Is there a way to stay in shape if I don't...
I'm a CPT and also certified holistic nutritionist, my main area of interest being more on the nutrition side, specifically how diet and lifestyle factors affect disease. Regarding what the personal trainer told you, I'm not sure if you are a beginner, but if so, one hour a day for six days a week is too much. You could start out with just 30 minutes a day for 3 days a week, especially if you are dealing with time constraints and just need to start working exercise into your schedule. A personal trainer should be working with you to figure out how to accommodate your schedule and work in exercise without making it feel like an extra chore. I would not recommend working out for 3 hours a day, 2 days in a row. Especially if you are a beginner. The more fatigued you are, the more likely you are to injure yourself. You also need to give muscles time to recover and should not be working them if they are sore. So, don't work out the same muscle group two days in a row. There is also something called overtraining which is in part caused by too much exercising and not enough recovery time. I would post a link, but I don't think it will let me.
There is a lot of information available on the ACSM, ACE, NASM websites, including some good information for beginners, even beginner workouts. If you can't do one hour for six days a week, that's okay! Do what you can, because something is better than nothing. Also, if you feel like you aren't meeting a goal which may be unrealistic for you at this point in time, it may be discouraging rather than motivating. One additional note, your personal trainer should be working WITH you to set goals, not setting them for you. They need to be aware of your time constraints and schedule and work with you to still create some kind of plan that is realistic and achievable.
Thank you very much for the input! Well the PT told me that I cannot go do it for 3 hours on my two days off each, because the body does not respond to exercise the right way to exercise if you cram it all into two days as opposed to spreading it all out. She said that I have to develop a schedule that works for the way the body is made, rather than trying to do it the other way around, if she has a point?
You should keep track of your "steps" while you work. They count, too. And on your errands. Walking even at a somewhat brisk pace "counts" as moderate exercise.
I have to do more than what I do on my job to get my 20,000 steps; but there are some jobs where one could walk 10,000 a day easily.
Up until about a couple of years ago, my job involved enough walking for me to cover 10,000 steps a day easily.
Even now, I have to walk about a half a mile from my car to my train station; that's about 1,200 steps. And I have to do it again later on. That's 2,400 steps right away. Then, I have to walk from my job to the train, and vice versa every day. Another approximately 2,000 steps. We're talking 4,400 steps if you just sit around all day for the rest of the day, which I highly doubt most people do if they have to work at a job.
Saying this......I eat too much-----so, even as I average 20,000 steps a day, I'm still gaining weight. I'm about 167-168 lbs at 5 foot 4 3/4. Some days, I run at about 11 minutes a mile; other days, I just walk. My knee acts up, so that interferes with the running.
When I'm running errands, I sometimes run to and from my car and the store. I sometimes run in the store when there's enough room for it. I don't do this as often now that I enjoy exercising and want to save my energy for it, but I would certainly do it under your circumstances. If you run at high intensity for a short distance several times a day, you're increasing your heart rate, which I suspect would help a great deal. Nobody knows for sure what the best regimen is. Maybe this isn't very effective, but it's given me a similar feeling to a proper workout, which suggests it may be effective.
Thanks for the advice! I have done this as well, but the only time I have to run errands is in the evenings, and I can't exercise in the evenings, because it gets my heart pumping too much and the doctor told me to do it in the mornings instead. But I still have been having trouble doing it everyday like I was told to. I don't know how other people do it with their jobs and everything else they have to do in a day.
This week I made an effort to go every day, but I could only get about 5.5 hours of sleep per night to make that time. Unless that is okay, and exercise is important too, rather than just getting more sleep?