New here, Need Advice

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worwalkerlds

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Hey everybody! Im new here, and just need some advice. I made another post, but maybe in the wrong place so Im doing one here also.

Anyway, Im 23, 5'2, and 101lbs. My BMI is 18. I just had a baby 8 months ago. I was breastfeeding, so calories just came off, and I eat extremely healthy. I have been running/jogging because I really just want to tone my body. My stomach is flat, and has very little fat, but I need to tone that area too, and running everyday is not going to help that area.

I do lunges, squats, some workouts with a pilates ball, and some workouts for my arms with a chair. :) I have been doing ab workouts, but I am so sore! How should I do this? Push through it and work out everyday, or take a break? Even though I can run everyday, should I still be doing all of these others everyday?

Another problem I have is that I dont need to lose weight! I want to know what I should be eating and how much I should eat to gain some muscle mass. What workouts can I do at home, with a small child, that will tone my body, and add muscle.

Anyway, thanks for reading this and hopefully you can help me out, with some great advice! :)
 
Hi and welcome to the forum! The key with the strength training you're doing is to make sure you hit every major body part (you didn't mention exercises that would hit major muscle groups like your back and chest for example), and that you give that body part at least 48 hours of rest to recover before hitting it again. If you are very sore from the ab exercises then you are likely overdoing it in this area. Your squats, lunges, and likely some of what you're doing with the pilates ball are also hitting your core and abs, so don't over-train this area. Being mildly sore for a couple days is a sign you've worked the muscle in a new way and you've made a difference, which is good. But if you are painfully sore, and it's lasting for more than a couple days, then you probably are overdoing it in that area.

For training at home, you can pick up an inexpensive set of dumbells (used for real cheap) for your weight training, as well as do body weight training like push-ups. You can hit your back by doing bent over one arm rows, using a chair much like you would a bench at the gym. You can do bench presses, dead lifts, etc...

For food, there are lots of calculators out there to help with calculating how many calories to take in for your size and weight, and if your goals are to lose, maintain or gain. Also check out the stickies in this forum. The key though for gaining muscle is getting enough protein. Given how quickly you lost your fat from the pregnancy, you probably have a very fast metabolism, so you will also need to time your food intake to some degree to get the best benefit from your strength training, otherwise your body will go after muscle for fuel when you don't want it to. The most critical times to get a quick protein fix is first thing in the morning, after you have been fasting over night, hence why breakfast literally means to break the fast. The other most critical times for protein intake are just before and just after your strength training workouts. Do some research within this forum and on the internet for tons of information on this.

Finally, you may want to scale back on the running a bit if you find you're continuing to lose weight, as you will be upping your activity level through your strength training. You'll have to find the right balance of cardio activities like running, along with how much and the quality of food you eat.

Hope this helps a bit, good luck in reaching your goals!
 
stangelj just about covered it - thoughtful response!

Just to reiterate, if you train every day without some recovery time your body can't respond "anabolically" (improve and grow) in what ever way you want that to happen. Exercise is the "catabolic" (tissue consuming) stimulus, you need the other side of the equation as well for the payoff - aka recovery. Soreness happens most often when beginning an exercise routine thru the first couple/few weeks - just be sure it's soreness and not something like an injury.

I agree also with stangelj in that dietary protein is key - and often somewhat lacking - for helping with muscle gain but you have to be using muscle gaining exercise protocols for that to really matter in a significant or noticeable way. That means moderately heavy resistance at about 10 repetitions maximum (ie you can't do more than 10 to 12 repetitions of the exercise max).

Alternating cardio (aerobic) days with strength days (anaerobic) is always a good plan I think as your body has a chance to recover better and responds metabolically/hormonally better than "all in one" workouts.

Losing or gaining weight comes down to calories in vs calories used. Calculate and stick to a calorie deficit to start dropping the pounds OR a calorie surplus to gain pounds.

BUT, most people really want a lower body fat percentage rather than simple 'weight loss' per se. Although if you like to perform athletically and that is what's most important sometimes it's best to have a slightly higher body fat percentage than the visual ideal. You have to decide what your really after.

If your workouts center around gaining muscle and losing body fat (aka toning) you probably want 30-35% of your calories from protein. If your ideas are more about increasing exercise volume and endurance (aka going longer and harder) then you probably want 50-60% of your calories coming from carbohydrates. Simply put, for muscle gains and fat loss the emphasis is on dietary protein - for endurance and cardio gains the emphasis is more on carb percentages.

Dougster

PS - Just to let you know, Im not certified, just read and trained a bit in my life.
 
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Thanks everybody for your advice! I will keep you guys posted on how I am doing following along these guidelines. Im also going to research some more. Anyway, Thanks for your input. :)
 
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