I am trying to get back in shape to where I use to be but it's not as easy as it was 5 years ago and I'm frustrated! legs are the biggest problem and now lower tummy is hard to tighten. Any suggestions for great thigh exercises as well as hamstrings? I lost 6 pounds in 1 month so now I weigh 133 and I'm 5'2, which is what I was 5 years ago but I was hard as a rock and now I'm not as tight, btw, I am 29 years old.
Here is the routine I have been doing for the past month: 3 days/week strenght training entire body for 1 hour, 4 days/week cardio for 10 minutes 1 minute intervals of slow (4.5mph) then fast (6.5mph) warming up and cooling down for 3 minutes at 3.3 mph.
trying to get back to where is use to be....
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
-
fitoverforty
- VETERAN
- Posts: 3543
- Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:47 pm
Re: trying to get back to where is use to be....
I hate to tell ya, it only gets harder as we get older! Metabolism slows down (mine is nearly non existent 
)
You sound like you have a good workout plan, maybe it is time to up it a notch - add more weight or try different variations.
Leg exercises like lunges and squats are great for the thighs and hamstrings. Reverse crunches, bicycle crunches, planks are all good for the tummy area. Intervals are great, maybe you could add a longer steady run one day a week?
Also, diet is every bit as important as exercise. Maybe you could list what you eat on a given day, from breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. And we could help you finetune any problems areas you may have there.
Hang in there! Focus on the positive things...you lost 6 lbs. already - great job!
)You sound like you have a good workout plan, maybe it is time to up it a notch - add more weight or try different variations.
Leg exercises like lunges and squats are great for the thighs and hamstrings. Reverse crunches, bicycle crunches, planks are all good for the tummy area. Intervals are great, maybe you could add a longer steady run one day a week?
Also, diet is every bit as important as exercise. Maybe you could list what you eat on a given day, from breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. And we could help you finetune any problems areas you may have there.
Hang in there! Focus on the positive things...you lost 6 lbs. already - great job!
Re: trying to get back to where is use to be....
Thanks for the help!
I do pretty well with eating during the week M-F but on the weekends is another story! ekkks, Here is a sample day of what I usually eat M-F:
10am- I wake up
10:30am- 2 slices of whole wheat bread with an egg (including yolk) made with non-stick spray
11:00-12:00- I do strength training (bottle of water)
1:00- salad (lettuce, green pepper, onions, cucumber, and tomato) with chicken breast (1 breast) or a boiled egg and 10 crutons (love crutons) with either balsamic vinagerette or red vinager &olive oil dressing for dipping. I will also have a fruit no-fat yogart (90 calories) or a piece of fruit like a kiwi.
3pm- small dunkin donuts coffee with skim milk, sometimes i'll have 1 sugar and sometime I won't have any sugar.
3:30- I'm off to work till 12am! I drink about 2 more bottles of water the rest of the night
5:30- break time so i will have either a non-fat fruit yogart or a peanut butter sandwich (1 tbls peanut butter with 2 slices of whole wheat bread)
7:30- lunch time: 2 days/ week i"ll have fish (haddock & salmon, baked), 2 days i'll have chicken, and 1 day i'll have beef- all with a small salad or broccoli and a peice of fruit. i will also have some green tea
10pm- break time: i will have fruit like tonight i"m having 1 cup of fresh cut papaya.
12:30- I'm home from work and i have a bowl of cereal (1 cup of bran flakes w/ 1 cup of skim milk)
1pm- I"m off to bed!
The weekends, I end up going out and having drinks. I will have like red wine, mixed drinks, or maybe shots! I also go out to eat to a restaurant on saturdays (mashed potatoes and ribs!) and on sundays i'll eat pizza! I know i need more will power on the weekend because on mondays I feel it!
Any suggestions on alcohol consumption and can I have a cheat meal per week on the weekends or should I still eat what I do during the week.
All-in-all I lost 2 more pounds so that's a total of 8 pounds in a month and a half but it's weird because I was 132 about 5 years ago and was hard as a rock but now legs and lower abdominal area is having a hard time tightening. The upper back of legs are slightly bumpy from cellulite
I do pretty well with eating during the week M-F but on the weekends is another story! ekkks, Here is a sample day of what I usually eat M-F:
10am- I wake up
10:30am- 2 slices of whole wheat bread with an egg (including yolk) made with non-stick spray
11:00-12:00- I do strength training (bottle of water)
1:00- salad (lettuce, green pepper, onions, cucumber, and tomato) with chicken breast (1 breast) or a boiled egg and 10 crutons (love crutons) with either balsamic vinagerette or red vinager &olive oil dressing for dipping. I will also have a fruit no-fat yogart (90 calories) or a piece of fruit like a kiwi.
3pm- small dunkin donuts coffee with skim milk, sometimes i'll have 1 sugar and sometime I won't have any sugar.
3:30- I'm off to work till 12am! I drink about 2 more bottles of water the rest of the night
5:30- break time so i will have either a non-fat fruit yogart or a peanut butter sandwich (1 tbls peanut butter with 2 slices of whole wheat bread)
7:30- lunch time: 2 days/ week i"ll have fish (haddock & salmon, baked), 2 days i'll have chicken, and 1 day i'll have beef- all with a small salad or broccoli and a peice of fruit. i will also have some green tea
10pm- break time: i will have fruit like tonight i"m having 1 cup of fresh cut papaya.
12:30- I'm home from work and i have a bowl of cereal (1 cup of bran flakes w/ 1 cup of skim milk)
1pm- I"m off to bed!
The weekends, I end up going out and having drinks. I will have like red wine, mixed drinks, or maybe shots! I also go out to eat to a restaurant on saturdays (mashed potatoes and ribs!) and on sundays i'll eat pizza! I know i need more will power on the weekend because on mondays I feel it!
Any suggestions on alcohol consumption and can I have a cheat meal per week on the weekends or should I still eat what I do during the week.
All-in-all I lost 2 more pounds so that's a total of 8 pounds in a month and a half but it's weird because I was 132 about 5 years ago and was hard as a rock but now legs and lower abdominal area is having a hard time tightening. The upper back of legs are slightly bumpy from cellulite
-
fitoverforty
- VETERAN
- Posts: 3543
- Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:47 pm
Re: trying to get back to where is use to be....
Yes, your M-F meal plan looks pretty good. A few things I would suggest would be on your PB sandwich (I assume that is on WW bread?) make sure it is all natural PB (the kind you have to stir and refrigerate) it is SO much better for you. I made the switch from reg. PB to all natural about a month ago and I love it!
Another suggestion: after 10 p.m. try not to have any carbs or sugar - stick with almonds, peanuts, LF string cheese for snacks.
12:30 a.m. meal - instead of cereal maybe you could eat a scrambled or boiled egg with a slice of deli ham or maybe chicken breast.
Now for the weekends......ha! you knew that was coming, eh? Alcohol is "empty" calories no nutrition, and can lead to making poor food choices later...I used to come in from a night out with friends (back in single days...a hundred years ago!
) and raid the fridge, eating every thing in sight, then going straight to bed, bad....bad. So, if going out , start by limiting the drinks and replacing every other one with water - oh gosh....shots! head hurts just thinking about those! 
Pizza isn't all that bad if it is done right. Do you eat the pizza out or at home? Consider buying a WW pre-baked pizza shell and building your own healthier version, topping it with lots of fresh veggies and some chicken breast, low fat cheese, etc. - that way you can have something you like, but in a healthier version.
I think one cheat meal a week is okay, just be careful that it doesn't slide into a whole weekend of bad eating (been there, done that!) Just try to keep in mind when the weekend is nearing that you don't want all that healthy eating and working out you have done to be slowly chipped away with every "bad" meal you eat.
3 steps forward, 2 steps back kind of thing. Hope some of this helps!
One of the hardest things I have had to realize is that as I have gotten older, what worked for me a few years ago, doesn't work the same anymore. In the past, I could cut back on sweets for a week or two and lose 5 lbs., but now I have to work 3 times as hard to lose half of that. So I understand what you are saying and best advice for that would be - don't look back and try to recreate a body you had then, just work on where you are now and make it the best it can be, work on it faithfully, give it your absolute best effort and the results will be the perfect body for who you are today!
Another suggestion: after 10 p.m. try not to have any carbs or sugar - stick with almonds, peanuts, LF string cheese for snacks.
12:30 a.m. meal - instead of cereal maybe you could eat a scrambled or boiled egg with a slice of deli ham or maybe chicken breast.
Now for the weekends......ha! you knew that was coming, eh? Alcohol is "empty" calories no nutrition, and can lead to making poor food choices later...I used to come in from a night out with friends (back in single days...a hundred years ago!
) and raid the fridge, eating every thing in sight, then going straight to bed, bad....bad. So, if going out , start by limiting the drinks and replacing every other one with water - oh gosh....shots! head hurts just thinking about those! Pizza isn't all that bad if it is done right. Do you eat the pizza out or at home? Consider buying a WW pre-baked pizza shell and building your own healthier version, topping it with lots of fresh veggies and some chicken breast, low fat cheese, etc. - that way you can have something you like, but in a healthier version.
I think one cheat meal a week is okay, just be careful that it doesn't slide into a whole weekend of bad eating (been there, done that!) Just try to keep in mind when the weekend is nearing that you don't want all that healthy eating and working out you have done to be slowly chipped away with every "bad" meal you eat.
3 steps forward, 2 steps back kind of thing. Hope some of this helps!
One of the hardest things I have had to realize is that as I have gotten older, what worked for me a few years ago, doesn't work the same anymore. In the past, I could cut back on sweets for a week or two and lose 5 lbs., but now I have to work 3 times as hard to lose half of that. So I understand what you are saying and best advice for that would be - don't look back and try to recreate a body you had then, just work on where you are now and make it the best it can be, work on it faithfully, give it your absolute best effort and the results will be the perfect body for who you are today!
Re: trying to get back to where is use to be....
Thanks alot for your suggestions, there were alot of good ideas that I will definitely use from now on! I have never tried all natural PB before but it sounds like something I could really get into. (I do have whole wheat bread with PB btw). I am also going to try and make a home-made pizza on sundays instead of ordering from dominos starting this weekend. Also, I have never thought about drinking water in between drinks- what a great idea! I'll stick to red wine but limit the drinks thou.
You are so right about the 3 steps forward and then 2 steps back- the weekend indulgences aren't worth it!
I wasn't sure who was going to reply because I am new here and this is first post- I like this site though. I and have also incorporated some of the ab and leg exercises into regime, they have been very effective! I'll keep you posted on progress
You are so right about the 3 steps forward and then 2 steps back- the weekend indulgences aren't worth it!
I wasn't sure who was going to reply because I am new here and this is first post- I like this site though. I and have also incorporated some of the ab and leg exercises into regime, they have been very effective! I'll keep you posted on progress