So in 2006 I went from a guy that liked to stay in modestly good shape to a complete and utter work-out junkie. I've been on a seven day a week schedule of one to two hours of exercise a day. What's interesting is I've been feeling like that's too much - so I've started to throttle back to around one hour to an hour and a half a day, and trying to take one day a week off. You definitely cross a line where it's harder to not work-out than it is to get up for it. It's just such an addictive stress burner and mind clearer that I've found it hard to resist. So the one-day off thing is on the board but has yet to be fully adopted :-)
Dr. Mehmet Oz of Columbia University (Go Lions!), who co-authored "You: The Owners Manual" with Michael Roizen (who is in fact not a relative - at least not a close enough one for the two Roizen groups to find a connection) says in this article that one hour a day is probably right around the optimal amount.
Right now my three day rotation is day 1: cardio, day 2: swimming, day 3: weights and bike. After a huge road-running binge (that took a toll on my left knee) I'm completely sold on the benefits of cross-training and the importance of strength conditioning.
So I'm thinking Dr. Oz has it about right. An hour a day, cross-training, 6 days a week, with probably just stretching and flexibility exercises on the seventh day is a good program.
Anyone got any thoughts?