Please help w/ workout routine!

[Juliana]

I need some serious help. I am getting back into working out (just basic toning). It has been about a year since i have done any sort of exercise, not including sex! I am a female about 5'3, 105 pounds. I am petite, but have nice muscular tone overall in my thighs. And my upper abs are perfect. I cannot for the life of me get rid of the little flabby fat on my lower abdomen and the fat on my inner thighs. I basically want to work hardest on those but also tone and tighten the rest of my body, arms, butt etc.. I just rejoined the gym so can anyone please help me out on what machines to use...time...reps..cardio... even any good supplements and energy boosters to take before heading out to the gym. I am such a mess!
Thanx alot


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[Thaibox]

Sounds to me like the typical female dillema. At 5'3" 105 lbs and some 6-pack, sounds pretty damn good to me. But, anyway what's your diet like? What time do you go to the gym?

Oh yeah, I want you to do one thing, wear an electronic collar that zaps you anytime you get near a machine. Machines are not your friends.

 

[teen1216]

I suggest this site:

http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html

 

[spatts]

Juliana, I replied on your women's board thread, but I'll copy it here:

You may already know this, but you can't target burn body fat. So it doesn't really matter WHERE you need to lose it, just lose it. This is going to be mostly diet.

Toning is what people that are afraid to get bulky call "growing muscles while losing fat so that you can see lines in my skin." Again, this is about diet.

Obviously, you wont see lines if there are no lines to see, so lifting weights (not the pink ones) is necessary.

Here's my old stand-by, IMMV:

Weights alternating heavy one week and moderate the next, for example:

Monday: legs
Tusday: back and rear delt
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Chest and tri's
Friday: shoulders and bis
Saturday: abs

On, for example Thursday, do shoulders light and bis heavy (start with the heavy) and then the next week shoulders heavy and bi's light. Heavy being about 90% of max and light being about 60% of max.

Cardio 5-7 days a week max (start with 3 non-training days) first thing in the morning, empty stomach, OR AFTER WEIGHTS. Moderate intensity, moderate speed, longer duration: walk up hill at 15% grade, 2.5 mph, for 60 min...point being, keep the heart rate between 135-140. I added a second cardio session in the evenings, 20-30 min, and straight protein after that, but only if one session and a clean diet aren't cutting it. At least two of my weekly sessions were HIIT Sprints on an eliptical or track.

My cutting diet looked like this:

http://home.swbell.net/arkaynen/cutting.htm

You would have to alter the times by when you train, and cycle the carbs 3 days low (.5g/kg body weight) and 2 days high (2.0g/kg body weight), or high on training days and low on non training days. The diet in the link represents the 100g CHO median.

1Kg = 2.2046 lbs

 

[Juliana]

Thanx everyone thats some good advice.
Spatts: i'll try to follow you routine that you suggested, but cardio is so tuff for me! Should i just run on the treadmill...or do stair master...or so like aerobics classes count as cardio?
Teen: That site is really good...i found some interesting stuff on there
Thaibox: Yeah i am pretty happy with my body now, but not totally Ok ready for this my diet consists of...mmm...everything. I eat everything and anything, i have great metabolism. I even like have ice cream before i go to sleep...sometimes i eat like 2 times a day (lunch and dinner) and sometimes i eat smalls meals like 6 times a day. I need a set diet...but i am afraid i eont stick to it. And why dont we like machines again?

 

[spatts]

Juliana, I'd start with 60 min of walking or eliptical 3 days a week. Leave a trick up your sleeve. Eventually, your level of conditioning increases, and the same old thing doesn't work anymore. This is when you can start adding HIIT and more cardio sessions. Honestly, for fat loss, cardio is ranked 3rd in my book behind diet and weights.

 

[zackdarnell]

And why dont we like machines again?

Free weights are better because you involve more stabilizing muscles in the lift since balance is a factor. With machines, you just push. With free-weights, you have to worry about pushing evenly and keeping everything stable. Also, free-weights allow you to work in a natural range of motion, while some machines limit or change this ROM. It will be harder with free-weights, but it is well worth it.