my fitness/weight loss thread

[Kamille]

 

and so far what I have learned in school is that people should do 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3 times a week for half an hour. But that is pretty general in order to stay healthy, it is not focused on people who want to tone or lose weight.

 

In Canada, the guidelines have recently been modified so that the recommended amount for adults 18-64 is 2.5 hours a week of moderate to vigorous activity. They specifically mention doing a mix of cardio and strength training. I've been doing that for the last 6 months, and I can't recommend it enough. I've been on vacation and slacking off a bit, but people have been commenting on how fit I look (friends and also the guys I meet from OLD, who say it with that look in their eyes.)

[tman666]

Thanks for the shout-out Hokie! I've been lurking around more lately without doing much posting... But alas, here is a thread I feel I can attempt to contribute to!

 

Eleanor - If your goal is to look more "toned", you should first understand what exactly the toned look is: a combination of low enough body fat percentage and high enough muscle mass.

 

When we are talking about "low enough" body fat percentage, we're generally talking about around 10-12% for males, and around 15-18% for females. Obviously, those numbers are far from being set in stone; they are general benchmarks for indicating the point where most people will start to see some abdominal definition, but where there is still enough fat mass being carried that they don't look completely shredded.

 

The other component of the toned look is muscle mass. Just as several in this thread have already mentioned, women do not produce enough natural testosterone to put on a lot of muscle mass. Many women fear stepping foot in the weight room because they equate lifting weights with images of bulky, man-faced female bodybuilders. Those bodybuilders did not achieve their look with weight training alone. Additional hormonal support is required to build and maintain such a combination of muscle mass and low body fat on a female. Lifting heavy weights alone will not naturally cause women to bulk up to anywhere near that extent. It's simply not possible, given the female hormone profile.

 

As such, some component of heavy compound lifting should be involved in your training. There is no substitute for heavy lifting when it comes to building muscle mass. While your training weights don't have to be maximal, they should be (in general) at least 70% of maximal for optimizing growth. Weights lighter than that can be used for training endurance, and explosive power (for example, the Dynamic Effort Method utilized in Westside training). Lighter weights can be a useful component in your training, but they cannot substitute for heavy weights. Optimal training generally incorporates both light and heavy loads with varying proportions depending on the goals of the individual.

 

There are three components of training that are important to understand: intensity, volume, and frequency.

 

Intensity refers to the amount of load being used. Some folks use the term to describe how difficult a particular activity is as well. In terms of training programming, however, intensity refers to the load.

 

Volume refers to the total amount of times a weight is lifted. For example, 4 sets of 15 reps has a total volume of 60 reps, as does 12 sets of 5. Even though the volume here is equal, chances are that the intensity of the exercise being performed for 12 sets of 5 reps will be greater since heavier weight will be able to be used.

 

Frequency refers to how often a muscle or lift is trained.

 

The important thing to remember is that a person cannot maximize all three of these components at the same time and have a viable training system that allows them to progress over time. This is due to limitations in recovery potential.

 

Managing fatigue and recovery is an essential component of effective training and long term progression. In addition to proper hydration, sleep, stress management, and nutrition, the training variables discussed above are managed in such a way that allows for the maximum amount of training stimulus while still permitting for recovery.

 

There are endless ways of setting up your training to accomplish this: full body (where all of the muscle groups are trained in a session), upper-lower splits (one day you train upper body, other day you train lower body), body part splits ("legs day", "arms day", "chest day", "back and shoulders day"), training splits by movements (squat day, deadlift day, bench day), etc. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but rather a condensed demonstration of the multitude of ways one can split up their training. Determining how you split your training should be dependent on your training goals and scheduling needs.

 

Nutrition is an other subject that a person can tinker with and obsess over until hell freezes over. The bottom line is that you'll have to experiment and find out what works best for you. The best nutrition plan is one that you can sustain for the long term (as a lifestyle) and accomplish your goals with.

 

The basics of fitness nutrition can be fairly easily explained by looking at your macronutrient breakdown, starting with protein. You should be taking in around 1 gram of protein per lb of body mass per day. If you weight 125 lbs, take in 125 grams of protein per day. I've found that hitting the 1 gram of protein/lb of bodyweight benchmark is by far the most important benchmark to hit. How you break down your fat and carbohydrate intake should be dependent on your food preferences and how hard you've trained that day. On training days, I recommend that your remaining calorie intake be predominantly complex carb based, while on non-training days, I recommend that you lower carb intake and get more calories from healthy fats (such as those found in coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, etc.).

 

Some people use food scales, log books, and meticulously track and record every calorie that goes into their bodies. It works wonders for some. For me personally, that route would drive me insane. I find that if I roughly track my protein intake (to make sure I hit my required 1 gram/lb/day), my life is much easier if I use my gym performance and the mirror as a guide. The results of your nutrition are based on a running average: no single meal (or even day) will have long term affects on your physique or performance. As such, my belief is that if a person tracks or journals their physical performance and how they look (weekly photos), that they'll be able to devote more energy to the fun things in life. Again, if a person needs to weigh and record every morsel of food and drink that passes their lips in order to reach their goals, that's fine, but it's by no means a universal requirement.

 

If you want to simplify things even more, simply divide your plate in half and fill one side with lean animal protein and the other side with vegetables. Repeat until you've hit your protein macro.

 

Well, I think I've gassed on enough for now. I would be happy to help you determine a good starting point for your training, but without knowing more about your current abilities or schedule requirements, I'd be wasting my time and yours by typing out a more comprehensive training plan at this point. Before writing a program for you, I'd probably want to know stuff like:

 

1) how many bodyweight only squats (down to at least parallel) can you do consecutively?

 

2) how many consecutive push ups?

 

3) how long can you perform a flexed arm hang?

 

4) how long can you perform a plank?

 

5) what is your training history? what is the extent of your experience using compound barbell lifts?

 

6) how many days per week can you train?

 

7) how much time can you devote to each training session?

 

Knowing those things would help me a lot in writing a program.

 

Some good, online resources:

 

Jen Comas Keck

Neghar Fonooni

Nia Shanks

Molly Galbraith

Julia Ladewski

Jordan Syatt

JCD Fitness

FitJerk

Bret Contreras

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's also the small matter of payment... If you do decide you want me to write a program for you, as compensation for my efforts, please PM me two (2) suitably high definition photos of your weenus.

[Emilia]

 

There's also the small matter of payment... If you do decide you want me to write a program for you, as compensation for my efforts, please PM me two (2) suitably high definition photos of your weenus.

 

haha I had to look this up

[xxoo]

I'd eat a small portion of that vodka pasta (sounds delish!), with some canellini beans or chicken breast on top for protein, and a heaping pile of spring greens with grapes and cherry tomatoes, lightly dressed. You could make something like the vodka pasta and eat from it for days, and have the chicken pre-cooked and diced to add, and the salad comes together in seconds.

 

Cereal and milk would be better for breakfast/snack than crackers and easy cheese (anything is better than easy cheese). Just as easy, but with more protein, fat, and fiber to fill you up. Add banana or berries for extra nutrition.

[johan]

Not sure why no one brought up the fact that sex is a great way to burn calories. At least for the man.

[eleanorhurting]

Thanks T-man.

 

Thank you for explaining about the body fat percentage. How do I know what mine is? I remember going to a nutritionist when I was younger and it was pretty high.

 

I have never lifted weights. My prior experience in "fitness" consists of zumba and spinning classes. I jog once or twice a week but I am so out of shape that I can barely do that.

 

Well this summer since I don't have school and I will be studying for a board exam, I can probably manage 3 times a week at the gym into my schedule.

 

I remember when we used to do abs at the end of zumba I could hold the plank for 1 minute (dying though) but that was 5 months ago so I don't know anymore.

 

I can do 10 boy push-ups without stopping

 

I dont know what the flexible arm thing is.

 

this was me at 115 pounds. I used to not work out at all. I am the one in the left. This is what I mean by toned.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n42/yohanis_2006/223278_503595265110_1648_n.jpg

 

this is the picture that made me realize I had definitely gotten flabby. This was 1 month ago.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n42/yohanis_2006/photo7.jpg

[xxoo]

I jog once or twice a week but I am so out of shape that I can barely do that.

 

How are you doing the Insanity program??

 

We are similar body types. All I need to do to look like your 115 photo is run 3-4x a week, 3-5 miles each time. It might be as easy as getting back into good running condition.

[Star Gazer]

you are right it isnt really a "diet"

 

To me diet means cutting out stuff (fried stuff, candy, alcohol)

 

Not necessarily. When I used the word diet, I meant "the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats." Your diet sucks. There's absolutely no nutritional value to it.

[eleanorhurting]

How are you doing the Insanity program??

 

We are similar body types. All I need to do to look like your 115 photo is run 3-4x a week, 3-5 miles each time. It might be as easy as getting back into good running condition.

 

I started it yesterday and I almost died. I am doing it with my sister so i guess that helps to keep pushing myself.

[Star Gazer]

I almost agree with T-Man... His BF percentages are way too low for women, IMO. Trust me, you don't need to be 15-18% to be toned. 15-18% on a woman is fitness competition level...

[eleanorhurting]

Not necessarily. When I used the word diet, I meant "the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats." Your diet sucks. There's absolutely no nutritional value to it.

 

yes, I am aware. In the process of modifying it.

 

Yes! I don't know if its because its been a really long time and I dont remember but I think the time I had it checked it was like 25% or something like that.

[tman666]

You, flabby???? ------->

 

A flexed arm hang is where you basically hold yourself up on a pull up bar with your arms flexed at 90 degrees. It's often used to test the upper body strength of females who may not have the upper body strength to do pull ups.

 

If you have 3 days a week to train, and your goal is to lose fat/tone up, I would definitely go with full body training sessions. This will allow you to train each muscle group with fairly high frequency, keep intensity high, and volume low. This has the added bonus of keeping your training sessions short.

 

Assuming you have access to a decent gym (with squat racks, barbells, dumbbells, pull up bar, etc.), you'll want to start learning the basic barbell lifts: squats, deadlift, bench press, and bent over rows. Other good ones to learn would be 1 arm dumbbell bent over rows, lunges, Romanian deadlifts, goblet squats, cable rows, etc. While there are obviously many, many exercises in existence, most are a variation of a squat, deadlift, press or row. If you can learn to safely perform those 4 movements on a barbell, you will be taking a huge step in the right direction. There are many videos on the internet that can help you with learning proper form.

 

Some cliff notes on form:

 

Deadlift: Start with your toes pointed straight ahead and with your feet slightly narrower than shoulder width. The barbell should be touching your shins. Keeping your back flat, bend back and down with your hips, grab the bar, and pull up and back. For now, practice keeping your back flat (neutral spine position) throughout the movement.

 

Squat: Keep the barbell tight across your upper back. If it's up on your neck, the bar is too high. Keep your upper back as tight as possible and stick your chest out. Begin by sitting back with your hips like you'd be sitting in a chair. Keep your knees out and tracking over your toes. A common mistake is to let your knees cave in, which is dangerous and mechanically disadvantageous. Again, keep a neutral spine throughout the movement. Squat to at least parallel.

 

Bench Press: Make sure your upper back is flexed and tight, and that your feet are planted flat on the ground. Your entire body should be in tension. When you lift the bar off of the rack, bring it straight down while keeping your elbows slightly tucked into your sides, versus being flared out.

 

Bent Over Rows: Using the same hand position that you used for bench press, start by pushing your hips back (maintaining a neutral spine) until your torso is at a 45 degree angle with the ground. Squeeze your upper back muscles and pull the barbell back and up into your body (likely around the bottom of your ribs).

 

If you have the cash, you might consider hiring a reputable trainer to show you these movements in the gym. Unfortunately, many trainers teach and perform these movements incorrectly, so cross check what they teach you with other sources. Proper form is important in keeping you safe and allowing you to get the most out of your training, so it's worth learning early on so you don't have to go back later down the road and try to correct long standing mistakes.

 

As far as setting up your training goes, I would recommend that you stick to a template of training one movement with high intensity, followed by training the other movements with lower intensity but greater volume. As each day progresses, you would rotate which movements you are training heavy and which ones you are training lighter.

 

For example:

 

Day 1:

 

Dynamic Warm Up

A) Deadlift - 10 sets of 3 reps, rest 45 seconds in between each set

 

B1) Push Up - 5 sets of 10

B2) Seated Cable Row - 5 sets of 10

 

C) Lying Flutter Kick - 4 sets of 30 kicks (for abs)

 

Day 2:

 

Dynamic Warm Up

 

A) Bench Press - 10 sets of 3 reps, rest 45 seconds in between each set

 

B) Lunges - 3 sets of 12 (each leg)

 

C1) Barbell Bent Over row - 4 sets of 12

C2) Bench Step Ups - 4 sets of 12 (each leg)

 

D) Ab Wheel-4 sets of 10

 

Day 3:

 

Dynamic Warm Up

 

A) Squat - 10 sets of 3 (45 seconds rest)

 

B1) Dumbbell Incline Bench Press - 5 sets of 5

B2) 90 deg. flexed arm hangs- 5 sets for as long as you can hold on

 

C) Plank- 4 sets of 45 seconds

 

The next week, you would repeat everything, except you'd perform 10 sets of 4 on the "A" sets (keeping the weight the same as the week 1). For the other exercises, you'd increase the weight used slightly, but keep the rep/set schemes the same. The third week, you'd perform 10 x 5 for "A" sets, and increase weight on the other exercises. On week 4, you start over using 10 x 3, but switch the exercises up. An easy way to do this would be to keep the "slots" the same for each day, but choose another variation of each exercise.

 

There are virtually endless ways that you could set up your training. The main points are that you want to keep your workouts intense, fast paced, and within the time frame of 45 minutes to an hour. Keep the heaviest and most technical lifts at the front end of your workouts (after properly warming up) to take advantage of your higher energy levels. Wash, rinse, and repeat!

 

As far as cardio goes, if you want to do you cardio on the same days that you lift, that's fine, but I would make sure that you do it after you're done lifting. Again, this goes to managing your energy levels and injury risk. Another option would be to simply do cardio on your off days from the gym. I have found that for fat loss, the best kind of cardio is the kind that you can do every day without cutting into your recovery abilities. For me personally, this is walking. Even just 20 minutes of incline walking on a treadmill every day can lean you out in a hurry, especially if you do it at the end of your workouts (depleted glycogen stores) or in a fasted state (first thing in the morning, for most people). I wouldn't go too nuts on the high intensity interval training, especially if your goal is simply to look good. One high intensity cardio session (such as sprints or calisthenics) per week is likely sufficient.

 

There's a saying in the fitness world: "everything works, but nothing works forever". Basically, even though I feel confident that the training outlined above will put you on a great starting point to reaching your goals, eventually your body will adapt and/or you'll get bored. Try to keep things fresh by rotating training styles once in a while. Some people will say that you have to keep your muscles "confused" by changing programs every 3-4 weeks. These people are bad to listen to. Don't "program hop". If a program or training style is allowing you make forward progression, stick with it until you stall. For example, I recently just switched back to a training style I have used extensively in the past after a 6 month long experiment with another style. Both styles have their strengths and weaknesses, and I have learned a lot about myself doing both.

 

I recommend that you stick with any program for at bare minimum 6 weeks. If after 6 weeks you're not taking steps in the direction you want to, then it's fine to switch it up. Before then, however, you may be jumping ship early. Again, you might hear differently from others, but in my experience, 6 weeks is a good benchmark.

 

You might want to check out "The New Rules of Lifting for Women". I've heard it is a good training/nutrition guideline for women who are both veterans and beginners to the weight room.

[tman666]

I almost agree with T-Man... His BF percentages are way too low for women, IMO. Trust me, you don't need to be 15-18% to be toned. 15-18% on a woman is fitness competition level...

 

Yeah, I may have undershot that a smidge...

 

I guess I was thinking "abs" but no "ab veins". Bodyfat percentage is a tricky game!

[YourHealthCoach247]

Well I keep complaining about having gained weight and being unable to lose it so I am going to force myself to keep a public diary of what I eat and how I work out to see if I finally force myself to stick to the changes I need to make so I lose weight.

 

Height: 5'5

weight today: 126 pounds

goal weight: 115 pounds

 

breakfast:

 

4 crackers with easy cheese, water

 

lunch:

home-made (by me yay!) vodka cream pasta with tomatoes, water

 

snack:

4 crackers wtih easy cheese

 

dinner:

another portion of my vodka cream pasta with tomatoes, water

 

I wonder how bad the pasta is. I made it from a cook book i bought to teach myself to cook about a month ago. It had tomatos, shallots, basil, half a cup of cream, 1 can of chicken broth and 1 cup of vodka, 1 tbs of butter ( I used reduced fat) and 2 tbs of olive oil

I guess the worst thing was the pasta which I calculated the whole thing probably had like 1,500 calories according to what the box said.

So I ate twice, my mom ate and there is still a lot left over so I probably ate between my two portions a little bit less than half of the whole thing.

 

Let me know if that was a bad choice

 

fitness:

I walked for 15 minutes around my block and then I did an insanity video.

Heyy There! You're definitely missing major protein in your diet. Your meals are lacking major nutrients that your body needs to function efficiently. There are ways to make sure that you're receiving your recommended daily allowance of nutrients without consuming the unwanted calories that usually comes along with it. Have you considered a Healthy Meal Replacement shake? also, your snacks should be high in lean protein (i.e. almonds, greek yogurt, string cheese, boiled eggs, tuna...)

 

I'm a Health & wellness coach so feel free to shoot me an email if you would like more personalized advice on what you should do to help you reach your health goal.

[YourHealthCoach247]

I started it yesterday and I almost died. I am doing it with my sister so i guess that helps to keep pushing myself.

I agree! Instead of a diet, you really want a lifestyle change. Diets are very short lived and often result in gaining all the weight you lost, plus some, once you return back to your normal eating habits. Work on revamping your eating habits which includes eating breakfast within your first 30 mins of being so that you're jumpstarting your metabolism. Then having 2-3 lean protein snacks in between meals. Email me and we can take more.

[Star Gazer]

I guess I was thinking "abs" but no "ab veins". Bodyfat percentage is a tricky game!

 

Yeah. A gal doesn't have to have visibly cut abs to be toned.

[eleanorhurting]

ok day 2. I know its still not great, but, some improvements.

Its not that hard now because I have this week off to study for finals and im basically lounging around the house and in my room all day but I have no idea how I am going to do this next week when I am in Orlando, Fl with my family! Oh funnel cakes...

 

Breakfast:

1 piece of integral bread with low fat butter

1 apple

 

snack: (this was bad. I was craving something sweet).

 

6 sugar free vanilla cookies

 

Lunch:

 

a boost meal replacement, low sugar (my dad has pre-diabetes and now the house is stocked with sugar-free stuff).

 

Dinner:

 

Codfish with potatoes and a spinach salad with feta cheese and a balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil dressing that I made.

 

I just had dinner and its 6 so im trying to have dinner early.

 

Workout: I did 20 minutes of an insanity workout video before I almost passed out .Today's was much harder than yesterdays.

[cerridwen]

I can't wait for Star to show up.

[writergal]

Great but could be even greater.

 

For breakfast, would you consider doing a protein shake and piece of fruit instead of bread? You can make it yourself in a blender or buy it pre-made. It's great if you don't have much time for breakfast in the morning.

 

Snack: Yowsa! A great snack with just as much sugar - watermelon, strawberries/raspberries/blueberries with cream.

 

Lunch: Maybe do that shake in the morning for breakfast and try to have protein with a salad (ham, egg, cheese, etc.) like in a garden or chef salad you can buy pre-made or make yourself.

 

But your day 2 is a better start towards a healthier lifestyle. I know what it's like to be a grad student and try to balance class, internship, study time with meal time. It's not easy but you can do it!

 

ok day 2. I know its still not great, but, some improvements.

Its not that hard now because I have this week off to study for finals and im basically lounging around the house and in my room all day but I have no idea how I am going to do this next week when I am in Orlando, Fl with my family! Oh funnel cakes...

 

Breakfast:

1 piece of integral bread with low fat butter

1 apple

 

snack: (this was bad. I was craving something sweet).

 

6 sugar free vanilla cookies

 

Lunch:

 

a boost meal replacement, low sugar (my dad has pre-diabetes and now the house is stocked with sugar-free stuff).

 

Dinner:

 

Codfish with potatoes and a spinach salad with feta cheese and a balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil dressing that I made.

 

I just had dinner and its 6 so im trying to have dinner early.

 

Workout: I did 20 minutes of an insanity workout video before I almost passed out .Today's was much harder than yesterdays.

[Emilia]

I have never lifted weights. My prior experience in "fitness" consists of zumba and spinning classes. I jog once or twice a week but I am so out of shape that I can barely do that.

 

Well this summer since I don't have school and I will be studying for a board exam, I can probably manage 3 times a week at the gym into my schedule.

 

I remember when we used to do abs at the end of zumba I could hold the plank for 1 minute (dying though) but that was 5 months ago so I don't know anymore.

 

I can do 10 boy push-ups without stopping

 

I dont know what the flexible arm thing is.

 

this was me at 115 pounds. I used to not work out at all. I am the one in the left. This is what I mean by toned.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n42/yohanis_2006/223278_503595265110_1648_n.jpg

 

this is the picture that made me realize I had definitely gotten flabby. This was 1 month ago.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n42/yohanis_2006/photo7.jpg

 

You are a very pretty girl and in my opinion look better with some weight on. You look more like a woman rather than a girl. As others said, under 20% body fat is pretty low for a woman, personally I don't find too much definition that attractive as it's not feminine.

 

Hope tman's advice can help you, I started off in a similar way as you in terms of fitness but running comes very quickly once you make the effort. It took me only about 2 weeks to feel much more comfortable. With weights it was about a month. It's really nothing in terms of time scale.

 

You have a nice physique already so no need to feel too pressured. Just give it that push for the first month or so, it will get so much easier, trust me.

[FitChick]

Dinner:

 

Codfish with potatoes and a spinach salad with feta cheese and a balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil dressing that I made.

 

 

That's the only decent meal on your list.

 

Keep it simple -- eat meat/fish/eggs and vegetables at every meal. Fruit is a treat. A half-ounce of 72% dark chocolate is a treat. A small handful of almonds is a treat.

 

If you need help planning a menu, google Zone Diet or Mediterranean diet and tailor it to your needs. This isn't rocket science.

[johan]

Also don't forget to get the RDA of fried chicken.

[eleanorhurting]

well ever since i started eating veggies and fruits on a regular basis I am going to the bathroom better (I have always been constipated). So the bananas for breakfast and the spinach salads for lunch with fish (I had salmon today) are paying off.

 

I think I have pooped like 3 days in a row now. That is so unusual for me. I usually go 2-3 times a week and I have had to resort to laxatives and stool softeners before.

 

Oh yeah sorry girls poop. Sorry if I burst anyones bubble

[USMCHokie]

well ever since i started eating veggies and fruits on a regular basis I am going to the bathroom better (I have always been constipated). So the bananas for breakfast and the spinach salads for lunch with fish (I had salmon today) are paying off.

 

I think I have pooped like 3 days in a row now. That is so unusual for me. I usually go 2-3 times a week and I have had to resort to laxatives and stool softeners before.

 

Oh yeah sorry girls poop. Sorry if I burst anyones bubble

 

That's hot.

[tman666]

well ever since i started eating veggies and fruits on a regular basis I am going to the bathroom better (I have always been constipated). So the bananas for breakfast and the spinach salads for lunch with fish (I had salmon today) are paying off.

 

I think I have pooped like 3 days in a row now. That is so unusual for me. I usually go 2-3 times a week and I have had to resort to laxatives and stool softeners before.

 

Oh yeah sorry girls poop. Sorry if I burst anyones bubble

 

See? You're losing weight already!