Am I doing it wrong?

The other day someone told me “If you’re doing 13 hours of exercise a week, you’re doing it wrong.  You should only do a few hours of weight lifting a week.”  

I boggled at this because I’m not sure what this “it” is that I’m trying to do and, clearly, doing wrong.  (Has anyone else found that weight lifters can be zealots?)  

Right now, I’m doing three days a week of 5k training and yoga stretching, this takes about 6 hours total each week.  I’m taking 6 fitness class, for a total of 6 more hours.  I do an hour of yoga at home once a week.  And I’m also doing physical therapy for my shoulder right now which is another 2 hours a week.  (Sometimes I add in some extra yoga, depending on how much time, energy, and desire I have.)  

In May, I’m planning on adding 2 hours of Aikido a week and not all of my fitness classes might exist during the summer, so I might need to drop a few of those.  

In September, I’m planning on dropping the fitness class membership (sniff) and adding 2-3 days of weight lifting.  (Aikido will switch to 1 hour a week as well due to choir.)  I figure I’ll hire a personal trainer for a month so I can learn how to lift correctly.  I’ve never enjoyed weight lifting in the past, but I’m hopeful that a smaller me will find it more interesting.  And, at some level, I know that it’s an important part of a well rounded exercise regimen.  

And once I reach my goal weight, or at least 150 or so, I’m planning on becoming a parkour master.  

So.. aside from the parkour thing, am I “doing it wrong?”  I don’t feel like I am?  I feel like I’m really enjoying life and doing great things for my body.  It just really bothered me that someone who doesn’t live my life thinks that they know the right and only way that I should be exercising :(  

If you truly are enjoying what you do and you intend to either maintain that same level of exercise or close to it, or adjust your diet accordingly if you ever stop, then no, you're not "doing it wrong."  I think the person probably meant that if you HAVE to exercise that much just to lose any weight then you're "doing it wrong."  No one should have to do that much exercise just to lose a little weight (I'd say they're likely eating too many calories if that's the case).  But it doesn't sound like you're forcing yourself to do all of that, and that you're genuinely doing something that you enjoy, so go for it!  If anything, that much working out is probably just helping you lose weight faster!

The only thing I would caution you about is that if you ever think that you're going to back off of a large majority of all that exercise you might want to do it slowly so that you can see how you'll have to adjust your eating habits accordingly to either keep losing or maintain.

Otherwise, you just do what you enjoy!

If you are moving your body and enjoying yourself safely then you aren't doing it wrong.  Some people hate exercise, so 13 hours a week sounds like torture.  Some people don't have time for that, so it seems impossible.  If you can do it and you like it, you are doing it right.  

I can't wait until I can get back to my 5-6 hours a week!

One thing -- you have the next year so planned out.  I find that my body / mind tells me what I am interested in.  It changes / flows every few months.  I think you probably already got this and are relatively flexible, but if your body really wants to swim instead of lift next year, do what sounds more fun.  I love lifting, but lately (or a not super lately b/c I'm off exercise right now) yoga is IT for me.  I just love it.  

I know what you mean about the planning.  I'm such a planner :P  The idea is that I'll give the new things a month to see if they click and then stop if they don't.  It's really all just playing things by ear!

I mean, it depends on what your goals are, doesn't it? Are you training to be an Olympic level athlete? Are you just looking to get stronger and more flexible? Are you trying to maximize the health benefits of exercise (then btw, don't run a marathon)? You can achieve pretty significant fitness goals only doing a few hours of weight training a day. I do think that's true. 

I think it is possible to overexercise. It is definitely possible to do exercise in a counterproductive way or in a way that courts injury. So "doing it wrong," which is kind of a snarky and unhelpful way to put it, could in fact apply. We can be a little "Any exercise is great! All exercise is great!" I'm not so sure I agree, because some things are dangerous, some things are a waste of precious time. If you have tons of time, then less effective use of your time is not as much of an issue. I don't have 13 hours a week to spend on exercise, so I am judicious about what I do. 

I see people doing dumb things in the weight room all the time. Often it's guys with atrocious and dangerous form or it's women who are using so little weight that I wonder, why are they even there? They're spending an hour doing curls with 3lb weights. They might as well go home. I do think they are doing it wrong, because at best (in the women's case) they are not getting any benefit out of their time there, or at worst (the guy's case) they are risking injury.

I'm just thinking out loud and talking generally, Gwen, not about your particular routine. I really couldn't say whether or not it's the best for you or your body. You're smart so I'm sure you can figure it out.

I agree! First do whatever you prefer and ask yoUr medical team if you are unsure if you're "doing it wrong". But I agree there are the people who want to repeat and repeat how then spend hours upon hours doing exercise. To me its not about the length of time a workout is. My surgeon and nutritionist say the same. A lot of these people aren't using that time adequately not running fast enough moving from one piece of equipment to another without really accomplishing anything, etc. they tell me to set your time anywhere from 20-40 min typically and give it your all go as hard as you can for that allotted time. The overall quality of your workout is better than someone spending hours per day "exercising" not that everyone who spends hours a day exercising does this just in a typical scenario. I would assume most people dont have enough hours in the day to exercise for hours. If you do that's awesome!! With two small children jobs homework trying to see my husband pets elderly grandparents i mean the list could go on but you get the point i need to get in there get my crap done and get out!! Hope this helps :) 

I get what you're saying.  :)  And people in the weight room, omg.  They can be so strange.  Definitely why I'll be working with a trainer initially!  

I think my real goal is just "have fun, stay flexible, don't get hurt."  What I'm doing - a little bit of everything - seems to be meeting those desires :)

I have been walking 7 days a week 2x per day. Yesterday I started going to a personal trainer. She told me that walking that much will make you "Skinny Fat". Thin but squishy. Not really what I want. She has me on a 3x a week circuit training. I plan to train with her indefinitely. It lasts 50 minutes and is every other day. On the off days I can do a short walk (around a mile) if I am not too sore. In 50 minutes of circuit training I burned about 1300 calories according to MFP. It would take a week of walking to do the same thing. 3x a week is 3900 calories!

Glad the circuit training seem to be going well for you!  I don't track calories at all for my fitness stuff, I just like to get moving in ways that weren't possible for me a year ago :D

I think you're the only one who can tell if you're doing it wrong. Exercise should be enjoyable & it becomes a part of your lifestyle., and you have to switch it up a bit so that your body doesn't get used to the same thing all the time & it gets challenged with a new routine & it sounds like that's what you're doing.

Most people can't dedicate so much time to exercise & maybe they're just a bit jealous? I do think balance is important. Cardio with weight training, but it doesn't mean that weight training has to be in a gym lifting barbells, for some it's cool, for others it's boring, so doing something that helps you get strong as well as doing things to help your heart & be flexible is a good thing. As long as you keep up friendships, family etc where you're not losing those things in lieu of exercise is good too. I think you're doing great! Live your life, we only get 1 shot at this life, make the most of it! Good Luck!