Help with choosing a work out routine

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beatriz05

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I am a 20 year old female, only 5'1 tall.
My question to all of you is this,
I need help choosing a good routine for when i go to the gym. It seems that every time i go (4 times a week). I end up doing the same thing.
30 min Eliptical, high impact.
10-15 minute treadmill or track running, mid impact (bad knee, i need to watch it).
Some dumbell work (20 lbs).

This has worked great for my initial start of fitness, but now i dont feel as intense of a work out.

My goals are:
-To loose body fat
-To tone my arm muscles (i have them i just need tone)
-Define abs. My core is strong but the flab covers it all up.

I just dont have a direct plan i follow and i think that descourages me to go any higher in my impact..i just dont know where to go.

AS far as diet goes, i eat about 1500 calories a day, full of vegetables and fruits, not much dairy and no trans or saturated fats at all.

I know i have the potential and the goal but i dont have the means.
PLEASE ADVICE!
Thank you.
 
Hi, I used to go to gym 3-4 times a week and then I stopped seeing progress. I wanted to try something else so after research on internet I found this: I managed to lose 5kgs and shape up (I look I lost more) in two months with bodyrock tv and The Y plan body confidence DVD. I exercised 6 times a week...changing every day. I chose these two things because these are short exercises, usually 20 minutes a day, so you always find a time for it. I have always had problem with arms and abs and this really helped...
 
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Thanks Fitja buy videos aren't an option for me. I need something I can do at the gym.

I have been reading up on other threads and i have learned that I need to do weights before cardio which will burn more fat. So I'm gonna try that for a while.
 
Hello,

I think I can definitely help you.

they key to losing weight and having tone muscles is high intensity resistance training. Now, when I say high intensity, This does not mean you have to run your self into the ground like many other programs will have you do. You need to be smart about it.

My suggestion for anyone who wants to lose weight and tone is to use complex training.

Complex training is a great way to tone and and lose weight.

Complexes are performed with a single weight that can be used for several exercises.

I suggest this as a beginner complex

Squat 8 reps
squat and press 8 reps
push press 8 reps

Doing 3-4 sets will be good. Take 1-2 minute break in between your sets.

Let me know what you think of this, and if you have any other questions.

Danny
 
are you confused to chosing the best workout routine for your health.i suggest you what i do.i get up early at the morning and go out for a walk.when return home drink a glass of water and then after two hours eat light breakfast.and at the evening i do the same thing.thus i am fit.you can do the same and see what happened.i am sure you will get the positive result.
 
Kevinmacdonald,
that is something i dont have time for OR want to do. I want to tone up.

and Danny is there an website i can refer for about complex training, because i have heard a lot of different work outs but never this.
 
All of your goals basically refer to losing body-fat, which is best achieved through intense work-outs and small calorie deficit.

First priority is to figure out what your basic BMR is. I wouldn't believe any of those numbers, because there are simply far too many factors and variables that influence the amount of calories you need/day, but it works as a nice basic guideline.

If you want to lose weight in a controlled manner, stay at about 200 calorie deficit. That will force your body to go after its fat reserves to continue feeding your body, but it won't shock your body into starvation mode. Given that ~2k calories=1lb of fat, you won't notice dramatic weight loss from this, but it will happen slowly but surely, and that really is what you want in the end.

In terms of diet, I would recommend that you drink milk. Milk is good for you. So are fat. Don't be scared of fat =D All nutritional guidelines that tell you to avoid fat does so because they assume that you eat too much in the first place. In fact, you need a good number of fat in order for your body to work properly.

Be sure to eat lean protein too. You don't mention protein in your diet, so I wanted to point that out. If you're vegetarian, then be sure to eat plenty of legumes and other vegetables that contain protein.

In fact, eat more protein over fruit. Fruits are good for your body, but they contain a lot of calorie/piece of fruit, and really aren't that filling in the long run. This leads to you eating fruit continually through the day, and if you're not counting calories then it can quickly add up. Lots of fruit isn't good if you want to lose weight.

In terms of exercise, don't be afraid of compound/isometric exercises. Push-ups and pull-ups are king in "toning" body and building muscle. Nor will they make you look overly big or anything of the sort.

While I can't help you create a concise plan, I can give you a general one. First, the general guide-lines are-
-Don't exercise the same muscle continually. For example, do push-ups every other day, concentrated cardio every other day, vice versa.
-Be sure to up the intensity every other week or so. You wrote that your work-outs don't feel as intense anymore. That suggests that you're working out at the same level for extended periods of time, which leads to your body becoming strong enough to do it effectively. This in turn means you use less energy and require less effort, and you get less bang for the buck, as it were.

My suggested work-out plan would be doing push-ups/planks/pull-ups/body-weight squats for muscle, HiiT on the elliptical for cardio. Running would be ideal, but you wrote that you have bad knees so that won't work.

There are plenty of sites out there that gives you decent work-out plans for those muscles. Here's a sample site that has plans for all of the above muscle groups except planks.

For planks, just work to improve your time by 30 second or so every couple of days.

You can find info concerning HiiT here

Keep in mind that HiiT isn't HiiT unless you're hanging onto the machine for dear life after the 3rd cycle, and your lungs feel as though they're going to explode and your legs can't support you after the last cycle. The good thing is that it should only last 21 minutes. You can easily complete your work-out within an hour if you're strapped on time daily and both lose fat and be in good shape.

And don't do it more than two or three times a week.
 
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beatriz05 said:
Kevinmacdonald,
that is something i dont have time for OR want to do. I want to tone up.

and Danny is there an website i can refer for about complex training, because i have heard a lot of different work outs but never this.
Click to expand...


I well look for a good one and let you know
 
Magick,
Thanks so much your post really informed me about a lot that i have been doing wrong. And i am definitely going to stick to HIIT from now on. And running, i can do as long as its not for long periods of time (i put that in there with the fear that people will just tell me to run a lot, but 20 min my knee will handle...its gonna have to.)
And the suggestion about lean protein, i am not vegetarian but meat isn't my favorite so i avoid it, but i will incorporate more into my diet for sure.
And thank you to all who contributed to this thread.
i have developed a plan and i will keep you posted on the process!
Thank you again.
 
I wouldn't recommend doing HiiT with running if your knees aren't the greatest.

Afaik, bad knees are exacerbated by the amount of stress you put on it. This can come from either incredibly intensive work-outs(lots and lots of sprints at your greatest speed) or a very long runs.

My dad had to undergo numerous knee surgeries due to poor management, and it prevents him from running or doing much of the activities that he used to enjoy just 10 years ago. By poor management I mean beginning incredibly strenuous activities(he began to play a lot of tennis suddenly) out of the blue and without slowly building up strength.

If you think your knees aren't the greatest and your doctor confirms it, then I'd advise against doing anything stressful to it on purpose.
 
Magick,
I had an ACL replacement three years ago. knee is functioning normally I just have to watch twisting on it a lot. But i will take that caution into consideration.


And yes, intensity will be going up. I have been sick with a nasty flu these past few days so i havent had a chance to start yet, but i am planning on doing the HIIT on Tues, Thurs, and weight/high impact cardio on MWF, see how that goes.
 
now a days everybody wanna slimmer body and nobody wanna looks fatter.they wannna a fit and fine body.here are some steps to get it.
1.Go for veggies
2.Eat fiber
3.Don't switch foods radically
4.Make health, not weight loss, your goal
5.A major reason people get discouraged and drop out of weight-loss programs is weight plateaus
6.Don't rush weight reduction
7.Get exercise
 
Thank you everyone for your input and advice! I have worked out a great routine from all your posts.
MWF (sometimes sunday) I tone up arms and upper back. TuesThurSat i work on legs.
I warm up and then do weights and then cardio. HIIT twice a week.
I modify the routine every week/week and a half.
I am loosing the fat, building the muscle and toning up. I am loving the results.
A random personal trainer came up to me and said "I have been noticing great progress/results in you. Keep doing what you do." And walked away. I have been at that gym for only 3 months.
Couldnt have done it with out your input! Thank you!
 
that's great, Beatriz05!!!! i'm happy to hear you've found what works for you and you're seeing the results you wanted!

if you don't mind me asking, where in Washington are you? i'm in Puyallup!!
 
You can try P90X which is the BEST workout program EVER. But it will cost you. If you want to do it without putting in much 'moola', then look into Bodyrock.tv or if you want a manlier workout then Fatless Formula is a great option. Both post daily workouts. Plus Zuzana at bodyrock.tv is not too bad on the eyes.
 
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Hi Beatrice

It is always boring doing same thing.

To make it interesting you need have high intensity training for strength.

So for e.g u r doing ellipitical do this with inclination so there is this resistance and all the 4 extrimities are working harder.

I have beginers plan which includes

8 star jumps

8 star jumps followed by 8 squats

8 star jumps followed by 8 squats followed by 8 jump squats

8 star jumps followed by 8 squats folowed by 8 jump squats followed by 8 russian twist

8 star squats followed by 8 squats,8 jump squats followed 8 russian twist and low squat holding for 15 sec.

This lasts for 7-10 min.

do 2-3 times week and get the results.

I hope this helps

Thanks ketan
 
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