Oh, lol apologies!! 3-4 hours is for the WEEK!!
Wow, Jym, I was thinking - that woman is REALLY dedicated!!! Haha.
Dmd, that is fantastic! And I often mimic your style. I do think that the “relaxed” part often comes in after you get a routine going. To develop the routine, you especially need what MK suggests - real structure. But that structure has to be reasonable and allow for life around it - not to BE it! My opinion of course. 
I also really like the idea of exercise vs. movement - both really important.
Wow, dmd - great for you!
I think part of it is also guilt. My H works full-time and then some, 24/7 call, and he works out 2 hours a day. It’s his only “thing” for himself and he’s extremely fit for a 55 yo man. So part of me feels - well, now that I’m not working, I should at least do 2 hours. It’s not that he’s counting, but I feel slacker-y!!
I like the idea of movement, too. I should build in just walking and not fret that it’s not running, if that makes sense.
Lol! I am doing my best to work out 3x a week for an hour and then some at home on the elliptical.
I’m retired, and exercise a lot. I find that there are some activities I just can’t combine. Yoga, for example – yoga and anything high intensity usually totally knocks me out, so I usually just take a long walk on the day I do yoga.
I swim once a week. Run 1-2 times a week (never on the same day I swim). I often do weights the same day I swim, so I have some weight-bearing exercise on that day. Yoga is once a week, weights every third day. I rarely do anything that is high-intensity for 2 hours – more typical for me is an hour of something strenuous (like weights) combined with a long walk. That’s what I did today.
PG, it will be fun following this journey! Please keep us posted.
My workout schedule varies depending on whether it is cycling season or not. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I do resistance training of some sort. It’s those days because historically my bike club’s weekday organized rides in my area are Tuesday and Thursday and on the weekends. My resistance training is 75-90 minutes per session depending on the type of routine I am doing. Off season, I do indoor cycling on Tuesday and Thursday for an hour max each time. Off season on weekends, I ride 2-4 hours on one day if weather permits outside riding but if for some reason I ride both days on the weekend, I knock off either Tuesday or Thursday so that I get 1 day a week off. Otherwise, I knock off either Saturday or Sunday to get a day off. During the riding season, things change a bit. I tend to go in a 9-10 day cycle because I am generally riding both days on weekends. I then knock off either a weekend ride or one of my resistance sessions to get a day off. Which one I give up depends on my training goals at the time, the way my body feels and my mood :). The resistance sessions are again 75-90 minutes. The weekday rides are 1 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours depending on daylight conditions. The weekend rides are 4-6 hours each.
For those that are relying primarily on cardio work for their training and also have a weight loss or maintenance goal, I would strongly suggest adding in at least 2 sessions per week of resistance training. (Of course, if you are a competitive runner training for events, the following comments need to be mitigated by your training goals.) When you do cardio to lose weight, your body doesn’t care where the weight comes from. It will lose fat tissue but also muscle tissue unless you do resistance training to maintain lean muscle mass. As you lose muscle tissue, your metabolic rate at rest, while exercising and during post exercise recovery decreases. As your metabolism decreases, you need to reduce calories to maintain weight loss. As you lose muscle, your body fat/lean muscle ratio increases even if you are losing weight. You end up chasing a cycle of muscle tissue loss and caloric needs. Taken to an extreme, you can end up with a fat cardiovascularly fit person who struggles with their food intake to avoid weight gain and are left scratching their heads wondering why it’s so difficult to control their weight. This vicious cycle can be short circuited by just adding 2 days a week of resistance training to your routine.
The good thing is, I loooove weight lifting / strength training! Thanks, MNK. Super helpful. I wish I were in Philly and I’d work out with you!
Great advice here today, and I love the idea of creating a streak of some kind for 2016. Realistically I believe if I can commit to a bare minimum of walking briskly a few miles at least 6 days a week, and add cardio and weight bearing exercises three times per week, I’ll be okay. Just need to keep a rein on the eating–it’s been rough, especially at the end of tIis year. I’m hoping to remain injury free so I can continue to improve my CV stamina for the running. I’ve really let the weight lifting regularity go to pieces. Boy, I need some new year resolutions!
Today I did take my youngest to the gym for a quickie workout. 1.25 mile jog to warm up, and two sets through some essential assorted weight machines. Plus Michael’s recommended modified push-ups (really better on my wrists)! So glad to have this thread
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the timely arrival of my two older “kids”. On to the Christmas cooking! Last night we had a Thanksgiving dinner replay–minus the pie.
It rained all day so I didnt walk outside–went to the gym with my D and son-in-law. I walked 2 miles on the treadmill (I even ran a bit to make it go faster because it was so boring–and I cant run.) Finished with kettlebell work and some planks–held a plank for 100 seconds and beat my son-in-law who quit at 60 sec.
PG–I say go ahead and see if 2 hours works for you. I am 63 and have been doing 2 hours of exercise 3 days a week and 1 hour the other 2 days. For the remaining 2 days I walk to get my steps in but I am not walking that fast. I am easily bored and mix up lots of different activities–I work with a trainer on 2 days and do a vinyasa or power yoga class 3 days as well. I do a spinning class once a week–same day as weight training. On the other weight training day I do TRX or Pilates reformer (small group class). Which one I do depends on the schedule at the gym. I enjoy all that I do–dont work anymore but do much volunteer work. I am grateful to be able to do this.
MOWC and others. Thinking of getting myself an office treadmill. Have set up the shower so I wouldn’t have any excuses. What brand/model do you have (and what is the max mph—want mine to go faster than 12 mph/5 min pace)? What do you think of a used commercial unit?
I ran on this one in a hotel gym and really, really liked it! It can go as fast as 16 mph. 
http://www.precor.com/intl/commercial/products/trm-885-treadmill
Their 9.3x series (commercial adapted for home use) can only go 12 mph (this is what I have). I think you will have to step up to a true commercial grade if you want blazing belt speeds.
I recommend testing one in person if you can.
ETA: some Hilton hotels have the above linked treadmill in their gyms. The downtown SF Hilton had a whole row of them.
@ohiopublic, Landice, Precor and LifeFitness are probably the 3 biggest players in the high end treadmill world and are the easiest to find at dedicated exercise equipment stores. They are all pricey units. Your best bet is to go to stores and test them out. I would be extremely cautious about used commercial units. Those pieces are kept and beaten to death until the effectiveness and cost of maintenance and upkeep render it impractical to keep them in service at which point they are dumped. I wouldn’t buy a used commercial unit unless it had been totally rehab’ by the manufacturer and was sold with a warranty comparable to a new machine.
After lots of research, 3 of us came to the same conclusion which was the Landis L7. Not sure about the maximum speed. Very reliable, good service support, big deck. I got the cardio display which is the middle level.
I would be leery of a used commercial. They are beaten to death.
Every time I go to my local exercise equipment store, I drool over the Landice L7. Landice is one of the original niche treadmill manufacturers and has been around forever.
Most “domesticated” treadmills top out at 12 mph. There is a treadmill that can go up to 30+mph. According to this article, even for Usain Bolt it will be an overkill:
Ohio, you better have a very large office:
http://www.diamondfitnesssystems.com/PAGES/PAGE%20Treadmill%20Noramco%20HST.htm
Well, 7.2 miles this morning…65 degrees and rain, but it’s a tradition to run together so we did! Followed up with coffee hour which was the best part.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Enjoy family and the day!
5 miles this morning- started with my husband and he turned around before I wanted to. 60 degrees and sunny- bizarre. I have a little bit of a cold. I hope it stays not very bad.
Merry Christmas! Stay healthy and enjoy the time off work, everyone, even if you don’t celebrate.
36 degrees and drizzle - it does not sound too inviting… I will stay indoors.
at D’s place in Brooklyn. Didnt plan to work out today, but H and I ended up walking about 1.5 miles to pick up a few things. That counts for something! Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!