Journey, Not A Destination

Steve said:
Bad days are the worst. Mine progressively is getting worse as the day goes on. I can't wait to sleep. And that's not like me. :(

Sometimes sleep is the best cure for a bad day.:)


I'd weigh once per week in the morning each Saturday, or something like that.... before your first meal. I'd also recommend you start taking measurements with a tape measure. Bust, belly button, waist, hips, butt, thighs, arms, calves and track it on an excel spreadsheet or the like.

I like weighing in daily b/c it keeps me accountable. I don't get too frustrated if the scale doesn't change the way I want it to on a daily basis. But when I spend an entire week not losing anything over the previous week, then I get frustrated. So I would be feeling the same way had I only weighed in weekly.

Freaky things can happen like gaining muscle while losing fat which would throw the number on the scale for a loop.

I hope that's what happened! lol

As your conditioning builds, I'd start increasing the intensity from week to week. Being stagnant in your approach will only lead to stagnant results.

I have been increasing the intensity of my workouts. I basically push it as hard as I can without jogging on the IT.

If your conditioning isn't such that you can't alter between light jogs with more moderate jogs... doing steady state cardio might work better for you. Build your conditioning up with that until you can start to incorporate true IT.

I can jog--it's just that my knees aren't the greatest and I am afraid of injury--jogging is much harder on the joints than walking, and I don't have health insurance at the moment--so I really don't want to push that.

Are you working out at home or in a gym?

I work out a Curves-type circuit training gym with hydraulic weights. I work the weights as hard as I can. I know that I'm getting something out of them, b/c I can feel it in my muscles after my workouts. I know you probably think I should ditch the hydraulic weights and go for free weights, but I've already got the year membership, so that isn't going to change for several months. And, I love my gym.


Weight?

See my ticker below.

You shouldn't really use *time* as the metric for determining the efficacy of a resistance training program. I have to see what you are doing before I can give you any advice.
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So that is my workout. Today I did 40 minutes there instead of 30. Felt good. Thanks for your help! HOpe your day got better as well.
 
Healthyhabit said:
I know i can't spot reduce fat, but firming up the rear would be nice and toning the muscle is a good way, right? The fat reduction is coming slowly through shedding spare lbs. 11lbs down, another 25 or so to go. Yes, I'm lifting at a gym, but not doing squats or anything like that. I've been doing mostly upper-body lifting with some focus on my core since my posture is horrendous. My lower half seems to get a fairly good workout as result of the cardio (I push myself pretty hard on that).

What I want is a miracle that will help me sculpt my buns. :D (Don't we all? Lol.) I'm just not sure what to do for it, aside from continuing what I'm doing now.

Any simple exercises I can do at home are wonderful. I'm not looking for fast results. Slow is fine since I won't see much of a change in my rear until I lose at least another 15lbs or so.

Thanks Steve! You've always got so much good info! :D

- Sunny
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You've got plenty of options. Regular old cardio isn't going to do much in terms of your muscles. I mean, they're certainly involved... but not to the extent that you're thinking of.

I'd suggest throwing a leg day into the mix in the gym. I'm not sure how you have your resistance training program structured at the moment.... but nonetheless.... if you aren't training your legs, you're missing out on a lot.

Squats are a difficult exercise that hit the entire leg (when you go deep enough). If they're hurting you, something is either wrong pathologically or your form is off. Until you can get to the bottom of it, I'd suggest avoiding them.

You might want to try the leg press machine, assuming your gym has one. If so, try and and see if it hurts your knees. Keep your feet low/middle on the foot platform. The higher up you go, the more hamstring/glute involvement you will have.

I'd also throw some romanian deadlifts into the mix. I think I explained how to do them in the stickies.

There's all kinds of things you can do besides squats though. Lunges, split squats, step-ups, bulgarians.... many.

Just have to test the waters and see what does/doesn't bother your knees.
 
bikinibound said:
So that is my workout. Today I did 40 minutes there instead of 30. Felt good. Thanks for your help! HOpe your day got better as well.
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Aren't there other forms of cardio machines at the gym, such as an elliptical? Something that would be low/no impact?

You've got your year membership. You love your gym. I'm never going to tell you to switch it up. You don't fix what ain't broke. :)

That said, I'm not really a fan of circuit training and hydraulic machines.

That's not to say they are bad for you or you aren't going to get anything from them. There are simply much more optimal ways to train.

But this is YOUR starting place. And it's a good one so work with what you've got.

In terms of resistance training, I'd avoid the isolation machines and stick with compound movements, assuming they have machines that fit that criteria.
 
Quote Of The Day

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
 
Steve said:
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
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That quote made my day Steve
I'm pasting it up on the mirror in my bathroom!

thanks
sona
 
Steve said:
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
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Thank you Steve!!!! :D

Morning Sunshine!
 
Hi Steve, hope you're doing well.
I started back in on weights yesterday.
Tomorrow I'd like to do a leg day again, but I think I want to stay off deads and squats for a while.
What would you recommend as (horrors!) "replacements"? I'm looking for about a 30 or 40 minute lower body/back routine that will give me a good workout but not risk pulling out my back again.
 
TomO said:
Hi Steve, hope you're doing well.
I started back in on weights yesterday.
Tomorrow I'd like to do a leg day again, but I think I want to stay off deads and squats for a while.
What would you recommend as (horrors!) "replacements"? I'm looking for about a 30 or 40 minute lower body/back routine that will give me a good workout but not risk pulling out my back again.
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Tom, it's tough to say what you are going to be able to handle from my vantage point. I think it's going to be a touch and feel process.

If you can't squat, I suggest using the leg press machine. Maybe 2 sets of 5 with the feet placed high on the foot board and 2 sets with the feet placed low.

You can throw in a couple of sets of split squats and leg curls too.

Try out these things and see how it feels.
 
Hello Steve,
I hope today finds you in a better mood. I had a quick question. When I do squats my knees don't feel pressure really, but last night I wasn't able to use the power rack so I did the leg press machine and I felt a lot of pressure in my right knee. I might have had my feet in the wrong position, but it was just a little weird. Is there a reason that my knees would hurt while leg presses and not squats?

David
 
Hey Steve, thanks for the info.
All this stuff I read from you helps me ask the right questions at the gym and then someone shows me a really good way to do something.

I talked to a trainer today and described the pain in my knees when I squat. He said that is generally indicative of a past injury. I know I busted up one knee pretty bad but I figured it was healed and fine by now. The other, I have no idea about.

Anyhow, between the stuff I read in your basic lifts, what you've told me, and what I told a trainer at the gym, we were able to come up with some modifications on the leg press machine that were difficult but felt great, pain free, and hit the right spots. :D

Thank you so much! You're always so helpful. :D

- Sunny
 
dbutterfield said:
Hello Steve,
I hope today finds you in a better mood. I had a quick question. When I do squats my knees don't feel pressure really, but last night I wasn't able to use the power rack so I did the leg press machine and I felt a lot of pressure in my right knee. I might have had my feet in the wrong position, but it was just a little weird. Is there a reason that my knees would hurt while leg presses and not squats?

David
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I really can't answer that question. Best I can tell ya is avoid the exercise. I can't prescribe via a computer, obviously. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would cause the pain.

There are times when my knees or a knee just hurt. If it continues... I back off for a while.
 
Healthyhabit said:
Hey Steve, thanks for the info.
All this stuff I read from you helps me ask the right questions at the gym and then someone shows me a really good way to do something.

I talked to a trainer today and described the pain in my knees when I squat. He said that is generally indicative of a past injury. I know I busted up one knee pretty bad but I figured it was healed and fine by now. The other, I have no idea about.

Anyhow, between the stuff I read in your basic lifts, what you've told me, and what I told a trainer at the gym, we were able to come up with some modifications on the leg press machine that were difficult but felt great, pain free, and hit the right spots. :D

Thank you so much! You're always so helpful. :D

- Sunny
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Glad to hear Sunny! Happy training.
 
Steve said:
I really can't answer that question. Best I can tell ya is avoid the exercise. I can't prescribe via a computer, obviously. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would cause the pain.

There are times when my knees or a knee just hurt. If it continues... I back off for a while.
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Sounds good. I should have thought about the fact that you can't answer over the computer. My bad. Have a great day!
 
Steve said:
Aren't there other forms of cardio machines at the gym, such as an elliptical? Something that would be low/no impact?

There are two treadmills.

You've got your year membership. You love your gym. I'm never going to tell you to switch it up. You don't fix what ain't broke. :)

That said, I'm not really a fan of circuit training and hydraulic machines.

That's not to say they are bad for you or you aren't going to get anything from them. There are simply much more optimal ways to train.

But this is YOUR starting place. And it's a good one so work with what you've got.

In terms of resistance training, I'd avoid the isolation machines and stick with compound movements, assuming they have machines that fit that criteria.
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What I really want to know is whether or not I should reduce my walking and increase my circuit training. Lately I've been walking 4-5days per week for 2-4 miles p/day, and doing 30min of circuit training 3 days per week. Would it be more beneficial to do this?
 
bikinibound said:
What I really want to know is whether or not I should reduce my walking and increase my circuit training. Lately I've been walking 4-5days per week for 2-4 miles p/day, and doing 30min of circuit training 3 days per week. Would it be more beneficial to do this?
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No, I'd leave it as is to be honest.

And I'd focus on bumping up the intensity of the cardio.
 
Happy Wednesday

It's National Relaxation Day - so be sure to get some relaxation in - it's like the law or something :)

Have a great day!
 
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