5'3/F/137lbs..advice on losing pls.

Which workout routine or program is best for your fitness goal? Post your programs here!

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tia_ga
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5'3/F/137lbs..advice on losing pls.

Post by tia_ga »

I would like to lose quite a bit of weight I am at 31% body fat and I want to get that down.
i want to be toned. possibly weighting around 120-125- but really depends on when i feel comfortable with body.
I need a bit of help on cardio workout...i'm not sure how much cardio I should be doing right now- if I should be doing 30 minutes or 1 hour. I love to run and I could do it for an hour+ I just heard that cardio makes you lose muscle which slows down your metabolism which is not good for weight loss... so i’m a bit confused.

I will be doing weights as well..Right now I am just working full time and have no other serious commitments so I could invest 3 hours at the gym daily.

I also need help with ab workouts- I want to eventually have a six pack (when I flex).

I would also like to make butt nod legs thick (muscle)...so I also need a bit of help on what exercises to do for this.

Thank you and any advice is greatly appreciated.:)
tia_ga
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Post by tia_ga »

TYPO sorry.... 167lbs
swanso5
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Post by swanso5 »

- your right about the cardio...do it harder not longer
- you only need an hour day oo
- i think you need a little overhaul of your prgoram

training - search the waterbury method by chad waterury

food - go to diet section and rd "read before potsing..." at the top
vamp
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Post by vamp »

The "read this before posting" sticky is in the diet forum and is great advice. Don't be aftraid of the weights, lift heavy and hard and using proper form. Don't worry you won't "she-hulk", that would take years upon years and a very large amount of suppliments and drugs and so on. The reason you won't "she-hulk" is because you are estrogene based as opposed to testosterone based like "ug me man". Testosterone is required for large muscle growth.

Cardio- its opinion of 1/2 hour to 45 minutes is great, and the more you do interval style like sprints the better!

Cheers and welcome tia_ga
tia_ga
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Post by tia_ga »

hey swanso just to clarify you said "your right about the cardio...do it harder not longer
- you only need an hour day oo"

so i do 1 hour a day of cardio?
and for how many days of the week?
i also like to run so what would be the results if i did it say 6 days or 7 days a week- it really helps me with stress so i just want to know, will this be harmful for weight loss progress and or muscles? if so, how many days max would i be able to do it in the week. i will also be lifting weights while doing cardio.

thank you
this is all very helpful!
swanso5
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Post by swanso5 »

- that's 1hr of ttoal exercise a day, not cardio...cardio only 20mins a day, no more...but 20 HARD mins

- do wts 3 x 45mins/week and cardio 3 x 20mins/week

- running is energy efficient meaning the more you do it the less energy you need to perform the same amount of work...this is why wts are best
tia_ga
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Post by tia_ga »

thanks a lot swanso and vamp!
i will try to do this and let you know how it works out for me
Ronbell
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Post by Ronbell »

From what I heard losing muscle mass from doing cardio is overhyped. Just make sure you have a weight training program in there as well. Sprint style cardio sessions are good as long as you're able to maintain a high enough heart rate to actually be burning the calories.

Also I've heard that 3x a week is also a myth. That it's sufficient for maintaining current aerobic fitness, not necessarily for gains. Do with whatever makes you comfortable. IMO
DianaB
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Post by DianaB »

Ronbell wrote:From what I heard losing muscle mass from doing cardio is overhyped. Just make sure you have a weight training program in there as well. Sprint style cardio sessions are good as long as you're able to maintain a high enough heart rate to actually be burning the calories.

Also I've heard that 3x a week is also a myth. That it's sufficient for maintaining current aerobic fitness, not necessarily for gains. Do with whatever makes you comfortable. IMO
Be very careful about generalizations here Ron. There is no magic formula that applies to every trainee. If a person is doing full body compounds 3x a week, that is enough for muscle for gains, providing that the resistance is sufficient for the trainee. Remember, gains occur during the recovery period, not the time spent in the gym. There are 4 main variable at play that will determine whether gains are possible in any individual:
Nutrition
Training
Recovery/Sleep
Stress Management
As for loosing muscle via cardio activities, again, it depends on the duration of the cardio and the resistance program that is being followed. I'd venture to say that doing a shitload of isolation lifts with below par weight and then running for an hour is going to have some effect on muscle loss.
Doing what you are comfortable with is not the best advice. Breaking out of your comfort zone and working a bit harder by learning lifts you do NOT like will challenge the body and promote growth.
tia_ga
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Post by tia_ga »

Thanks everyone, i am definately going to try a bit of everything.
i will def. bring down cardio to 30 minutes of sprints/intervals and weight training i will also stop going to the gym 6 days a week.- and ofcourse taking protein shakes after workouts

i feel so dissapointed because i went to gym today where they did a fitness assessment on me and i totally sucked! anyway they told me i needed to get a personal trainer ,which is great but its an expense that i am unable to get myself into at the moment- anyway these guys basically told me that i would be wasting time if i didn't get a PT which pissed me off and also got hopes down.

however, the advice here is great and im am ready to try this..
thanks again everyone.
vamp
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Post by vamp »

tia-ga,

They're after your money, back away slowly without sudden moves, they are like rabid dogs and startle easily. LOL.

OK hun research Waterbury Method for weights, any unknown excercises you can see demonstrated on youtube if you look them up.

Six days a week is fine, 3 weight days, 3 sprint/interval days. Interval or sprint training is hard work, so doing them opposite weight days you might find it easier on the body overall.

your diet a bit as mentioned earlier and in a few months time you will probably be in better shape than those monkeys telling you "that without a PT you'll never get healthy or thin or strong, etc.........." Don't waste your money!

Cheers
tia_ga
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Post by tia_ga »

LOL vamp.

thanks ill take a look at the waterbury method again- i looked at it before but was completely confused so i will youtube them.
thanks!
vamp
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Post by vamp »

:) I have not done waterbury method myself although swanso recommends it highly.

"The important thing is to use compound movements.
1 – Horizontal Upper Body Pulling (Row variations)
2 – Horizontal Upper Body Pushing (Bench Press and Push Up variations)
3 – Vertical Upper Body Pulling (Pull Up, Chin Up and Pulldown variations)
4 – Vertical Upper Body Pushing (Shoulder Press variations)
5 – Hip Dominant Lower Body (Deadlifts, High Step Up and Long Stride Lunge variations)
6 – Quad Dominant Lower Body (Squat, Low Step Up and Short Stride Lunge variations)" (copied from earlier post by swanso)


you can add in arm exercises like curls or tricep presses
you could add in some calf raises
you could add in some core work like plank and bridge, I reccommend you stay away from weighted side bends as they will thicken your midsection


if you did the six above plus bicep barbell curl, tricep kickbacks, calf raises, toes on 2 - 25 lb plates,(please note that these groups are worked with the above excercises and are to be added only if you feel you want to add them) and plank 30 sec hold 30 sec rest (x3) and bridge for 20 -30 reps x3 with 1 minute rest you would be having a very well rounded and intense workout at 3 sets of 10 reps, 3 days a week. Your core is also worked during the 6 excercises above and only add these if you feel you want the extra core work, although they are not necessarily needed some people like working their core a little more direct during their workouts.

On your off days you could do 1/2 hour sprints or intervals. For example, current intervals are every 2 mins I do a 30 sec. sprint. So on 2, 4, 6, etc. minutes on the elyptical I go over 90% for 30sec on level 15 then the next 1 1/2 minutes go easy at level 6 or 7 at about 50% with no arm action. I do a five minute walk on the treadmill before and after to limber up and get the blood flowing or cool down and stretch after the workout, so total time is about 50 minutes or so. eventual goal is get to 1 min hard 2 min easy than do a 1:1 min ratio.

Cheers tia-ga
J_Flow
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Post by J_Flow »

All the Waterbury workouts are here: Waterbury Workouts

But since you want fat loss, then follow the 10x3 for Fat Loss
swanso5
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Post by swanso5 »

arms and calves definately not required..post what you're not sure of with the waterbury method
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