Hi Ladies! I am thinking about getting back into dancing, but I need to lose atleast 15 lbs and tighten up the soft spots! ;) Any exercise tips to help me do it fast?
Thanks!
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Hi Ladies! I am thinking about getting back into dancing, but I need to lose atleast 15 lbs and tighten up the soft spots! ;) Any exercise tips to help me do it fast?
Thanks!
cut back on your carbs and you will lose the soft spots quick, incorporate some cardio, like walking or jogging and the pounds will come off quick!
IF you lower your carb intake to about 20 carbs aday you can expect to lose 10 pounds in about 2 weeks
Cardio is the best - it will help with your endurance which is really important if you're just starting or getting back into things. Lift some weights - I go in 2-3 times a week and do both legs and arms. This will help your body burn calories more efficiently. Stretch or do yoga to help with your flexibility.
Also - and you will do this anyway if you go on a low-carb diet - CUT OUT THE SODAS AND BOOZE! There are so damn many calories in those things that if you cut them out you will definitely lose weight.
the girls are right - cardio works best - though I absolutely hate it, personally. If you tend to get bored with it, sometimes it's good to alternate to keep things interesting. 10 min warm-up treadmill, 10 min med. intensity elliptical machine, 10 min intense stair-stepper, 10 min cool down on the bike. That way you get 40 min of cardio at small intervals so you don't get bored out of your gourd.
And colette is very right about strength training. A lot of girls think they'll bulk, up, but low-weight/high intervals builds muscle tone; not bulk. for every lb. of muscle you gain, you lose fat and burn an extra 150 calories per hour, just being sedentary.
If you're serious about working out, pay attention to your looks and the way clothing fits, more than the scale. Weight can be decieving and you may not see the 7 or 10lb difference on the scale, but you sure will with your clothing or in the mirror; and that's what counts.
Good luck & have fun!
bisou*
j
OK, for the record, (other than stripping) I am an ACE certified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness instructor. I've been working in the fitness industry since 96, and have been doing a lot of research on this stuff lately. I currently teach Spinning, TurboKickBox, Rep Reebok, Reebok Core, Pilates, Yoga, and Step at 24hourfitness. I really miss Reebok Slide...anyone remember that?
Remember what works for one person MAY NOT work for another person. Your routine needs to fit your genetic body type and current fitness level in order to work.
Cardio is great, if you are presently a couch potato. However, if you already go to the gym and sit on the bike or treadmill for 20 or 30 minutes a day, upping it to an hour isn't going to do much. Think about it this way, if see yourself as a flabby pear shape, doing only cardio will make you a smaller flabby pear shape. It will not make you toned.
Weight training is the only way to firm up. This is where your body type comes in. I saw on EXTRA the other day that Halle Berry did light wt/high rep for 45 minutes to shape up for the new Bond flick. Now, Halle Berry already had muscle and very low body fat, so she didn't need to up her weights. For someone who had never lifted a weight in their life, heavier resistance training is necessary to see quick results.
Ladies, YOU WILL NOT BULK UP from heavy wt training. Only testosterone creates bulk, and we don't have any unless we take steroids. Check out Oxygen Magazine, it's a womens fitness magazine that highlights the routines of toned, muscular women. Every issue spotlights the benefits of heavier resisitance training.
Proper nutrition is the KEY to losing weight. You can work out for 4 hours a day, but if you drink alcohol or have "just one" sweet, it can ruin your program.
Yes, cut back on carbs and increase your protein, but be realistic. Your body needs more than 20 carbs a day. That type of crash and burn diet rarely has any lasting results and you can't stick to it. It doesn't give you any energy and makes you tired and cranky (certainly not money-making traits) It's about as effective as the grapefruit diet or sitting in a sauna to lose wt.
Carbs are the body's preferred fuel source, and if you don't have enough, your body goes into ketosis. Since it can't get energy from the glycogen in the blood (i.e. carbs) it begins to break down the proteins in muscle tissue (which you are trying to build up for a toned look, right?)
Think of ketosis as "starvation mode" The human body is programmed to withstand famine. We can go for 20 days without food, but only 3 without water. Ever see a lean, toned Ethiopian child? NO! Then why would you starve yourself?
Eat 6 SMALL meals a day, about 3 hours apart. If the body goes for more than 3 hours without fuel, it enters ketosis. Your meals should consist of one protein, one carb and a vege. Protein shakes or bars are a good substitute for a meal. Watch out for Cliff and Powerbars though, they are designed for performance athletes who are exercising for more than 90 minutes at a time.
If a meal satisifies your appetite for more than 3 hours then it was too big. I have one pure protein shake (3g carbs, 30g protein) and one balance bar (27g carbs, 15g protein) while I am at the club each night. That way, I'm not famished by the end of the night and end up gorging on Dennys, pizza, Taco Bell, or ice cream after work.
I could ramble on forever, and can respond to any other questions. The best thing to do is buy the book Body for Life by Bill Philips. It gives a great workout and nutrition plan for beginners.
Hope this helps. And congrats for making it through my novel. My fiance is asleep and I took 2 Xenadrine a few hours ago!!!
Britney
P.S. Xenadrine is BAD BAD BAD for your metabolism, read the label and follow it!!!
Being a women that just had twins 5 months ago with a c-section, pilates and yoga really help me out. I got my reflexiblity back and abs so I really happy with my work out. :D
Hi,
I subscribe to the magazine Oxygen! I love it.. it is the best in my opion for exercise.
Some of the ladies in there are built with some muscle and it shows, but they are in competetions. The magazine has articles for al :)l of us. I have bought Shape, fitness and others.
But this mag. keeps me with the program.lol
Also they are online, you can check them out at.
my reply is to BritneyIreland --I desperately need to get back in to dancing, but because of anti anxiety meds I was taking , I have 40 lbs. to lose!!! I want to hire a personal trainer at 24 hour fitness here in Vegas where I live but do you have any tips for me until I can afford it? I have been working out there 4 days a week. I would really appreciate it!!
Lil Starr-
Spend $25 and buy the book Body for Life. It really helped me to fill in the missing pieces of my exercise program. You can work out for 4 hours a day, but a poor diet will prevent you from seeing any results.
I just re-started the B4L program today to help me get through the holiday season without cheating.
It may seem really strict at first, but once you wean your body from refined sugars, you don't crave them anymore. Honestly, the first week sucks, but after that you actually start to CRAVE the chocolate protein shakes instead of real chocolate!
Britney
Hi Liberty,
one more bit of advice that works for me. Don't diet. Diets don't work, they are temporary, when you stop your diet, you gain again, old eating habits seem to come back again.. Make changes in you eating habits. Eat what you wish in moderation. Cardio is great for burning calories, = losing weight, and lifting weights while losing weight builds a SMALL amount of muscle to tighten you up. We are not men, won't get muscle bound! weights will tighten up your soft spots. I bought free weights and use them for 30 minutes on different parts of the body that i want to spot train. I use them after a good walk, because my heart rate is up after a brisk walk.. Walking is great for losing weight, as well as slight toning!
When you get more advanced you can modify your workout to the results you want! ALSO, if you are very out of shape and may have health problems, consult with your doctor before starting up a program, just to be safe.
Just my advice! Pamela ;) Ps always start slow, work your way up. And do different routines, that way you are not as likely to get bored with your exercise program!!! Remember any time spent exercising is time getting in shape.
Well said, Pamela.
Most of us think the word "diet" means something that entails painful starvation and not eating foods we want. When in reality all "diet" means is the foods you eat (whether you have a balanced diet, or a poor diet)
Crash diets never work, but healthy lifestyle changes are long lasting.
B
If you have a dog.....take your dog for long walks. This is great exercise. :)
What are the problems associated with xenadrine? I have the ephedrine free pills..are they just as bad?
Cherie, i was going to suggest much the same thing! get a really big hyperactive dog... he won't give you any choice about how much you exercise (or you'll be flying through the air on the end of the leash!). ;D
Ephedrine is basically an altered form (it has one less oxygen molecule) of speed. It helps you to lose weight because it increases your heart rate, increases your temperature by 1 degree, and stimulates secondary capillaries to open to facilitate increased blood flow. All of these things aren't necessarily bad, in fact this is what happens to your body when you exercise.
However, it can induce heart attacks in people who don't regularly exercise, take a few pills AND then hit the treadmill. Basically, it's a double whammy.
Like speed, ephedrine is very addictive. Thats why the recommended dosage is for 12 weeks cycles. If you get hooked, you will go through withdrawl symptoms (headaches, weakness, irritability, sleeplessness)
The FDA has been trying to pull it off the shelves for a while now, but there isn't any conclusive evidence (yet) from government labs to do so. They are currently working on these studies. However, for what it's worth, Metabolife already paid out millions of dollars to families of people who died using the product. (Isn't settling out of court like admitting wrong anyway?)
Non-ephedra products were designed to take the place of ephedrine for when the FDA finally yanks it off the shelves. If you look closely, the non-ephedra Xenadrine bottles are identical to the original Xenadrine-RFA bottle.
So far, non-ephedra products are safe to use...at least until someone dies from them 10 years from now.
B
I have two big dogs that usually walk me too!
I also can't wait til it warms up enough to swim in the pool with my yellow lab!
Hi!
I just wanted to agree with the anti fat-burning/ pro-weights lifting crowd.
I have been lifting weights for about 5-6, it wasn't untill this year that I really put a lot of focus into my training and started lifting heavier weights! OHMIGOD!!!! I am now in the best shape of my life! Lifting heavier weights WILL NOT make a woman super huge, but it will definately tone you up great! I see many women at the gym, liting these puny weights, and they never look any different. If you never lift a weight heavy enough to challenge your muscles, they will never grow and tone up! If you do more than 3 sets of 10-12 reps with any given weight, then you should definately knock up the weight a few pounds.
In addition, muscle takes more energy (read: calories) than fat for your body to maintain. Therfore, increasing muscle mass is the only real way to make a "permanant" increase in your metabolism. (By permanent, I mean that if you lose your muscle mass by not working out anymore, your metabolism will fall and return to it's starting point). In addition, although after a certain point you may not see any drastic reductions in weight on the scale (because you are replacing fat with muscle, and muscle is more dense), you will notice a change in your SIZE! In the two months, i have only lost about 2-4 lbs. according to the scale, but I have dropped 2 sizes, and my body is physically smaller. Why? Beacuse I have replaced fat (which is less dense and takes up more space) with muscle (which is more dense than fat, but takes up less room). 2lbs of fat is the same weight as 2 lb of muscle (2 lbs is 2 lbs!!! period!) but the muscle takes up less space than the fat, which is why you shrink.
On the subject of dieting, I do not really belive in "dieting" per say, as a way to lose pounds fast. However, I stick to a "diet" - as in a healthy diet I constructed to meet my energy and nutrition needs. First I figured how many calories I need in a day using an equation (too long to get into here), and then I try to stick to that range of calories. When I say range, it is because I don't count religiously or anything.
My "diet" is comprised of a low-fat, high fiber and protein diet. I try to eat as few processed foods as possible, prefering whole (from scratch, natural and organic) foods. I stay away from simple carbs, or "white carbs", and instead go for foods that are very high in fiber and are made with whole grains. I stay away from lots of sweets and saturated fats, although I do eat them occasionaly. I try to eat every 3-5 hours to keep my metabolism up, and I try not to eat more than 250- 400 calories at any given meal ( I eat roughly 6 times a day). I include a small amount of healthy fat every day, in the form of olive oil, almond butter, flax seeds, or nuts. My protein either comes from poultry, or lean beef, and low-fat soy products.
I found that this diet really keeps me satisfied throughout the day, and that it gives me enough energy for my busy lifestyle.
I hope this helps!! And good luck with everything!!
Portia
Hi Portia,
It sounds like the program you follow is similar to mine, I am just starting to incorporate weights. I was wondering how many days weekly and for how long of a session do you work with the weights. Also, do you stick to free weights or use machines? Any hepful tips you have picked up would be appreciated :) I have also started taking L-glutamine, 5-10 g a day, which has an anti-catabolic effect to prevent losing muscle while trying to reduce my body fat. Thanks for all your help ;)
Hi Ava!
I just recently got my first personal trainer about 3 weeks ago, and I think it has been the best money I ever spent.
Right now, my trainer has me lifting 3-4x a week, and I do this split: legs/glutes one day, biceps/chest one day, and triceps/back one day. We do abs every session, and I also do them on my off days. I used to do about 4 days of lifting for the 4-6 months previous to hiring my trainer, using a legs/arms one day and back/chest one day split 2x a week. Before I hired the trainer, I would use either a circuit routine or drop sets, and I always tried to change the exercises every so often to prevent my muscles from adapting.
Although my trainer has me lifting fewer days per week than I was previously, that is because he works me a lot harder ( to the point of exhaustion!!!) :D
I use both free weights and machines, although I probably use more free weights and dumbells. Machines are good for certain things though. My workouts take about 45 mins to 1 hour, and then I also do cardio on my off days.
My trainer kicks my a$$, but it is well worth it - I feel strong and I feel great about myself! ;D
I hope this helps!!!!
Portia
I have recently begun trying to watch my weight. I think the hardest part is controlling hunger. Ive taken advice to eat small meals throughout the day, and I do eat. But I am STILL hungry after dinner. How is it possible to not eat in the last few hours before bed? When I get home from work, Im famished. As an example - tonight for dinner (cause i know you all care about what I ate today) I had soup, salad, grilled chicken and rice...fruit, frozen yogurt... I came home and was still hungry. I had an orange...followed by some cereal....followed by soup....and with an appetite that wont quit - I had to have some fat free fig newtons. Thats alot of food to eat before bed, but its better than feeling hungry. After reading Britney's post on Xenadrine I dont think I will be injesting them. I have heard horror stories of girls getting sick from the pills containing effedrine......but who knows if the effedrine free ones are safe? Cigarettes were not always known to cause cancer...
Hey, Britney (or anyone else that knows the answer to this question):
So, by lifting heavier weights we mean to do less reps, but do them to exhaustion, right? So how many reps should you ideally be doing? I do 3 sets of 12 right now, and by the last one I'm kaput, but is it more efficient to maybe just do one set of much more weight?
Does anyone know how much weight I should stop at? I have always heard to add more weight to your lifting program every few months, but you can't do this forever.
I currently use 15 lb dumbells & a 25 lb bar. Should I keep upping this? Will I eventually hit a weight that never gets any easier?
I don't want to hurt myself, but I want to firm up a little more. I'm 5'0 and 95 lbs, should I lift the same or less than someone bigger? Please help, I'm confused.
??? ;D ??? ;D ???
Jasmine when you hit the weight you are comfortable with hun stay there. And only YOU will know. You don't want to keep climbing the ladder to heavier weights. You may hurt yourself if they get too heavy. Don't struggle. When you look in the mirror and say "yep i look like i want to now' all you have to do is a little maintence. Keep lifting the amount of weight you do at that time, say 3 times a week. And keep your cardio the same too. Along with eating what you want in moderation. DON"T DIET. If you stop lifting your weights, you will lose your muscle mass, and shrink back down to very little tone. ALSO, don't worry you are not gaining weight, muscle weighs more than fat...Thank god!!! But you will not weigh more per say, it's just fat is lose and flabby, muscle is dense and hard! All good. Also even while you sleep muscle can burn calories for you!!!
So you stop when you feel comfortable. When you reach your Happy weight just maintain what you have then by doing what you have been doing to get to that point!
Also go to any search engine...say Gogle and type in "exercise for beginners" or" toning up exercises: Type in what ever you want there until you find what YOU want.
I hope this helps ;) Pamela
PS want to firm a little more? when the weights you are lifting now get too light for you to lift move up a bit heavier. SLOWLY.
Pam is right! The scale means nothing! In fact, I usually weigh MORE when I look my best!
Jasmine, you have to constantly challenge your muscles by either increasing weight or alternating exercises in order to see gains in your exercise program. If you get the the point where you want to be and don't change anything, you'll hit a plateau. This means you are going to have to be EXTRA careful to make sure the other components of your routine (diet, cardio, flexibility) don't slip.
Collette, there is no set rule of how many reps or sets. However, I find myself bored to tears with 3 sets of 12 reps on every exercise. Do each set to exhaustion (where you cannot do another rep WITH GOOD FORM) If you are using poor form at rep 10, then stop, because you'll risk hurting yourself. Give the muscle 1 minute of rest (I take a stopwatch to the gym with me) and then do it again.
Also remember, a little bit of soreness the next day is okay, but if it goes away by the 2nd day you can work harder. Its called DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness. The best workouts I've ever had I wasn't sore the next day, but rather two days later the muscle fatigue set in.
B
When you are just getting into the weights it can be overwhelming and confusing, what should I do, what shouldn't I do etc. I think a personal trainer sounds like the best bet to learn. Portia how much does your trainer cost? Did you find one through your gym or elsewhere? Oh and britney, since you are familiar with 24 hr fitness...same gym I go to....how does the personal training work there? I am just curious do you pick from say a list of trainers with available time? I could just ask at the gym but I wouldnt want to seem rude if they wanted me to work with someone I didnt feel comfortable with ya know. I know I'm being silly LOL But just like I said above, I am a little overwhelmed in trying to get started. :) thanks