exercise support thread - take two

[glamgirl]

Ok I did the elipitical today. Great workout BH thanks for the tip. How many days per week BH do you recommend cardio? I am doing 2 days of cardio and 3 days of weight training. Weekends off or light stuff with the kids. Thoughts!

[forward]

Cardio today. Feeling good!

[Lostforwords]

Forward-Try some free body weight exercising. This is from my home fitness for men blog, but women can do it also. I suggest doing it only three times in a week. All you need is some outside steps;

Start with a 1.2 mile jog. Luckily for me, I live on a dead street with what appears to be the perfect grade for a strenuous jog. The road has a vary consistent 5% grade through out its 1600 foot length. So I start at the top and run down hill for 1600 feet and then start the climb back to the top….doing the loop twice in the 5 mph category (my knees really start to ache going any faster).

Immediately once I am done with my jogging circuit…I switch to my free body weight circuit which goes as follows;

5 (per leg) single knees rises on a step-I am tall, so I use the third step which is basically 27″ above the ground. I plant one foot on the third step and the other on the ground. I then proceed to use the one leg and rise so that both feet are on the third step and then return the lower foot back to the ground. This is great for core (keeping balance), strength (rising my body mass with one leg 27″), and stretching.

15 incline push ups-I go into a traditional push-up stance with my hands on the second step (working chest muscles at a different angle) and pump them out. I can always switch which step I use (or not at all) to get a different angle on the pectoral muscles.

10 tricep dips-Hand placement depends on your height. I use the third step and place my hands behind me on the step. My legs and feet hang off the step in a sitting type of pose, but are not to be used. I like this exercise because you can instantly feel the workout in the triceps and also get some shoulder, lat, and back movement.

10 (per leg) standing crunches-I refer to this as the “head lock to knee” movement. Standing straight up with legs slightly wider than my shoulders and arms up I bring one leg cross body and up (higher than waist) while bringing the opposite elbow down to my knee. This is great for core in so many ways.

10(per leg) lunges-I place one foot one the second step and one behind me on the ground. I then proceed to drop my body (watch over extending you knees) down so that my upper leg is in a very deep position and then use that leg to rise up out of the lunge.

I go through the free bodyweight workout circuit three times without breaks between exercises. The total workout is usually done in 30 minutes and I feel it when I am done.

[braveheart]

Glamgirl, I recommend cardio 5 days a week, 30-60 min. sessions at a time. Vary your speed and intensity. If you do that, weight train, and keep the diet in check, you will shed any excess fat you want to get rid of!!!

[glamgirl]

Ok Chiro says to ease up on the heavy lifting. I have thrown my back out twice in the past few weeks. I will listen to him and use lighter weights more reps and cut some of the exercises he recommended I not do. Just when I was seeing some real results. Oh well I will up my cardio too. It's just that I hate cardio. Off to the gym!

[glamgirl]

BH any thoughts on reading body fat percent. I have one of those scales that reads it, but scale is really old and don't think it is accurate anymore.

I was going to pick up a hand held one at bed bath and beyond for around $30. I have a few friends that have that one. Thoughts on that?

To me body fat percent is more telling than a number on the scale since I am building muscles.

[forward]

I'm feeling pretty good--for whatever reason the cardio made me very tired this morning so I took a nap! I am up to 25 minutes of cardio, every other day, plus the yoga and basic arm exercises w/weights. This is pretty good for me; I've never tried anything like this before.

I am hoping that I will get a real boost to my skin from this. I noticed some of that but would like more, of course. I have never done this sort of thing before, so I don't know how my body will reaction....

Guess I will now start the more extensive weight workout--not just the triceps.

Probably moving from 5 to 10 pounds does not sound like much, but again, I have never done anything much athletic so I am pleased with myself.

[glamgirl]

Way to go forward! You might want to bump up to 8 lbs instead of 10. It may not seem like much but 10 can be heavy. I am doing a ton of reps with 8 lbs. I am using 8 lb weights and I really worked it on Fri and my arms are still sore.

I am doing lunges and squats with weights. Wow, what a way to work the legs. I did those on Wed and my legs were still sore on Sat. Feel pretty good today.

My weekends are my rest days, but I feel like I want a workout, so might just go do a light jog with the dog and kids.

I love the fatburners though. Again I stopped for a few days and then started again and can really see the fat sheading off my abdoman.

3 lbs to go for my short term goal and 13 lbs to my final goal. I like to break up the goals in 5 lb increments since that keeps me motivated and it doesn't seem so far out of reach.

[glamgirl]

This is a shake recipe I use to start my day. I usually add sugar free syrup instead of the vanilla:

Antioxidant Infused Berry Smoothy:


This smoothy is a good option for those of you who are looking for a quick afternoon snack to help get you through your afternoon or who are in need of a fast meal replacement. Eat with one ounce of nuts for a complete meal.

Ingredients:


1 cup sugar free fruit flavored yogurt
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 scoop vanilla flavored protein powder
1/2 cup milk
2 ice cubes
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:


Pulse blend the ice cubes until crushed. Next add in the yogurt, milk, vanilla extract and blend again. Toss in frozen mixed berries and protein powder, blending a final time until desired consistency is reached.

[braveheart]

Glam. I am not a big fan of fat counters or calipers. I find that unless they are medical grade, they aren't very accurate. If I were you, I would weigh in and go more by the size of your clothes rather than your weight. Weight can be deceptive. I wear a 50 coat, 36 pants, and have a bodyweight of 255 lbs.