Toning thighs and tummy?

A

ArtsyFartsy

New member
Hey guys. This is mostly a thread for my girlfriend.

Background info: She is 160 pounds, and too much exercise (long distance running, for example) is very hard on her joints/bones. We have 3 weeks to notice results (she's visiting and that's how long for). We have an hour of specific thigh/ab tonage and overall weight loss every day.

She's not happy with her thighs and her tummy so that's essentially what I'm asking for.

I need a solid exercise routine that can be done either every day, or every other day (because of her bone and joint problems) that will not only cause overall weight loss, but specifically target her thighs (I suppose the butt goes with it as well), and her tummy (abs).

If we can see results by 3 weeks (the amount of the she is staying here), it would be excellent. We have an hour of time allotted every day for exercise, so something like that? Also, I'm going to be running about 45 minutes with her every other day (or playing soccer for about 60 minutes) so the routine doesn't have to include anything based on running, however if you have something that would produce better results, either faster or more significant than running, by all means, please suggest.

Thank you.
 
We have an hour of specific thigh/ab tonage
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Holy SCHAMOLEY!!! You're kidding ... an HOUR of thigh/ab work? Yowza! :)

Ok, first of all - "tonage" is a myth. Doesn't exist.
Second of all - you can't spot lose fat.

Now keeping both of those in mind:

If she doesn't like her thighs and you're spending an hour a day working on them, all you're doing is developing thigh muscle and pushing the layer of fat that's on her thighs outward - which will make her more unhappy with her looks.

Focus on losing fat (all over) and maintaining muscle (all over).

Diet is the single most important thing in losing fat. She needs to figure out how many calories she should be eating to reduce, and begin eating at that level. She needs to make sure her diet is based on (in order of importance): lean proteins, lots of veggies, healthy fats, complex carbs.

Exercise should be full body weight training 2x - 3x per week (with at a minimum of a full day of rest between sessions). Fill in around that with 30 mins or so of cardio 3x-4x a week.

That will show results - although 3 weeks might be pushing it.
 
Thanks for the reply, I'll take all you've said into consideration.

I'm not one for exercise (my metabolism does my job for me), so I'm not really sure what Full Body weight training actually means.

Can you give me a rundown of what an effective session of this actually is? And for how long each day?
 
ArtsyFartsy said:
I'm not one for exercise (my metabolism does my job for me), so I'm not really sure what Full Body weight training actually means.
Can you give me a rundown of what an effective session of this actually is? And for how long each day?
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Read these threads:

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weig...ise/32836-conceptual-side-weight-lifting.html

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weight-loss-through-exercise/14264-basic-lifts.html

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weig...to-weight-training-female-friendly-guide.html

And ... please understand that I don't mean this in a rude or harsh way, but out of genuine concern: Why are you "training" your g/f if you don't know the first thing about proper exercise and nutrition?

Aside from the fact that (as shown above) you could be doing exactly the wrong thing to give her the progress she wants, improperly training someone can do a LOT of harm. I've been working out, lifting weights, and training for nearly 4 years now. I have researched, read, and studied ... and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable ... and while I'm happy to give advice here, I would never undertake to train someone, even knowing what I know. I have a healthy respect for the amount of damage you can do by mis-training.

There's nothing wrong with the two of you exercising together if she wants. Support her, encourage her, even help her find a proper trainer, but I truly don't believe you should be designing workouts for your g/f. Not at this stage.
 
I find my girlfriend to be beautiful. I have absolutely 0 problem with the way she looks. However, I've noticed that she has some serious body image issues, and I hate the way she sees and talks about herself. She wants to do something about it, and if she doesn't agree with her looks, then I do as well.

I'm not really trying to design a work out per-se...I believe some of the things in my original post may have been somewhat of a hyperbole. I use terms loosely and I simply wish to focus on her abs and thighs because those are the parts of herself that she seems to hate the most. As stated, I don't know much about exercise. I'm 6 foot, 140 pounds, and very tone. I build muscle easily, tone easily, so I don't make an effort to go out and work for it. The way I eat would put people with lesser metabolisms in the obese category....

My initial plan to was just play soccer with her and do some distance running with her, but after she told me that she wanted (in addition to losing overall weight) to tone her tummy and her thighs, I thought that maybe I should see about exercises that could target those areas.

I apologize about the "Full hour of tonage" thing, that would be a prime example of me playing loose with words. I simply meant that if it is required, we can devote an hour of each day to such an endeavor.

Again, I don't really know anything, which is why I'm here. I really do appreciate the help. I wanted feedback and advice and you've given me more than enough help. I've already tracked down sources of "lean proteins, lots of veggies, healthy fats, complex carbs," and it seems that the majority of these sources are already found within my household, in fact, it's most of what we naturally eat around here.

Thank you for the help. I really do appreciate it.
 
Gotcha. Yeah, playing fast and loose with the terminology can sometimes be a problem because we do get a lot of people here who are doing those things and do believe (and will insist with their dying breath) that they know what they're talking about.

I will advise this - if you want to sorta educate yourself :) Remove the word "tone" from your vocabulary. There is no such thing when you're talking about getting fit and in shape. It's a dead giveaway that you're getting info from a magazine somewhere rather than serious fitness/training sources. :)
 
Haha, that's crazy. I've heard doctors use it. How would you describe someone who is skinny and muscular (can I use cords to describe muscles?). I guess good muscle definition without bulkiness?

Something like this maybe:
 
Haha, that's crazy. I've heard doctors use it.
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Doctors generally don't have great information or knowledge of nutrition or muscle building. I'm not saying that to dis doctors, but I've had doctors themselves tell me this - there is very little training in medical school on proper nutrition and exercise beyond the very basics. Unless a doctor goes on to specialize in sports medicine, they generally get their information from the same place most of us do - the media. :)

How would you describe someone who is skinny and muscular (can I use cords to describe muscles?).
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Fit. Or muscular. Or wiry, even, if they're very skinny and have those cord-lean muscles.

The thing is, when it comes to exercise, there is no such thing as "toning" when it comes to working out. Either you're building muscle or you're not.
 
Losing the thighs

My suggestion would be that you hire a trainer.

Yes it costs money, but you will learn the proper exercises and the proper form.

The end result will be that you achieve the goals you are after.

Hire the trainer.
 
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