How Much Gym is Too Much?

JupiterKid · 12-08-2019 07:11PM #1

I have an acquaintance who a few years ago was pretty overweight with heart and back issues. He was urged by his doctor to cut down on high calorie food and to excersise more. He put on a lot of weight after his partner died suddenly, only in his 40s, of a massive heart attack. As you can imagine he was devastated.

Fast forward to 5 years later and he is now in really great shape, has lost all the excess weight and has toned up. He posts a lot of pics of his new "gym body" on his FB page.

We were chatting via messenger earlier today and he told me he is going to the gym twice daily, 6 days a week. He is doing a cardio, weight and core exercise programne.

In contrast, I swim 4 times a week, go for long walks twice a week, cycle short distances in good weather and do the odd bit of wall climbing. It keeps me in shape.

I'm a bit worried for him. Could he be overdoing it?

Uncharted · 12-08-2019 07:13PM

JupiterKid wrote: »

I have an acquaintance who a few years ago was pretty overweight with heart and back issues. He was urged by his doctor to cut down on high calorie food and to excersise more. He put on a lot of weight after his partner died suddenly, only in his 40s, of a massive heart attack. As you can imagine he was devestated.

Fast forward to 5 years latrd and he is now in really great shape, has lost all the excess weight and has toned up. He posts a lot of pics of his new "gym body" on his FB page.

We were chatting via messenger earlier today and he told me he is going to the gym twice daily, 6 days a week. He is doing a cardio, weight and core exercise programne.

In contrast, I swim 4 times a week, go for long walks twise a week, cycle short distance in good weather and do the odd bit of wall climbing. It keeps me in shape.

I'm a bit worried for him. Could he be overdoing it?

Fitness >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Esse85 · 12-08-2019 07:13PM

12 sessions a week is a bit excessive if he's not a full time professional athlete.

GRACKEA · 12-08-2019 07:13PM

Everyone is different. I tried a mix of gym and running 5 days a week and found myself exhausted, while others could do that easily and more. Loads of it would depend on nutrition/sleep too, maybe he has them both on point. I'd say leave it up to him/his doctor to decide when he's overdoing it.

beejee · 12-08-2019 07:17PM

Sounds like a personality trait more than anything.

He'll be swapping too many crunches for too many crunchies again soon

EmmetSpiceland · 12-08-2019 07:18PM

Sounds like he’s going “whey” too much!

12-08-2019 07:18PM

Any gym is too much gym. One swim we week maybe two and that’s about all I do, have to really force myself to do that.

I have about a million things I’d rather be doing than the gym/any sort of training or fitness stuff.

One eyed Jack · 12-08-2019 07:26PM

JupiterKid wrote: »

I'm a bit worried for him. Could he be overdoing it?

He could be, but there’s no way of knowing whether he is or not for certain unless there was details of his diet and exercise regimen. It doesn’t sound at least like he’s overdoing it, he’s got something that motivates him and that’s incredible.

Wouldn’t be my thing though but my brother is a competitive body builder and he looks like a freak tbh. It’s his mental health I’d be more considerate of than just his physical health and fitness which sound like he’s doing well. It can become compulsive though to the detriment of his mental health.

BeerWolf · 12-08-2019 07:27PM

Sounds like a clueless fool. Your muscles need rest to build up on, doing it everyday is absolutely pointless. 3 times, 4 days tops, per week is more than enough with the correct regiment.

Or perhaps he's doing it excessively to keep his mind off things...

Homelander · 12-08-2019 07:27PM

No, he's not overdoing it, to put it simply. Classic envy mindset, guy makes a massive effort to stay in athletic shape and you're questioning him as if he's gone off the deep end.

The fact that he has a day off shows he's dedicated to a routine while recognising the need for down time.

Homelander · 12-08-2019 07:28PM

BeerWolf wrote: »

Sounds like a clueless fool. Your muscles need rest to build up on, doing it everyday is absolutely pointless. 3 times, 4 days tops, per week is more than enough with the correct regiment.

If you're doing a mix of cardio and weights, 6 days sounds reasonable, assume the guy is targetting muscle groups specifically.

Sounds like he knows completely what he's doing.

wakka12 · 12-08-2019 07:30PM

You should really be having a few rest days a week. For me personally any more than 4 (90minute )gym sessions per week feels like Im beginning to live in the gym and it just gets unenjoyable. Does that guy not have a job?Need to cook dinner? Socialise? Yeh it definitely seems excessive, but if it makes him happy then good for him. Much worse things he could be doing with his time, of course

The guidelines for exercise in order to lower risk of diseases associated with sedentary behavior are generally around 75 minutes of moderate cardio(for example jogging), 75 mins of relaxed movement (something like a brisk walk) and two hours of weight resistance per week. Its less than most people would think. So thats what everyone should aim for and anything more is just personal preference and what you can fit in to your schedule

c.p.w.g.w · 12-08-2019 07:34PM

Blaine Ambitious Chessboard wrote: »

Any gym is too much gym. One swim we week maybe two and that’s about all I do, have to really force myself to do that.

I have about a million things I’d rather be doing than the gym/any sort of training or fitness stuff.

You'd be surprised that exercise can be rewarding. Our brain release chemicals during exercise that give a feeling of joy...I did a tough 2 hour session on my bike today, feel great after it mentally... physically still a bit stiff

wakka12 · 12-08-2019 07:35PM

Blaine Ambitious Chessboard wrote: »

Any gym is too much gym. One swim we week maybe two and that’s about all I do, have to really force myself to do that.

I have about a million things I’d rather be doing than the gym/any sort of training or fitness stuff.

Yeh its tough but worth it in the long run. Keep at those two swims a week youll be happy you did it when youre old

12-08-2019 07:41PM

Jupiter I wouldn't think twice a day for six days is necessarily overdoing it. Admittedly, it's 100% more than I do myself, but it's only really a problem for him if it's causing negative consequences for his life (be that anxiety, inability to form relationships, or health problems).

It's a bit like addiction (says I not being in any way qualified to speak on that subject), it's probably not necessarily a question of volume, but of adverse consequences.

How's his general health and wellbeing?

12-08-2019 07:46PM

wakka12 wrote: »

You should really be having a few rest days a week. For me personally any more than 4 (90minute )gym sessions per week feels like Im beginning to live in the gym and it just gets unenjoyable. Does that guy not have a job?Need to cook dinner? Socialise? Yeh it definitely seems excessive, but if it makes him happy then good for him. Much worse things he could be doing with his time, of course

My boss goes to the gym before and after work each day. He earns probably twice as much as I do and that makes him rich. He also has amazing teeth -- we're talking American dental-care good -- and wears his pullover draped over his shoulders with the sleeves tied in a perfect knot over his ridiculous pecs because he's the kind of guy who can pull-off that look, so in summary, my question is how do I sabotage him?

12-08-2019 07:50PM

if he's not injuring himself or burnt out, more power to him

Ten of Swords · 12-08-2019 07:51PM

Blueshoe · 12-08-2019 07:53PM

He is one long term injury away from losing everything.
Mentally and physically

Homelander · 12-08-2019 08:03PM

Blueshoe wrote: »

He is one long term injury away from losing everything.
Mentally and physically

Yeah, he's also one number away from winning the lottery.

Woke Hogan · 12-08-2019 08:07PM

12 times a week is definitely overkill. He’s probably not doing any proper training at that rate, but maintaining.

Homelander · 12-08-2019 08:11PM

Woke Hogan wrote: »

12 times a week is definitely overkill. He’s probably not doing any proper training at that rate, but maintaining.

Two 45 minute sessions a day working in cardio and targetted weight training is not overkill at all.

Not really sure how you can contend "he's not doing any proper training".

Sounds to me like he has a strict, targetted rountine that's working well, and he's allowing himself a day off per week.

From what the OP has told us, sounds like he's doing just fine and training well.

Bobblehats · 12-08-2019 08:16PM

More power to him. I can only manage about 30 minutes but it’s got to be done

if I’m breathing heavy enough and sweating more than my vest can even catch anymore then it’s time to clock the feck out

Blueshoe · 12-08-2019 08:22PM

Homelander wrote: »

Yeah, he's also one number away from winning the lottery.

Yeah. It's the exact same thing sure.

Strumms · 12-08-2019 08:29PM

bluewolf wrote: »

if he's not injuring himself or burnt out, more power to him

Any expert in the field of health and fitness and medical people too will tell you that’s way too much on the body. Burn out might be the least of it. That amount of exercise is going to put a mighty demand on your heart for a kickoff. Burnout or injury won’t necessarily be something that creeps up on you, it could manifest itself too in something more serious than plain old ‘tiredness’ and have a longer term detrimental effect on your health..folks need be careful.

12-08-2019 08:32PM

Strumms wrote: »

Any expert in the field of health and fitness and medical people too will tell you that’s way too much on the body. Burn out might be the least of it. That amount of exercise is going to put a mighty demand on your heart for a kickoff. Burnout or injury won’t necessarily be something that creeps up on you, it could manifest itself too in something more serious than plain old ‘tiredness’ and have a longer term detrimental effect on your health..folks need be careful.

we've no idea what he's doing. he could be doing light weights to maintain and some low impact cardio. he could be in there half an hour per session, he could be faffing around the place doing a few planks.

mikhail · 12-08-2019 08:38PM

12 sessions a week is a lot, but is in line with what bodybuilders do. It's not for everyone, but if it's done right (i.e. with a properly designed programme) it's okay.

harr · 12-08-2019 08:46PM

While 12 sounds a lot he probably isn’t working all muscle areas in every session. So probably doing cardio and abs in one workout and targeting a certain muscle group in next workout and following couple of days doing different workouts.

Homelander · 12-08-2019 09:04PM

Blueshoe wrote: »

Yeah. It's the exact same thing sure.

You're right, the odds of him winning the lotto are a million to one, the odds of him overtraining based on what the OP told us, are pretty much nil.

JupiterKid · 12-08-2019 09:06PM

Thanks for all the advice peeps. Personally I was worried that he was overdoing the gym but he does seem to be doing well and keeping himself relatively balanced.

However, this guy is just an acquaintance and not a close friend, so I don't really know how his mental health is currently and Facebook posts can't really give you a good indication as IMO a lot of people wear masks of well being on FB. I haven't met him in person in nearly a year.

He works in graphic design and has his own business.

If all this exercise and working out is good for him, more power to him. I suppose his close friends would tell him if they thought he was overdoing it.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 12-08-2019 09:09PM

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

You'd be surprised that exercise can be rewarding. Our brain release chemicals during exercise that give a feeling of joy...I did a tough 2 hour session on my bike today, feel great after it mentally... physically still a bit stiff

I never got that endorphin rush with exercise. It’s not universal.

That level of exercise probably isn’t too much, otherwise professional athletes would be screwed.

How Much Gym is Too Much?

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