wanted : exercise recommendations

Hi, I'm new and I wasn't sure exactly where to post this but I figured toning was the closet to fit the bill. So here goes......

After having my child almost 4 years ago my weight spiked above 200. I decided Nov of ‘05 that I was going to lose weight and get back in shape. As of today I have lost a total of 40 lbs and I still want to lose an additional 40. At this point in my workout I’m looking for advice in regards to shaping up. I have some very specific goals which are as follows…..

First - breasts

Because my cup size has gone from a DD to almost a C I am starting to have issues with breast drop. What at home exercise can I do to lift and firm my breast and regain my pre-pregnancy perk? I’m not looking to bulk up my peck muscles, simply to tighten the skin in order to put then back where they go and keep them there and without compromising size. I would like to stay in the C cup rage.

Second - arms / waist

I would like to find a way to strengthen AND slim down, my arms.
Ditto to the waist. Increased strength but no bulk.

Third - thighs and butt.

This is one area where bulk is what I want, kind of. I am not looking to achieve the thin look in the lower body. I have always been happy with the rear view even if it is on the oversized. I want to be able to slim down over all without losing definition in my butt. To keep the ghetto booty but just transformed into a more defined section.

Last - over all skin firmness. All specifics aside my number one complaint with my weight lose is lose skin.

Keep in mind I am a mom without a gym membership and I don’t plan on getting one. My home gym consists of a few free weights and an elliptical machine. I’m looking for no fuss exercises.

Any and all advice would be appreciated
 
You may not like my answer... :)


Most of the areas that you want to tone of firm up require a reduction in overall body fat. You cannot pick where your body decided to lose fat from. You may lose it in your breasts, you may lose it from your thighs. You have no controlover it.

You cannot spot reduce (i.e- doing crunches will get rid of fat around the stomach... wrong). You can spot tone (i.e- doing crunches will strengthen the stomach muscle).

Continue eating well and working out with cardio and strength training for overall body fat loss. Saggy skin is a side effect of a large amount of weight loss. If you are young enough and still have elasticity in your skin...it may tighten. If not... you won't get the look you want.

To bring up the boobs a bit... strength training your pec muscles. You will not bulk up. Big myth. Instead you will work those pec muscles and strengthen them. This will give a natural breast lift, but it will not be hugely noticeable if you have large saggy breasts. :(

You can do tons of exercises using free weights and an elliptical. So no worries there. Just keep changing your program to keep things fresh and to keep from plateau'ing.

Here are 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 lots of water :)


3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 24-48 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.


All of the above things combined will result in fat loss.
 
Hi,
I'm glad you came here for some insight. First, you simply cannot do exercises to firm your breasts. You can do exercises that will strengthen your chest muscles, but you cannot tighten the skin. And you definately won't bulk the muscles. Women do not naturally have the hormones to bulk up our muscles.

As for increasing strength and slimming your arms and waist: they will get stronger from a good weight training program that covers the whole body. They will slim down as you continue to lose fat, which is done throguh a combination of nutrition and exercise.

As for building up the lower legs...it's not easy for us women to build muscle. We're not designed for it. But you can build some. Work your legs up to 3 times a week and make sure you let them rest for 48 hours in between workouts. Squats (vary your stance. Do some with a wide stance, some with a medium stance and some with a narrow stance), lunges and straight leg deadlifts are good choices. Continually increase you weights. If you can do more than 10 reps while using proper form increase the weight.

I hope this info has helped! If I can help more plase let me know.

Sarah
 
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