Workout plan?

[Juliana]

Woman, 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 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... I am such a mess!
Thanx alot

 

[Gladiola]

Hi Juliana,

Do you have any experience free weight training? Being that you are petite & lean, I bet some moderate to high intensity weight training would get you a tighter body - without bothering much with cardio.

If you have no experience with free weights, I highly recommend you either hire a *qualified* personal trainer for a few sessions, or get a very knowledgable friend to show you the ropes.

Forget machines - your musles have to work harder with free weights (to stabilize the weights in space). Free weights are very superior to machines.

Diet is most important in getting lean & tight - but again, being that you're fairly lean, Since you haven't been lifting, hitting the weights will probably yield great results even with a diet that's only mediocre.

How many days a week can you dedicate to working out? I would say 3 to start, working up to 4 days of strength training per week would be good goals. 1 hour total (with warm up & stretching). Let us know & I'll help you with a split & some exercises.

 

[Juliana]

I have some experience using free weights, but not in a set routine. I could get someone to show me properly how to use them. Do you think you could set me up with a free weight routine to follow. I can workout about 5 nights a week. Also, should i even bother rejoining the gym, should i just buy a weight set? The gym has all those aerobics classes that i love to do, will they 'tighten' me up also,(do they count as cardio) or is there no need for them.
thanx so much for your help

 

[makedah]

www.stumptuous.com/weights.html

For basic weight lifting information... Get comfy and READ IT - every bit of it. There are several routines in the "Workouts" section.


Of course aerobics = cardio.

 

[Gladiola]

"Do you think you could set me up with a free weight routine to follow?"
Absolutely - we can take some ideas from that awesome site Makedah posted (what inspired my avatar! ) and then post a routine here for more feedback. I love program design.

"Also, should i even bother rejoining the gym, should i just buy a weight set?"
Personal preference- but for me, I like the environment of the gym. Just like in college, going to the library made me more want to study - being around others working on the same goal. If you feel that way also, and it's not an economic burden AND it's not a hassle to get there, then I'd say join. If you are less likely to drive to the gym & more likely to workout at home, consider that. But you also have all that variety at the gym.

"The gym has all those aerobics classes that i love to do, will they 'tighten' me up also,(do they count as cardio) or is there no need for them."
I've been an aerobics instructor for over 4 years! I'm probably one of the only aerobics instructor/Olympic Lifters on the planet. Cardio classes do count as cardio, yes. Step, hi-lo (floor aerobics) & cardio kickbox are great classes for cardio. If you love them, definitely do 2 per week or so (or more if you have time, but don't sacrifice lifting for the cardio too often). If you lift & do cardio the same day back to back, cardio goes SECOND, lift first.

Anything called 'sculpt' 'toning' 'BodyPump (I teach this) / Power flex' etc - AVOID!!! Do NOT TAKE! I tell the ladies IN my BodyPump classes not to take this. Light weights lifted multiple times is NOT strength training (so if they put 'strenght' in the title of a class like that, they're wrong.) I'd be happy to explain the physiology of this if you like, but just stick to cardio, HEAVY weight training (MOST important), and yoga if you like it. Ignore muscular endurance workouts (since you don't need that for a sport) unless you really love them or something - they won't help your goal of getting tighter.

 

[Gladiola]

Of course aerobics = cardio.

Just wanted to comment on this. The actual term 'Aerobic' refers to the metabolic pathway - 'aerobics' should be any form of exercise where your heart rate is elevated for a long period of time (i.e. more than 5 min) - but it has come to mean 'group exercise classes'.

Meanwhile group exercise classes have come to expand to much more than aerobics. Actually one gym where I teach uses that to mean "Hi-Lo" (traditional, old school floor aerobics). Then of course there's step, kickboxing, boxing hitting bags, some awesome 'boot camp' or 'sports conditioning' where we essentially run simple sports drills, then all the classes with muscle 'conditioning' (muscular endurance - light weights MANY reps).

So I'm rambling, but not all aerobics classes are aerobics and not all aerobics are group X classes. shutting up now....

 

[makedah]

Not a rant, Glad. It's a good point for a newbie. Lots of classes are held in the aerobics studio that aren't cardio classes.