I can commit 1 hr a day for excersize, any ideas?

I am very fortunate to have an hour a day to do a fitness plan.  I have been walking 4.5 miles a day in that hour.  I want to start strength training now and don't really know what I should do.  I have free access to a wonderful fitness center with great equipment and that is where I have been doing my walking.  I don't know if I should walk 3 days a week and do strength training 2 times a week or if I should walk 1/2 the time and train the other half of the time.  I am really clueless.  Tommorow a guy that works there is going to work with me but I wouldn't call him a trainer.  I found out that my BMR is 1630 calories and I eat on average about 1200-1300 calories a day.  I think I have gotten the food plan down and am eating right, I just need the right fitness plan.  I treated myself and bought me a good pedometer, heart monitor, running shoes and an MP3 player.  I have been back on track since 1-11-08 and feel good about what I am doing.  I am interested in building up my lean body mass.  Right now I am 111 pounds of lean body mass and I have 81 pounds of fat mass.  I would really like to improve those numbers.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.  I don't do a whole lot on the weekends, but will be able to incorperate at least walking as the weather improves.  Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

This may not fit into your plans but about three weeks ago I started taking Tae Kwon Do classes.  It is a blast!  I am loving it and it is great exercise!  Check to see if your local martial arts school has some type of introductory offer. --Eric

Thank you,  I will look around.

Hi Dana! I think if it were me, I'd take 2 of those days and spend 30 minutes on strength training and then follow up with 30 minutes of cardio.  You could do upper body strength training on one day and then lower body on the second day.  Maybe do a 60 minute cardio workout on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  And then Tuesday and Thursday could be your 30 minute strength training/30 minute cardio days.   It's a good place to start anyway!  And that way you could see if you like the strength training and maybe add another day.   Deanna  :)

Thank you Deanna,  Is it raining there?  I grew up in Portland.

Hi Dana! You grew up in Portland!  Cool!  I actually grew up in Corvallis but living in Salem now. And no, luckily it's not raining right now but that could change at any moment!  I'm soooooo ready for summer! Deanna  :)

When I joined my gym a few years ago, I only had 1 hour to complete my workout due to daycare concerns.  What I would do was 5 minutes of stretching followed by 30 minutes of cardio.  One of the reasons that I started racing was that I wanted to go farther in that 30 minutes.  My walking became jogging and then running.  From there I would do 25 minutes of weight lifting.  I would break the routine into 3 days so that if I hurried, I could fit it all in.  One day, I would do a push day which is chest, triceps and shoulders.  The next day would be a pull day: biceps and back and the third day I would do legs.  My lifting routine wasn't a slow and mythodical affair.  It was a quick and efficient approach.  I felt that I got a real solid workout in an hour.  Good luck with finding what works for you.

I would have to agree that you should continue your cardio as much as possible while adding the weight training in.  All the trainers at my gym say that these two things go hand in hand.  If you only have the hour, you should do 1/2 hour or so of each.  I do find that 30 minutes of cardio is really not enough to satisfy me but I realize some people have to work and not just spend 1/2 a day at the gym. LOL

Congrats on your efforts so far, and sticking with your exercise plan.  You're on the right track at planning for a mix of cardio and strength training.  What you do really depends on what you're comfortable with.   I also workout at lunch and I've done various schedules; I tend to switch up every 8-12 weeks just for variety.  Some times I do 3 days of cardio for 45-50 minutes, then on the other 2 days I do a full round of strength training for upper and lower body.  Sometimes I do shorter cardio and strength training every day, but working different muscle groups so I don't do the same group on consecutive days.  I also switch up my cardio - sometimes doing 15-20 minutes on 2 different pieces of equipment, sometimes doing steady-state cardio in the lower zones, sometimes doing intervals, etc.  For me, variety is key - if I get bored, I'll stop doing it, so I keep switching things up to keep myself interested.   Good luck on your continuing journey -  Kellie