a 6 day per week program. Yoga, Barre and Pilates I would schedule after running and resistance training sessions. How soon after would depend on the intensity of those classes. You want to give yourself time to refuel and rehydrate if the second session requires intensity of effort. Remember that quality of effort is more important than volume so doing morning and afternoon sessions may be more beneficial than 2 back to back sessions. Be very mindful of dehydration if running and doing hot yoga on the same days (I would generally not schedule on same days). Give yourself 1 day a week of active recovery where you do nothing more than relaxed walking and stretching. Rest, sleep and hydration are critical to avoiding overtraining and to deriving the benefits of your workouts.
Having said all that, if you are just starting back in a fitness program, 2 hrs a day is probably too much. Give yourself time to progressively return to fitness. Phase in the kind of schedule you are contemplating over several months. Your zest and excitement are admirable but if you trash yourself early on from overdoing it, you will sabotage your goals. Your trainer can likely do a full assessment of your current fitness levels and recommend a schedule that is tailored precisely to progressively achieving your goals without risk of injury or overtraining burnout.
Thanks! My trainer thinks I’m over ambitious too :-). I’m working out, just not running right now. Cardio is always the first to go for me.
Michael, you are so helpful!
Pizzagirl, you and I do quite a few similar workouts - what works best for me is running three mornings a week (M,Th,Sa); I do Barre or Pilates M afternoon/evening, private Pilates Wed am; Barre, TRX or Pilates Th afternoon/evening (depending on my schedule); and Friday and Sunday are usually rest days for me. The schedule changes from time to time (some weeks I do the horrible hill on Wed) but I’m generally pretty consistent with the structure. I think it would be really difficult to follow running with Pilates or Barre.
Saturday D and I are going to a “fun” Pilates mat class. I had a great workout this morning - I am so glad I “fired” my first Pilates instructor! Working a half day today then finally it will be the holidays.
Thanks, Michael, abasket and sabaray. I knew the 3 of you would have good suggestions for pizzagirl.
5 miles and I beat the rain. It was 63 (unbelievable- and bye bye some of my bonus) and very gloomy. Wore short sleeved tech shirt and a running skirt. WTF???
Thanks all!
MOWC, I looked ahead at the forecast for here and while we too are enjoying 60’s today, looks like things turn more seasonal next week - maybe in your area too (and the areas where your company profits!)
Like MOWC, got my run in this morning. If this can be said in December, it actually felt humid!
PG, I think all your ambition is GREAT! Maybe you just need to challenge some of it towards some other things including exercise but not JUST exercise. You sound very excited for this “next step” of partial retirement!
@pizzagirl, one other concept to consider. While the macro schedule of which training sessions you do on which day is important, even more important is that each training session be structured to provide you with an appropriate progression of load i.e. volume and intensity. With weight lifting, you need to adjust the number of exercises per body part, the number of sets of each exercise, the number of repetitions in each set and the amount of weight used to be appropriate to your present level of fitness, your goals and concepts of progressive overload to build lean muscle and strength without causing acute or overtraining injuries. With cardio, you need to structure target training zones and duration of each zone with the same concepts of progressive training in mind. What your workouts look like today should be much different than what they will perhaps look like in 3 months and your trainer should be able to assist you in determining the appropriate levels of volume and intensity for the core components of your program.
I think part of it is that I get unclear about goals, or want to have too many. I want to lose weight and firm up, obviously, but I also want to get my endurance up (as that is my weak point). My trainer is very supportive of the 8K goal for me, as he always likes to see me have athletic goals vs weight-related goals (believing that weight loss will come just naturally if I give myself an athletic goal). He says a lot of the same stuff you do He also thinks that I’m very type 2 muscle fiber type which is why I’m very strong (for a girl), can lift a lot of stuff, can do “bursts” but am not so good on endurance. I really appreciate the dialogue here, it helps me. Part of this is that with retiring, I kind of feel like this is my “job” now, so 1 hour a day feels slacker-y to me.
I know I still work full time, but I don’t exercise more than 7 hours a week.
Yesterday we got to exercise both our muscles and brains! Our new mattress set was finally delivered, and per Mr.'s instructions, I asked the delivery people to drop it off in the living room downstairs. Which meant we got to drag this 150-lb beauty and its 50-lb supports upstairs - all by ourselves! Yay us. Assembled the bed and realized that the top of the mattress was way too high off the floor. We took the thing apart and had to devise a solution to convert the platform bed into a bed that could take box springs/mattress combo. I slept like a baby on the new mattress!
That’s a lot. I am at the gym. If I get 3 or 4 hrs in ( more likely 3 ish) that’s a lot for me.
The only time I exercise 3-4 hours a day is when I am doing my pre-marathon long runs or running a marathon, which does not happen often!
@Pizzagirl – I only work part-time, and three (and a half) years ago basically took on the full-time job of losing weight and getting into shape again. I did a lot of research on what works, and found that I had to add one habit at a time to succeed. My first habit was writing down everything (EVERYTHING!) I eat, which was the key to figuring out what it took for me to lose weight. (None of the standard answers really worked for me. I am always hungry and so basically had to go to counting caloric input and putting up with being hungry.)
After that, I started adding “active time” to my days. I walk the dogs two or three times a day (relaxed, non-sweaty). I run four or five days a week (that started out with C-to-5K, but the intent was always to sweat–and Wednesdays are my long run day. Or Thursday, if Wednesday gets busy). I swim two or three times a week (depending on which of my friends feels like swimming)–not very fast, not counting laps, kind of swim-walking if that makes sense. If the weather is right, I go for a bike ride, sometimes alone, sometimes with a friend. Depending on the friend (or if I’m riding with my husband), that bike ride might be intense-and-sweaty, it might not be. I practice dog agility twice a week (which often results in a good sweat).
In short, my goal is an hour of sweat-producing exercise four or five times a week (more if I’m feeling great), but about one-and-a half to two hours per day, every day, of movement, sometimes at a slow relaxing pace, but still movement. I do keep a fitness and diet journal so that I can look back at what I’ve done–and so I can course-correct if I’m slacking. I like @MichaelNKat 's formal structure, but for me being less formal about it works. However, if you’re trying to schedule classes at a gym, it’s harder. (I hate gyms, refuse to go to one, swim at the public community center and pay to “drop in” rather than get a 20-visit punch card, run outside no matter what the weather, and sometimes end up running up and down my basement stairs just to get my “active minutes” where they need to be.) (And what works for me probably isn’t optimal for you. We’re all different.)
Results: down 56 pounds (as of this morning), 5K time has gone from 46 minutes to 31:04, 17 million Fitbit steps (as of this morning) and 35000 Fitbit floors, since September of 2012. It adds up.