hi, new here!

I'm a 43 yr old mom of 2 (18-21). Back in january I got engaged and really started hitting the gym. I was about 20lbs overweight. I don't have before pics because I deleted them all just as soon as they were taken lol! You all have been an inspiration and I hope I can be for you as well!!! Here's a pic!

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6894&stc=1&d=1214849729
WoooooW...YOU LOOK amazing!!! :) I WIIIISH my AFTER can LOOK like YOU!!! :)

ANY tips on what you ate, how much you exercised, and how long it took you would be APPRECIATED greatly!!!! :iagree: THANKS!!! :)
 
Thanx everyone!

Thanx so much! Steve, I love your posts..you and mal are the BEST!!
I work-out 4 times a week..nothing crazy, 20 min interval treadmill then 20 mins of stength training. At my age diet is key.. I come home from the gym (morning) and make a protein shake from fruit, whey and water...snack maybe some whole wheat crackers and peanut butter...dinner usually chicken or fish (I cut out red meat)...and for a snack maybe some fruit or low-fat yogourt. I eat no white bread, only wholegrain!! But i want to define my abs..I think building that kind of muscle is harder as you get older. But i'm gonna try. Here are my stats 5"1..100lbs (very small boned..People hear 100lbs and they are like "put some weight on". But I am not underweight! Steve...help me out hun...what I gotta do for those abs?..LOL
here are some more pics!
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6897&stc=1&d=1214856829
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6899&stc=1&d=1214856934
 
Thanx so much! Steve, I love your posts..you and mal are the BEST!!
I work-out 4 times a week..nothing crazy, 20 min interval treadmill then 20 mins of stength training. At my age diet is key.. I come home from the gym (morning) and make a protein shake from fruit, whey and water...snack maybe some whole wheat crackers and peanut butter...dinner usually chicken or fish (I cut out red meat)...and for a snack maybe some fruit or low-fat yogourt. I eat no white bread, only wholegrain!! But i want to define my abs..I think building that kind of muscle is harder as you get older. But i'm gonna try. Here are my stats 5"1..100lbs (very small boned..People hear 100lbs and they are like "put some weight on". But I am not underweight! Steve...help me out hun...what I gotta do for those abs?..LOL
here are some more pics!
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6897&stc=1&d=1214856829
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6899&stc=1&d=1214856934
WOW!!! THANKS!! :)
 
Umm, for abs. I think you're going to have to come to PA so I can show you in person!

:p

Just teasing... but that first shot is HOT!

I'm going to need specifics.

Do you track your nutrition, meaning calories and macros? If so, how? If not, why?

Do you not eat before you go to the gym?

Tell me what your strength training routine consists of... from exercises, sets and reps to frequency.
 
You look amazing! Very inspiring. Keep it up and i'm sure you'll have them abs you've been wanting.
Thanks for the motivation! : }
 
:svengo:Well, if you can look this awesome in your 40s, I certainly don't have any excuse to quit now! Very inspiring! Please try to dig up some B4 pics so we can see the difference. Well done and congratulations on your engagment! He is a lucky guy.

Cheers
ABBA
 
Thanx everyone!! Actually, I never eat before I go to the gym..I've always heard that it's better if you don't. my strength training is one day arms, then legs the next then I rotate, but always do the crunches and 20 min cardio.I don't really count my calories but I rough estimate is around 1200 per day. I used to work out alot and I stopped for bout 2 yrs so I've only been back since Jan...Last time it took me a full year to get those abs!!

Here are some bigger pics...I'm kinda geting the hang of this...LOL

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6900&stc=1&d=1214903301
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6901&stc=1&d=1214904524
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6902&stc=1&d=1214904874
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6903&stc=1&d=1214906522
 
Thanx everyone!! Actually, I never eat before I go to the gym..I've always heard that it's better if you don't.

No way, especially not with strength training and I don't really buy into the whole fasted cardio bit either.

my strength training is one day arms,

An entire day devoted to arms! I can tell you now this is one of your problems that need to be changed. I suspect that your entire routine will have to be altered a bit.

then legs the next then I rotate,

So what about chest, back, shoulders, core, etc?

And do you go every single day?

but always do the crunches and 20 min cardio.

A lot of crunches isn't really getting you anywhere. The primary job of the core (and mind you, the core is a lot more than your rectus abdominis!) is stabilizing your torso. Crunches aren't really conducive to a) stabilization and b) targeting the muslces responsible for stabilization.

And hopefully you understand that doing a lot of crunches aren't going to give you abs.

I'll ask again with this too, are you doing this (crunches and cardio) every single day? I need to see your daily routine. I'm assuming right now that it looks something like this:

Monday: Crunches, cardio, and arms
Tuesday: Crunches, cardio, and legs
Wedneday: Crunches, cardio, and arms
Thursday: Crunches, cardio, and legs

So on and so forth....

Is this accurate? Are there any off days?

Lastly, I need to know exactly what you do in terms of strength training. Are you using machines? Free weights? How many sets and reps?

I told you I need details!

Sorry for asking for advice yet!? :p

I don't really count my calories but I rough estimate is around 1200 per day.

People are going to be shocked when I say this but 1200 every single day is probably a bit high for you. How active of a lifestyle to you lead beyond your workout schedule?

And I'm sure you've mentioned it previously but how much weight have you lost? Coming off a weight loss usually leaves you with a slightly depressed metabolism for some time. With a normal functioning metabolism, especially for a female, I'd say the best place to start for fat loss is 10 calories per pound of body weight.

That is assuming, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, that you should be dieting the remainder of your fat off from this point. It's hard to tell in your pics but I suspect that if you actually came to my gym to train under me I would actually have you work on adding some muscle before you go cutting anymore fat. You don't want to become overly skinny, if you know what I mean. With that in mind, you might want to go through a bulking cycle to add a little more muscle to your frame... this way the next time you cut down body fat it's much easier to be lean and tone. Remember, leanness isn't a muscular attribute. It is a combination of losing fat while maintaining or increasing muscle mass. And these two, especially in the case of a lean dieting female, don't happen simultaneously.

What this means is it takes cycles of eating above maintenance and below maintenance in an effort to add muscle and lose fat respectively given your caloric state.

I feel like I'm spilling a lot and before I go on, I need to know you understand this concept.

I used to work out alot and I stopped for bout 2 yrs so I've only been back since Jan...Last time it took me a full year to get those abs!!

So you did get abs before? Would you say you reached an ideal physique before?

Don't take this the wrong way and I understand there is a lot of personal preference behind this statement, but in my opinion you shouldn't get much skinnier. Guys I know, including myself, don't like rail thin. You have nice curves now and you don't want to lose them for the sake of having abs.

I'm not suggesting you never get abs.

I'm suggesting what I did above with possibly adding a bit of muscle to your frame before cutting. Just a thought.


Nice pics. These reinforce what I'm saying above even more. If I were you or if you were my client, I probably wouldn't take you much lighter than you currently are. I understand this is probably not what you would expect but it's important for people to remember something.

You don't lose weight and reach your goal physique automatically. There is no end of the road. You lose the weight, see what you're working with, cycle until you've molded something you're content with. This could take a dozen cycles of cutting fat and gaining muscle (mind you these take very different factors) until you have something you're content with.

I've come across a lot of women out there who think it's a matter of simply losing and losing some more. Even when they reach a skinny stature they think they MUST keep losing if they're going to obtain that body they're going for. Their mind even begins to distort the true reflection in the mirror... it's a scary thing. I'm not suggesting at all this is the case with you. I just want to throw precautionary advice your way just in case.

There's a lot of info here so before moving on I'd like you to answer my questions above as well as give me your thoughts on what was stated here.

Or tell me to buzz off and you'll look for advice from someone else, lol.
 
Steve..Thanx so much for all your advice..I'm not trying to get any lighter, some curves are a great thing! If I can just keep my body the way it is I'd be happy the rest of my life.lol..Last time I worked out I did get more ab definition but I was also younger too. I haven't worked out for a few years. I'm very active in my daily life. I'm up at around 10am and work at night as a bartender so I don't get to bed till like 3am.

My routine looks like this:

Monday: 20min interval treadmill/20min arms (tri-bi: 3 sets each @10 reps)freeweights
Tues: 20min interval treadmill/20 min legs (machines: 3 sets each@10 reps)
Wed: OFF
Thurs: Same as Monday
Fri: OFF
Sat: Cardio/ same as Tue
and always crunches

I'm not looking for the perfect body (whatever that is..lol) . I just want to be the best I can be. Thanx for your advice, you sound as though you have passion in what you do along with your expertise!! And thats hard to find!:D
 
Thanks, and you're welcome.

Well it's not as bad as I thought to be honest... I assumed you were overdoing things but that's not the case.

I'll say something simply to you: Your training has to match your goals. If your goal is to be lean all over, you have to prioritize your training to create such a leanness. You have your body fat reduced nicely. But your training is severely lacking in terms of resistance training balance and quality.

Nothing 'good' stimulating muscles leads to nothing 'good' stimulating leanness, if you follow me.

Your current set up leaves a lot to be desired in terms of strength training and it is probably great if you're interested in maintaining what you currently have in terms of physique. If you want to improve from this point forward though, I would make some change... actually a complete overhaul of your weight lifting routine. I'm not saying it all has to be done tomorrow, but you should have an idea of what to work toward and start implementing bits and pieces of it on a progressive basis.

Even if you're completely content with your physique I would change the routine. Strength training is very beneficial when a balanced routine is in place. Right now you're missing out on a good portion of the body.
 
What kind of core excercises would you suggest? Should I start using the ball? Is pillates good for that? I'm sure lots of other women would love to know whats best. I feel this is the hardest part....you lose the weight then it's like..ok, how do I make the most out of it? And at this point do I lower my calories or up them? As I said...I am about at 1200 cals per day? And is it harder to gain and keep the muscle as you get older? I just want to know what I'm up against..lol. I'm trying for that lean look with just some definition in the ab area, not really a full on six pack.

And ladies, what core excercises do you do? I'd love to hear it!
 
What kind of core excercises would you suggest? Should I start using the ball? Is pillates good for that? I'm sure lots of other women would love to know whats best.

What do you mean by "core exercises?"

If you mean ab exercises, you really missed the importance of what I typed in my previous post.

Your routine is unbalanced. Your arms don't need training when your chest and back do, yet you have two days geared toward arm training and none to back or chest.

Your abs are trained every single day. Why?

I feel this is the hardest part....you lose the weight then it's like..ok, how do I make the most out of it?

I already answered this.

You maximize and improve your physique, assuming you want to take it to that level, but continually going through/alternating periods of gaining muscle and losing fat.

Without doing that, you're simply going to be spinning your wheels.

And at this point do I lower my calories or up them?

I told you what I would do if I were you or if I were training you above.

And is it harder to gain and keep the muscle as you get older?

If you don't lift with a balanced routine, certainly.

And ladies, what core excercises do you do? I'd love to hear it!

I asked this above but didn't get an answer:

You do know that "core exercises" doesn't give you abs, right?
 
Yeah, I def like the new pic upgrade! And thanks for all the nice comments!! You guys are great!! It was alot of work and discipline as you all know!

Steve, thanks for all the advice..maybe I should I should invest in a few training sessions. Want to come and train me?? The Jersey shore is the BEST place to be in the summer...haha!
 
You are not 43! You look absolutely fantastic! Great job on fighting back time and holding on to your youthful look.
 
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