Needs some direction

[2Cheeky]

Hello,

I want to start working out (again) but I am having a hard time getting motivated. Between being a fulltime mom of 12 and 8 y/o's and working a fulltime job outside of the house I am finding it hard to get started. I am 39 and have done just about all of the classes off and on for years. It has been about 1 yr since I have done anything seriously. I had a medical situation that sidelined me for about a week and then the kids started school and the next thing I new months had passed w/ no exercising. I hope it is ok for me to post here, I am not looking to compete or build alot of muscle but I do want to tighten and trim my tush and legs (I have always had weak legs) and I would like to build up my arms some. I do not wish to use a bunch of supplements. I do take various vitamins and am currently using mega citrimax. I don't have a membership to a gym, and I don't really want to invest in one. I do have a weight bench w/ a bar, various weighted dumbbells, a curl bar, body bag, treadmill and other various items. I have tried to use these items and do exercises that I have come across in magaznines. It is very frustrating to have all of this but not having the motivation to use them. I can come up with excuses (not reasons) why I am not doing anything. I am having a hard time trying to figure out how to get started. With everything I have going on in my life right now, my concentration is not focused on myself. I would like to change that without taking anything away from my family. I am the kind of person who just needs a little direction to start with and then I can take it from there. I am posting with the hope of getting some direction. I have been reading some of the threads and people here seem to really know what they are talking about.

Thanks!

 

[Sassy69]

Hey 2C welcome to EF!

Suggest you start by checking out a couple of the stickies at the top of the board:

Are you new to EF Women's Board - START HERE!

TOP THREADS - MUST READ!


Also ref'd in the Are you new to EF Women's Board is a program that our very own The Shadow put together last year that several of the girls have followed very successfully -- The Shadow Project - there's also a link to it at the top of the board. Suggest you read thru that, see how many of the exercises you can accommodate with your home gym.

 

[2Cheeky]

Thanks Sassy,

I did read the stickies and I did read about the Shadow Project. I am just looking for a way to get started. Is it better to start off with more cardio or more weight? I guess I am just looking for some easy answers. I will read through the stickies again and I am sure I will find what I am looking for. Thanks for the time and the advice!

 

[Sassy69]

Thanks Sassy,

I did read the stickies and I did read about the Shadow Project. I am just looking for a way to get started. Is it better to start off with more cardio or more weight? I guess I am just looking for some easy answers. I will read through the stickies again and I am sure I will find what I am looking for. Thanks for the time and the advice!

Do both! The Shadow Project is a very balanced program. Cardio & training work hand in hand. I'd focus more on the lifting tho - cardio supports lifting.

Something that also might help you is getting a good all-around program in book form -- I don't know if you've ever looked at Bill Philips' BODY FOR LIFE book? Its been around quite awhile but its a fantastic intro to the fundamentals of diet & training - not just getting a meal plan & schedule of training, but the WHY. Its not rocket science, but understanding the basics of nutrition help so much in understanding how to put together a program or why --- you can't always live w/ just a schedule of meal plans that someone else put together so if you have the understanding of the purpose of how the meal plan was put together, then you can make tweaks to it that will fit your lifestyle, your tastes, etc. It all tends to fall together better & make more sense than just getting a list of foods to eat as well. The BODY FOR LIFE program also gives guidelines and a variety of foods that will fit the program vs just a straight up meal plan - you have kids - you can't always just eat for what is on your meal plan. Same w/ training & cardio. When you understand how it all fits together & why, it becomes much easier to make it fit your lifestyle.

Hope that helps some - like I said the whole fitness thing is not "hard" but it has a much better chance of success if it all makes sense - especially trying to work around & dispell all the myths about nutrition & "what is healthy" that have been propogated by the media. E.g. women think if they start liftnig they will turn into Arnold Schwartzenegger. Bullsh*t. Women don't have enough naturally occurring testosterone to build up that size and even if you had amazing genetics it would still take several years of specific and targeted dieting & training to develop that type of mass. Don't use that as an excuse to not lift w/ intensity. Women are very strong beings. Do not screw your body out of the power potential it has. I have this argument w/ my mom all the time - she's 65, doesn't eat enough protein, doesn't really resistance train but does step aerobics & pilates 3x/week, walks 5 miles/ day, etc. She could conceivably be in better cardiovascular shape than I am. But because she doesn't eat enough protein & hasn't done any sort of weight bearing resistance training I think in her whole life, her knee tends to pop out of place because she doesn't have a strong enough quad muscle to hold it in. That's EASILY fixed w/ a little training & diet change -but that's another argument .

Create the base and the habit of dieting & training for your goals in a way that fits into your lifestyle and you will be set for life. If you look for only a few quickie ideas that that dont' fit into your lifestyle and are only "half" the story (e.g. only training, no cardio or dieting, only dieting & cardio, no training), you wont' get to your full potential and your goals will take longer to reach and may not even work if the third leg is missing & your particular body needs it.

The BODY FOR LIFE book would be my best suggestion to give you a place to start & understand things. You can pick out the parts you want to read (e.g. the fundamentals of the nutrition & training parts) and then most any program for dieting & training you get will make a lot more sense & be much easier to pick up & adapt to your lifestyle.

 

[2Cheeky]

I am going to check The BODY FOR LIFE book out. Thanks! I do try to consume enough protien, my diet isn't bad (but could always be improved). I have no problems or fear of lifting and building some muscle. I have been looking for the "quickie ideas" for years so I can try to fit working out into my schedule. I think I have to retrain my way of thinking about how I need to approach exercise. From the sounds of it, the book should help me. Again, thanks so much for taking the time and for the advice!

 

[Sassy69]

Two places people get lost when they start the "diet concept" -- either they have absolutely no clue how to eat and may see the only option as starving themselves, or they eat a "pretty clean diet" but still can't get results. The 'pretty clean diet' part is what can be the hard one to get people to understand --- your body reflects the lifestyle you currently follow - i.e first what you eat, 2nd how you expend energy. If you don't like how you look, the diet is not working. Period. Not saying its a bad thing, just means if you are serious about the results you want, you need to go a step further to refine your diet for your goals. This tends to make people feel like they have to make sacrifices and they just really need to get past the hump of "how to eat" and "how to train".

The book is fantastic in getting all the "how it works" explained in one place, very quickly & to the point. That, IMO, is one of the biggest things that helps get over the confusion of how to get to the part about seeing your clothes fit better & "lose weight" (which is really the point we are all really trying to get to, right? )

 

[2Cheeky]

You are so right there!!!

 

[Gymgurl]

Welcome to Ef...I love to see other moms working hard to look good! Good luck to you!!

 

[2Cheeky]

Thanks, "working moms" is definitely a multi-meaning phrase. You look like you are very active. That is one of my goals. I need to do this for myself, and by doing it for myself my family will also benefit. Good luck to you in your endeavors!

 

[Gymgurl]

You just have to put everyone on hold for 1 hour ....do something for yourself...we as moms give give give to kids and hubby and work....well WAIT what about you...you have to take care of you first inorder to take care of the others!!