need to tone up...need advice

L

Lillian

Guest
i'm 30 yrs old, small frame, 105 lbs, 5'4 height. i used to workout 3-5 times per week until my father passed away 1 1/2 yrs ago and moving in w/my fiance kind of slowed my workout process b/c of new priorities. i pretty much lost most of my little muscle tone that i had and worked pretty hard for. any recommendations on how much of cardio/weight training i should be doing?? i've been eating better as well. i'm not trying to lose weight, just gain a little muscle as i like my small frame. any advice??

thanks!
Lillian
:)
 
thanks teresa. any special routine i should follow? any recommendations from anyone out there??
 
I'd eat enough calories to add some lean muscle to you. Then I would do lower intensity cardio most of week, maybe 1-2 medium sessions. I would start with 3 days of full body strength training.

The trick to adding muscle is to eat more calories than you need. Just be sure they are good calories and not cookies :)
 
I don't really have any special routines but my favorite is Body for Life. I recommend it so much because I've had such good results with it twice. The first time I tried it I was just starting to work out and I went from probably 25% body fat to about 15%. That was almost 5 years ago. Just recently I got in a workout/diet rut so I decided to try it again and I'm having great results again. Take a look at their website: and see if it interests you.
 
teresand77, that website looks very interesting. although i had a question on how to measure body fat?? trust me, as skinny as i am, i know i have body fat...lol! most of it probably in the belly area. i know people use those calipers, but which one or where to get one, or what is the best way to measure body fat??

and once i determine what my body fat is, well where do i go w/it from there? i'll be happy to share w/anyone that can give me some advice on it. much appreciated!

Lillian :D
 
Sorry if your question was directed to Teresand77 only. If so, regard this post :D

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You can do measurements with calipers. I personally prefer to do bio-impedence though. It's a little hand held device that gives an estimated reading within 7 seconds. There is a margin of error of about 3-4%.

Certain things affect the reading. Your temperature, hydration levels, sodium levels, if you just ate, etc.

But with calipers... unless you have someone else taking the readings for you (someone professional)... there is error as well. Calipers are NOT effective unless you take the average of at least 3 test sites (thigh, stomach and tricep for example).

Bio-impedence devices are just easier for me.

Once you have your body fat number... you have a better idea of how much lean muscle you have compared to how much fat you have. It's the best gauge of body composition... whereas the scale is NOT :)
 
Hey TrainerLynn!

I finally ordered the body fat device. I can't wait to get it! I may come back on for questions after I get my results. Much appreciated!! ;)
 
ok i finally received the body fat analyzer. here's my readings. any advice on what i should be doing with these readings would be much appreciated.

Fat 21.6
BMI 18

Also, here's other info. about me in case this helps.

Weight 105 lbs.
Age 30
Height 5'4
Female

In the manual it says this is normal. But, now what do I do w/this info.? I want to be toned. Do I need to lower any of these #'s to achieve that??
 
So it is giving you a body fat reading of 21.6, eh? That's pretty good. I would take your body fat reading once a day for the next week. Take it first thing in the morning, after the morning bathroom trip, but before anything else (shower, dressing, etc).

Take it once per day for a week to get an average reading. Analyzers by nature are off a bit. The important thing is that you know how much body fat you have. Here are some guidelines:

What should my body fat percentage be?

For Women

Essential Fat= 10-12%

Athletes= 14-20%

Fitness= 21-24%

Acceptable= 25-31%

Obese= 32% plus

____________________________________________

For Men

Essential Fat= 2-4%

Athletes= 6-13%

Fitness= 14-17%

Acceptable= 18-25%

Obese= 25% plus

*These numbers are according to The American Council on Exercise
 
Trainer Lynn said:
So it is giving you a body fat reading of 21.6, eh? That's pretty good. I would take your body fat reading once a day for the next week. Take it first thing in the morning, after the morning bathroom trip, but before anything else (shower, dressing, etc).

Take it once per day for a week to get an average reading. Analyzers by nature are off a bit. The important thing is that you know how much body fat you have. Here are some guidelines:

What should my body fat percentage be?

For Women

Essential Fat= 10-12%

Athletes= 14-20%

Fitness= 21-24%

Acceptable= 25-31%

Obese= 32% plus

____________________________________________

For Men

Essential Fat= 2-4%

Athletes= 6-13%

Fitness= 14-17%

Acceptable= 18-25%

Obese= 25% plus

*These numbers are according to The American Council on Exercise
Click to expand...

Thanks TrainerLynn!! I actually took that first reading right after dinner yesterday. I then tested it again this morning per your instructions and came up with 18.7% fat.

But, I have one question.....being that I feel so untoned, if I were to get pretty toned in the future, does that then drop the body fat percentage, and if so, what is a nicely toned body fat percentage usually around? Basically, I'm trying to figure out if there is a % i should be trying to reach??

Thanks again for all your help! You've been very helpful.:D
 
And even that number will go up and down. The important thing is what range you fall into. 18.7% is great. You can go a bit lower if you'd like. That would involve the 5 tips I always talk about on this board. I'll post them after this reponse.

When you add some lean muscle and drop a little body fat... that number will fall. I always found it easier to add lean muscle when I was around 18% body fat. There are two types of plans: adding muscle plan and losing fat plan.

You cannot really focus on both at the same time. When someone is smaller framed or has the last 5-10 pounds to lose... I recommend they stop decreasing calories and start increasing them to build muscle. It's a whole different mind shift.

Anyway, aim for whatever number you'd like. I am not a numbers girl. I do not count calories, I do not weight myself, etc. I look in the mirror and watch how my clothes fit and how I feel.

Here are the 5 tips to fat loss...

1) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Each meal should be 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should contain one protein and one carb. The first meal should be eaten within an hour after waking.


2) Drink a cup of water at each meal.


3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 48 hours between strength training the same muscles, and it also means getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Lastly, it means taking 1-2 days off from exercising per week.


4) Cardio. This should be done at different intensity levels and different session lengths. Consider doing a low intensity/long session, a high intensity/short session and a few medium intensity/medium length sessions.


5) Strength Training. Strength train each muscle 1-3 times per week. You should lift a proper weight and perform the proper amount of sets/reps for your strength training method. If you need more guidance or exercise ideas you can head over


All of the above things combined will result in fat loss.
 
Thanks TrainerLynn! As always, your responses are very much appreciated!

I'm glad my body fat percentage is good. I guess I just need to work on toning up. I'm trying to eat 5-6 meals per day. I know it will take time. I appreciate all your advice and will use it. :D
 
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