I have been doing cardio for last two months (almost), 3 times a week, 30min each.
I haven’t noticed any change in my measurements. My cardio has been low intensity. I seem to be burning about 100cal per session.
I know my work out routine is not intense. But I don’t know what changes to make to it.
I need to reduce my body fat and tone muscles.
What have you been doing that helps you lose that fat and tone muscles? What has your workout regimen been like?
Please tell me about how you do your cardio. How long do you do it for? What other factors do you take into consideration (total calories burned, heart rate etc)? How difficult should it be? If it is interval training, how do I know what speeds to run at and all?
If you’re weight training, how do I begin? :(. I use my school’s gym that is equipped with machines for all (major) muscle groups. So, I need to know about the reps and what not.
it's not just about exercising though, are you eating low calorie, less fattening food too. stop eating the desi curries dripping with ghee. make the curry w/ less than 1 tsp of oil. dont eat rice, if you have to eat something with the curry, eat roti w/o ghee on it.
find food ideas for lunch and dinner that are between 200-300 calories or less.
i'm guessing you need to workout a lot longer than 30 mins. too, i do it for 1 1/2 hrs on the treadmill and increase the incline, i've kept mine at 15 which is the highest just so i would have to work harder
If I were you I'd work out atleast 5 days a week. You are already working out 3 days, just squeeze in two more. Gradually increase the time from 30 mins to 35-40-45 and so on. You don't have to worry about increasing time per session for now but do that a little later, that is if you do add the extra two days.
Other than that eat low calorie foods, and do portion control.
Good luck!
Btw what kinda cardio are you doing at the moment?
Does your gym offer fitness classes?
If so, then I'd suggest for you to do 2-3 classes of cardio a week and 2x fully body pump.
Hopefully after more strength/stamina, you may be able to increase pump 3x.
Stick to healthy meals and you will be okay, youre not trying to be a body builder so there is no need to get into the technicalities of measuring calories/ having a resistance training program as of yet.
Body compound exercises for you are most suitable right now which is why body pump is most apt. Circuits is also great.
There is also no need to slog out in the gym for hours on end 5x a week. You will lose body fat/tone up and remain healthy by going 3x a week.
You need a longer, more intense workout. As Nisha already mentioned, increase the time and the incline. Plus you need to monitor your diet. A paratha after a 30 minute workout won't do you any good :p
Also, since you aren't aiming for mass, use small weights and do more reps (20-25) to tone your muscles. This will also aid in fat burning to a some extent. Since you are a beginner, do lots of pull-ups, they are great for toning the muscles in the upper body :)
You need a longer, more intense workout. As Nisha already mentioned, increase the time and the incline. Plus you need to monitor your diet. A paratha after a 30 minute workout won't do you any good :p
**Also, since you aren't aiming for mass, use small weights and do more reps (20-25) to tone your muscles. **This will also aid in fat burning to a some extent. Since you are a beginner, do lots of pull-ups, they are great for toning the muscles in the upper body :)
This is terrible advice. Please ignore this post altogether.
Toning defines as lean body muscles and in order to maintain that you need to challenge your body with heavy weights.
Bear in mind that women have very low levels of testosterone therefore it isnt possible to have huge muscles like men unless you are injecting yourself with steriods.
Heavy challenging weights at 3 sets for 8-12 reps is what you need.
Major exercises you could be looking into are:
Squats
Lunges
Bench press
Bicep curls
Tricep curls
Deadlift
Clean and press
Pull ups
sit ups
pushups
plank
yoga
a form of cardio for 45-60 mins 3x a week.
Thats more than enough to increase strength and build a svelte looking toned physique.
This is terrible advice. Please ignore this post altogether.
Toning defines as lean body muscles and in order to maintain that you need to challenge your body with heavy weights.
Bear in mind that women have very low levels of testosterone therefore it isnt possible to have huge muscles like men unless you are injecting yourself with steriods.
Heavy challenging weights at 3 sets for 8-12 reps is what you need.
Major exercises you could be looking into are:
Squats
Lunges
Bench press
Bicep curls
Tricep curls
Deadlift
Clean and press
Pull ups
sit ups
pushups
plank
yoga
a form of cardio for 45-60 mins 3x a week.
Thats more than enough to increase strength and build a svelte looking toned physique.
Go read a body building site genius.Or better yet, try working out for a year b4 you come tooting your horn. More reps are THE BEST for muscle definition. While low rep range is better for building strength and indirectly muscle mass.
This comes from experience, after attaining my mass goals, I used cardio and high reps to add greater definition to my arms and shoulders.
Im a fitness fanatic, this is why I disagree with you.
High reps (25-30 laughably) is not for muscle tonage but endurance.
Look allow me to break down the rep range to you
1-5 = strength
6-12 = hypertrophy (mass, lean muscle)
13 + = endurance
Can you explain exactly how a muscle is defined if it isnt challenged with heavy weights? In order to promote lean muscle it needs to tear and repair (Im sure you have read upon this), can you explain how you would attain this without challenging weights?
it's not just about exercising though, are you eating low calorie, less fattening food too. stop eating the desi curries dripping with ghee. make the curry w/ less than 1 tsp of oil. dont eat rice, if you have to eat something with the curry, eat roti w/o ghee on it.
find food ideas for lunch and dinner that are between 200-300 calories or less.
i'm guessing you need to workout a lot longer than 30 mins. too, i do it for 1 1/2 hrs on the treadmill and increase the incline, i've kept mine at 15 which is the highest just so i would have to work harder
I should have mentioned that I am a vegetarian. Not just that, I am BAD at eating enough. I don't eat unhealthy. Except for my increased cravings for unhealthy food ever since I started working out :S, which tells me that I am not getting enough calories, and what better way than to eat lots of junk (now, my junk intake still hasn't been huge). I probably have junk once or twice a week.
I should have also mentioned that my BMI is 19.9. So, I don't need to lose weight (body fat index is between 23-25%). But I have problem areas that need work.
I know that if I don't work on my muscles and cardio, well, I will lose my strength, and my problem areas will only get worse.
Im a fitness fanatic, this is why I disagree with you.
High reps (25-30 laughably) is not for muscle tonage but endurance.
Look allow me to break down the rep range to you
1-5 = strength
6-12 = hypertrophy (mass, lean muscle)
13 + = endurance
Can you explain exactly how a muscle is defined if it isnt challenged with heavy weights? In order to promote lean muscle it needs to tear and repair (Im sure you have read upon this), can you explain how you would attain this without challenging weights?
What you did was a waste of time, pansy workouts.
Higher reps build more endurance, yes, but lower rep ranges basically force the muscle to adapt and build strength. Basically, what the body does when faced with heavy weights is to build muscle tissue to prepare for the 'next' workout. However, if the workout is not very intense (low weights), the body responds by conditioning the muscles that it already has.
Anyways, a woman will have very few muscle gains, if at all and I don't think she's going to be curling more than, 3-4 kg so that's a pretty small weight lol :p
I should have mentioned that I am a vegetarian. Not just that, I am BAD at eating enough. I don't eat unhealthy. Except for my increased cravings for unhealthy food ever since I started working out :S, which tells me that I am not getting enough calories, and what better way than to eat lots of junk (now, my junk intake still hasn't been huge). I probably have junk once or twice a week.
I should have also mentioned that my BMI is 19.9. So, I don't need to lose weight (body fat index is between 23-25%). But I have problem areas that need work.
I know that if I don't work on my muscles and cardio, well, I will lose my strength, and my problem areas will only get worse.
man then why did you say weight loss was needed in the thread title and your second post, the BMI seems quite low.
what are the problem areas for you?
Higher reps build more endurance, yes, but lower rep ranges basically force the muscle to adapt and build strength. Basically, what the body does when faced with heavy weights is to build muscle tissue to prepare for the 'next' workout. However, if the workout is not very intense (low weights), the body responds by conditioning the muscles that it already has.
Anyways, a woman will have very few muscle gains, if at all and I don't think she's going to be curling more than, 3-4 kg so that's a pretty small weight lol :p
A female does not have enough testosterone to build much muscle irrespective of how heavy she lifts, this is the point you are missing.
The advice you have provided with never result in a toned, tight and strong phsique but a withered waif cardio obsessed look and if thats what the thread maker is after, then shes better off following your silly advice.
Makes me ponder, if one isnt after strength, general well being and just focused on being skinny... that person has issues.
A female does not have enough testosterone to build much muscle irrespective of how heavy she lifts, this is the point you are missing.
The advice you have provided with never result in a toned, tight and strong phsique but a withered waif cardio obsessed look and if thats what the thread maker is after, then shes better off following your silly advice.
Makes me ponder, if one isnt after strength, general well being and just focused on being skinny... that person has issues.
Then most girls are weird. Most people who exercise (not talking about weight lifting) are much more interested in getting their weight under control and burning fat than building muscular strength. Since a girl isn't going to build muscle mass anyway, lots of reps will promote her body to condition her existing muscles.
U talk about the "waif cardio obsessed look". Ask around, most girls want that look.
man then why did you say weight loss was needed in the thread title and your second post, the BMI seems quite low.
what are the problem areas for you?
My bad! I wrote that down without thinking.
My BMI is in the normal range, though on the lower side. I feel like my Body fat index can take some work. In any case, I want more strength and toned muscles. My problem areas are my tummy and my triceps :(. I have inherited the genes for fat upper arms.
K4plan: I get what Icesoul's advice would get me to look like. What would your's do? Also, read my second post. I don't quite need to lose weight (but I do need to lose the fat from my tummy and arms :S). I want toned up muscles, all over, and cardio and muscle strength. Also, what is body pump?
There is no magical way to lose fat from just the tummy, or the arms, thighs etc. Burn the fat and don't put on more. Cardio + Diet control is the only way.
Body Pump is a total body workout. Basically 45-60 min and trains all major muscle groups. See youtube videos.
