workout plan help??

U

Unattached

0
Hi all! I am new to this site and I specifically signed up for it in order to get some very needed information. I was referred to this site by a friend who told me it was a good place to get some questions answered. I'm 20 years old and I consider myself too small! I'm about 5'4 and my weight in my opinion is below what I would like it to be. I may be thin but I am far from "toned" I have barely any muscle mass and I am pretty inactive. I tend to go through workout phases where I go hard for a month and then give up. My problem is I don't know what ratio of lifting to cardio I should do and I stress about it! I've heard 3 days of lifting to 3 days of cardio and also I've heard five days lifting a different muscle group each day to 3 days of cardio. I want to see results and I am willing to commit the time to good workouts if I have the right plan. I would ideally like to see muscle growth in all parts of my body and to "tone" up if that word can be used. Especially in my legs! I don't want to slim down but I would also like to stay lean and so cardio is a must for me in addition to the benefits for my health. I work out at my school gym during my breaks from classes and because of this the plan of lifting upper and lower body every other day seems to fit my time schedule the best. Any suggestions? Please help! I don't want to stress over working out it's supposed to reduce my stress!:eek:
 
workout

Focus on compound exercises ... Splitting your upper and lower body workouts is fine if it works for you. Mon. and Thurs. Upper ...Tues and Fri. lower... For upper body try these .. bench press, dips, chins/pullups, rows and overhead press, .. Lower body, Squats, deadlifts, lunges, calf raises. These evercises, I believe will give you a solid foundation if done properly with a HEATLTHY diet. Drinks lots of water also. As far as cardio, 3-4 days a week is fine. I personally do it after weight training or on the off days. Hope that sheds some light. Good luck.
 
There is no ration of strength training to cardio. A lot of people like to make fitness and nutrition sound so darn confusing and intimidating because it makes them feel superior. You have a good thing going for you... age and fast metabolism.

Since you want to look thin and toned... here's what I would recommend considering. Do your upper body and lower body/abs split since it works best for your schedule. jpc1058 gave good days for you to work each. Do 3 sets of 8 reps for each muscle group. Pick a weight that you can lift 8 times with perfect form, but on the last few reps your muscle will feel fatigued. You WANT to lift as heavy of a weight as you safely can. This will NOT cause you to look like a dude. It will add nice lean muscle.

Now on days you weight train- add 15 minutes of cardio afterwards. Make it interval cardio. Go slow, then fast, then slow, then fast for 15 minutes. You pick how slow and how fast. You pick the machine/activity too.

On days you do not strength training, pick one day for no workouts at all. The other days are 45 minutes of medium intensity cardio.

Eat 5-6 small meals a day. Your first meal should be within an hour after waking and each meal thereafter is every 2-3 hours. Each meal has a carb and a protein. Drink lots of water. Take in more good food than bad. And eat enough!

I don't know how much you weight, but you can head over and put in your information. They number you get is how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Eat at least that many calories per day. This will ensure muscle growth (you won't look like a man) and ensure that you do not lose weight.

Good luck!
 
Hi there,
Welcome! I'm glad you came here for advice. It sounds like you primarily need to build up some muscle to get the look you want. Don't worry, no matter how hard you could try you would not look big and muscular like a man! With some work you can build up some strength and lean muscle.

Upper/lower split is fine, but I recommend a full body split 3 times a week. Lift heavy and do compound movements. You need to eat plenty. It may sound crazy, but you'll gain better if you eat at least 7 times a day.

Fidning the right calorie range is hard. The best recommendation is to work with a personal trainer or nutritionist on the diet aspect (as well as working with a trainer on the workout). Calorie calculators will give you an estimate, but keep in mind that the estimate could be a fe HUNDRED calories off! If I ate what a calorie calculator told me to I would starve to death.

If you stick to a clean diet of lean proteins and unprocessed complex carbs you should not gain fat. I hope I've helped and if I can help more please let me know!

Sarah
 
I don't want to sound like a complete fitness moron but what does it mean when you say compound exercises? Also when you said a 3 day full body split what does that mean? Lastly, on nutrition, the idea is 5-7 meals a day spaced a few hours apart consisting of lots of lean protein and complex carbs? Is this correct?
 
-Trainer Lynn-

What is best to put my activity level at for the calorie calculator link you sent me? Based on the idea that I'm working out consistently with both cardio and strength training? Thank you everyone who replied to me post! I really appreciate it.
 
HI,

Compound exercises involve more than one muscle group. For example, a bench press involves the pectorals, the triceps, and the anterior deltoids. A bicep curl is an isolation exercise because it only involves the biceps. Isolation exercises are not bad. Just make sure you base your workout on compound exercises.

A full body split means that in each workout you will work every muscle group. Just make sure you wait 48 hours after one workout before the next. So you could do a full body workout monday, wednesday, and friday.

Yes, you hit the nail on the head with the meals.

Sarah
 
I'd put your activity level at "lightly active". Just remember to keep things simple. :) Email me or let me know if you want more help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top