Weddingbee boards

i'm in the same boat, but i've got more time (and another 40lbs...) to go before hitting the weights for "tone up" again.... a few pointers that i've picked up along the way:

• Don't stop doing cardio. Rather, scale back slightly.
• Don't try to lift and work all of your muscles at once. It's more effective to do "splits" (i.e. work on certain muscle groups) once or twice a week rather than doing work on them each day. It doesn't give your body a chance to recover properly, and in doing so you won't be getting the maximum benefit from your efforts. And let's face it, if you're working hard, you want the results to show! :)
• It really depends on your goals, but you can prob do this easily with 4-5 gym days/week. I've got my routine shown below, but keep in mind that this was designed to lose weight + build muscle, so it's a bit more aggressive than what you'll need to do if you just want to tone up. Also, it's been tailored according to the equipment availible at my gym.
• What others have said about diet holds true. Try to eat as clean as possible: whole grains, fruits, veggies, water (lots of it!). Do your best to avoid refined sugars/sodas/booze. They cause your body to hold on to water/bloat you. Yuck.
• A few websites that I have found to be helpful are:

  • www.jimgetsslim.com (check out some of the links at the top)
  • www.bodybuilding.com (go to the supersite part--it's workout city!)
  • www.muscleandstrength.com (has videos/diagrams which are v helpful)

Ok, so here's my workout routine. It has me dropping 1-3 lbs of fat/week (depending on how clean I eat) all while building muscle.

Day 1: Long Duration Cardio - 45-60 min run on the elliptical- 80 crunches (25 regular, 25 elevated legs, 15 left side, 15 right side)- 30 pushups- 3 planks

Day 2: Biceps + Shoulders-3 x 10 dumbbell curls -3 x 10 dumbbell hammer curls -3 x 10 shrugs-3 x 10 lat raises-3 x 10 front raises-3 x 10 pull ups (assisted, if needed)-3 x 10 lat pulldowns -3 x 10 seated cable rows-3 x 20 weight resistant crunches (on a machine)-15 min on the elliptical to cool down

Day 3: High Intensity Cardio-20 minute HIIT session -80 crunches-30 pushups(This is my shortest work out, but it's the toughest)

Day 4: Legs-3x15 squats-3 planks (til failure)-50 crunches (only regular + elevated)-3 x 10 leg raises-3 x 10 leg press-3 x 10 hamstring curl-3 x 10 standing calf raises-15 min on elliptical

Day 5: Long Duration Cardio (Same as Day 1)

Day 6: Chest + Triceps-2 x 5 wide grip dips (assisted)-2 x 5 narrow grip dips (assisted)-3 x 10 dumbbell bench press-3 x 10 dumbbell incline bench press-3 x 10 overhead tricep extension-3 x 10 close grip bench press-3 x 10 rope pull downs-3 x 10 push downs -3 x 20 weight resistant crunches (on a machine)-15 min on elliptical

For any activities where a weight level is needed, start at one that is easy for you and stel up in weight as you progress in sets. For instance, if you have to do 3 x 10 dumbbell curls, start with a 5lb weight for the first 10, if that's comfortable, step up to 7.5 for the next 10, and then 10 for the last 10. (Just a heads up, the shorthand given above for arm exercises is 3 x 10 -- per arm,so it's really 20 motions per set...)

Since it sounds like you just need to tone up instead of dropping weight, I'd prob skip on the HIIT day and do a split like this:

Day 2, Day 1, Day 4, REST, Day 6, Day 5, REST

Try to not rest more than 1 day at a time (I'm not so good about that admitedly; it doesn't hurt things, but it certainly doesn't help...) and make sure that you're focusing on good form/completing your sets. You will be sore if you do the above, but with enough protein intake, good form, and rest, it's totally manageable. (I'm a wuss, believe me...if I can do it, anybody can!)

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions. :)

Glad I could help. I'm 40ish lbs into an 80-90lb goal loss...and it has served me well so far (despite cheating on the diet haha)

Good luck (and have fun!) with it -- and seriously, drink lots of water! :)

Well, daniellealys, I'll be perfectly honest with you...the 40something I've already taken off took me nearly 2 years to take off. I had about a years worth of time in there that I was on the road for work (for a few months/weeks at a time) and was basically at the mercy of the food I had availible to me. I took about 25 off before that time and have just started getting back into things since this summer when I took the rest off. I won't lie--I'm the worst dieter ever! -- but tried to focus on maintaining the loss I'd already had prior to the work "vacation" while I was away and it helped. I also joined WeightWatchers over the summer, and have found a lot of helpful techniques as a result of going to the meetings...nevermind having someone there who totally gets what it's like to not have a healthy relationship with food for most of your life. (And believe me, looking back on things, I spent 20-something years of my life in that boat!)

Beyond that, I'm still a bit overweight for my height. Mymain motivations for all of this was to (1) be healthier, (2) feel better (it's amazing how much even a 5-10lb loss will improve how you feel!), (3) address some other health issues i had going on (had a knee that was giving me a lot of trouble because of my weight). And honestly, there were 2 things that really shook me into shape on this -- the first was realizing that I couldn't do a flight of stairs without getting winded, and the second was when my dr said I needed to drop some weight before I'd be considered "normal risk" if/when fi and I ever want to start a family. The sudden realization that my health wasn't just about me anymore -- but about my future life and the life of my kid(s) was really something to think about.

The biggest realization I've had with all of this is that I can't change the past. I can only change the path I'm going to head down in the future...and I want to go down a healthy, happy path. Scales be damned; they can't measure those things...it's how you feel--and treat yourself!--that will dictate such things.

I know we've never met, but take it from me....YOU CAN DO THIS.