Introduction & Feedback Needed

[necia]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Necia and I'm 27 years old. I've started going to the gym about a month and a half ago. I mainly workout on the Elliptical trainer, and I take classes which are 45 minutes long about 4x's a week. What bought me to this forum is the fact that I notice that weight/strength training is a major component of every aerobic class i take, whether, low, moderate or high intensity. I've always been fascinated with female body builders, and thus my internet search began and I was led here.

I was wondering if ya'll could look over one of my meal menu's and a tenative routine and tell me if I"m off to the right start? I'll give you a little background info first. 240 lbs, 5ft 5", so yes I have a lot of body fat to lose.

Typical Day's Menu
Meal # 1 - 7:30 am - 2 scoops Designer whey protein powder w/ 8oz skim milk. I also include either grapenuts, banana, or some raw rolled oats in this.

Meal #2 - 9: 30 am - 3 scrambeled egg whites, 2 slices of turkey, and 1 slice of cheese.

Meal #3 - 12:00 pm - apple with 1/2 cup of rolled oats.

Meal #4 - 1:30 - 2pm (Post workout) - Salad with grilled chicken or salmon, with fat free dressing. Salad includes sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh mozarella, a lil onions, and of course lettuce.

Meal # 5 - 4pm - Non Fat Plain Yogurt, with 2tsp of either wheat germ or grape nuts.

Meal # 6 - 8pm - Grilled Chicken, or Sauted Chicken in evo, with brocolli or cauliflower. Designer Whey Protein Powder before bed mixed with water - 1 scoop.

I drink about 80ozs of water a day and I'm trying to increase that amount.

As far as a routine is concerned, like I said I've been taking cardio classes which includes weight/strength training. However, I would love to kick it up a notch, and hopefully add some cuts in the process. The thing is I don't have a workout partner, and I'm convinced I will kill myself in the limited space working out with the rusty dusty 1 barbell my gym has. So.......... I found a dumbbell routine online that I would love to hear your feed back on.

It consists of upper and lower body routines, which are to be performed on alternating days, every day.
All exercises are 3 sets of 8-15 reps
Upper Body -
One Arm Row
Dumbbell Standing Shoulder Press
Dumbbell Shrug
Dumbbell Bench Press

Lower Body -
Dumbbell Squat
Dumbbell Stiff Legged Dead Lift
Dumbbell Single Leg Calf Raises
Ab Crunches

Ok I don't mean to insult the serious lifters on here with my above dumbbell routine, but I'd figured it's a start. Any and all feedback is welcome. My goals are to eat healthier, lose body fat, and gain lean, stronger, cut, muscle.

TYIA
Necia

 

[The Shadow]

not a bd diet at all......

follow the wo info in the project summary thread




..welcome

 

[Sassy69]

Welcome aboard necia! You found some of the best info & support for fitness & women's fitness on the web! One of the neat things about fitness is that there is no specific way you HAVE to do it. My aunt used to train w/ firewood (cut logs) when she was visiting at my grandparents' cabin. Whatever it takes - just do it, do it hard & do it tight!

Your diet looks like you are off to a good start! How do you find it works for you so far -- do you feel starved or tired? Sleep well? etc?

 

[Evil_Frisky]

Welcome to Elite darlin

 

[Sassy69]

Welcome aboard necia! You found some of the best info & support for fitness & women's fitness on the web! One of the neat things about fitness is that there is no specific way you HAVE to do it. My aunt used to train w/ firewood (cut logs) when she was visiting at my grandparents' cabin. Whatever it takes - just do it, do it hard & do it tight!

Your diet looks like you are off to a good start! How do you find it works for you so far -- do you feel starved or tired? Sleep well? etc?

 

[The Shadow]

^^SO good she had to say it twice......


lol


27 minutes apart

 

[jenscats5]

Welcome aboard!! Great to have you here.....

 

[treilin]

Great to have you onboard!!!!

 

[treilin]

^^SO good she had to say it twice......


lol


27 minutes apart

What an Ass

 

[The Shadow]

What an Ass

dang...who pissed in YOUR cornflakes today?

 

[treilin]

dang...who pissed in YOUR cornflakes today?

Probably you... I'm not allowed to have cornflakes on my diet! or is it 'Deit'?!

 

[The Shadow]

you will never have similies if you keep the attitude....

 

[treilin]

you will never have similies if you keep the attitude....

Oh I have smilies alright..... You just can't see the finger standing up next to my ring finger.....
ha ha ha

 

[jenscats5]

Now, now, children play nice..... don't scare off the newbies....


tee hee hee heeeeeeeeeeeeeee [I'm so bad]

 

[treilin]

Now, now, children play nice..... don't scare off the newbies....


tee hee hee heeeeeeeeeeeeeee [I'm so bad]

Yeah... they can join in too... If they can hang
LOL

 

[necia]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for such the warm welcome. As far as my eating habits go, I feel great eating like this. I was recently doing Atkins and felt like ish. After two weeks I started eating more complex carbs and I'm loving it. I feel great, and I actually have the energy to go into the gym and do something.

Necia

 

[Sassy69]

So you just completed the 2 week "beginner period" or whatever they call it in Atkins where you keep your carbs below 20-30 g/day and now you are moving into the "maintenance phase"? Or have you just tossed the Atkins approach & just eating clean w/ more complex carbs? I'm not a big fan of Atkins in general -- ketosis sucks and you really don't have any energy to do any sort of great training.

 

[necia]

Yup, you got it. Kicked the Atkins thing and really trying to approach a realistic way of eating and living. Thus eating clean and working out. I can already tell that one of my biggest problems is going to be over training. I feel the need to be in the gym every day otherwise I feel lazy. Right now I haven't been in 3 days and it's as if I lost my best friend. How do you cope with overtraining? Dare, I guess? Train hard on your on days and rest hard on your off days?

Necia

 

[Sassy69]

I feel ya on the training. I hate cardio but I could spend all day every day in the gym. It's important to look at "training" as 24/7 thing where part of it is fueling your body at the right times w/ what it needs (and not more than it needs), training it for max "bang for the buck", but not overtraining, doing cardio as needed and also recovery. The big thing I learned a while ago is over training = under recovery. And if you don't factor in time for your body to recover, even if you just start feelign tired and it isn't on your training schedule to take an off day, your body will MAKE you take it, and then some.

Also training can involve many different activities. One of them is time in the gym. Another may be playing team volleyball or golfing or taking the dog for a walk (or chasing the cat up & down the stairs as it is in my house). Whatever to also just keep you active. I'm a huge proponent of yoga / pilates. I did a huge amount of lifting the last several years and basically ended up screwing up my lower back as a result of an imbalanced training program (and some other stuff). But the stretching and focus on core strength that you get from yoga / pilates is something that is definitely lacking from your standard bodybuilding regimen.

To get a balanced view of a fit lifestyle you need to look to your program as something that includes the gym, but isn't encompassed by the gym. It also helps you not freak out on those days that you aren't scheduled in the gym. I still go and do my cardio or hit a cardio / dance / yoga class. I sort of dont' know what to do with myself if I'm not in the gym, even if I don't need to be there.

 

[AngMc]

Hi Necia! You'll do well here, everyone is very informed. I wonder about the overtraining as well...Ang

 

[The Shadow]

Yup, you got it. Kicked the Atkins thing and really trying to approach a realistic way of eating and living. Thus eating clean and working out. I can already tell that one of my biggest problems is going to be over training. I feel the need to be in the gym every day otherwise I feel lazy. Right now I haven't been in 3 days and it's as if I lost my best friend. How do you cope with overtraining? Dare, I guess? Train hard on your on days and rest hard on your off days?

Necia

GO TO THE GYM THEN



Im there soing one bodyprat per day - 5 day a week...you can grow on ANY lifting schedule..you just need to know how to manipulate set totals

 

[necia]

Well I did go to the gym and took a Total Body workout class. It was kind of whack and basic, but at least I went. I mentioned the whole gym going thing because on another board a person mentioned that I was spending too much time in the gym doing cardio. That if I wanted to cut up I needed to spend more time resting as opposed to working out be it weight/strength training or cardio. I actually enjoy working with weights a good 3x's a week, with 3 days for cardio, and 1 for rest, but he told me that was wayyyyyy too much. Not to sure which way to go now, it's kind of hard to determine considering my gym is really whack. I didn't realize that before, as I just wanted somewhere that was convenient. I may have compromised quality with conveience, which is why I mentioned a dumbell workout. However that's to be done everyday, so now I gotta squeeze in my cardio. Either way I'll figure it out. Reading the threads here is allowing me to see whatever I choose is doable if I make the time for it. My husband is gonna kill me, but I think I'm gonna buy me a bench, and at least 110 lb barbell weight set. What do you guys think of that? That should get me started right?

Necia

 

[The Shadow]

I am in the gym 2.5 hours....





















PER WEEK.








per week

 

[Raina]

Welcome! So nice to see someone new post up everything we'd ask (diet training) in their first post! It sounds like you're on the right track already. But it's ncie to get other ideas.

I'm not a huge fan of keeping my carbs low all the time. I cycle them based on my training. Particularly on leg days I kick them up (around 120-140). On non-leg training days I eat more of a moderate carb diet (65-80g a day) and on cardio days I keep my carbs under 40. It works well for me. It's like I get to reward myself on my hardest training days. Plus it gives me 3 different ways to eat during the week which helps mix things up.

I'm with Sassy too about yoga/pilates. I think core training is wonderful. I've found it alleviates back pain for me and also has greatly improved my posture.

I think it's ultimately about finding a balance between how much you need to work out to make progress and staying sane. There's no reason to go on a huge guilt trip for taking a couple of days off. Remember that to grow you need time to repair the damage done to your tissue from training. That repair time is critical. Baby yourself. If you take care of your lean mass it'll continue to help you out.

 

[necia]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I've taken one pilates class and I'm loving it so far. It's so intense, hard, and enjoyable at the same time, lol. Matter fact I have a cardio split/pilates class today that I'm gonna make sure I make it to.
Raina, as far as carb cycling goes I think I'm gonna be doing the same thing, although I didn't plan it like that. It seems that I don't need as many carbs when I don't work out, or during my rest period. Yet, when I do workout, I workout hard, and I notice I'm usually starving, and a complex carb usually nips that right in the bud. If it's one thing I'm grateful to the Atkins induction is the fact that it allowed me to almost strip myself naked of carbs so that I can gain a reappreciation of them. It's also much easier to listen to my body AND hear what it needs.

Necia