Seeking Workout Advice

[redroserecords]

Winter is upon me along with a lot of studying ahead in the coming weeks which means that I need to find a good supplementation for water aerobics which I love but will not be able to continue until spring.

Main criteria would be a daily workout that even I as an overweight girl can do at home, that is not rough on my knees (no juming around!) and that requires minimal equippment to work with.

Last winter I invested into a gym membership but I honestly did not feel comfortable there so would prefer to do something individual at home this winter that I can take on at my own pace.

I stumbled across Shin Othake's Max Workouts on the net. Does anyone have experience with this program?

I am a complete fitness klutz by the way, so any advice would be much appreciate on how to survive the busy winter months ahead without putting more weight on and loosing the small level of fitness I have built up over the last couple months. Thank you!

 

[Eilan]

First of all, I'd suggest going to a reputable fitness-related site, like Lyle McDonald's BodyRecomposition or the JP Fitness boards, and reading everything you can get your hands on. Most of the advice you'll get in this thread will be broscience or sislogic, but the awesome folks at those communities know their shit.

Secondly, I'd recommend picking up a book called The New Rules of Lifting for Women (or even the original The New Rules of Lifting, which is geared toward men but can be done by anyone). I'd also recommend getting over your fear of the gym and hitting those weights. I promise that the bench and curl warriors are too busy admiring their gunz in the mirror to pay attention to what you're doing. Trust me: lifting weights won't make you look like a female version of Arnold.

I did a search for Max Workouts, and it doesn't look like anything new, really. Circuit training, intervals, full-body workouts. Meh. I wouldn't pay $40 for it when I could find similar info for free.

Finally, you can do the greatest workout in the world, but unless your diet is dialed in, you won't see the results you're after.

Can you tell I'm passionate about this stuff? Good luck to you.

 

[redroserecords]

First of all, I'd suggest going to a reputable fitness-related site, like Lyle McDonald's BodyRecomposition or the JP Fitness boards, and reading everything you can get your hands on. Most of the advice you'll get in this thread will be broscience or sislogic, but the awesome folks at those communities know their shit.

Secondly, I'd recommend picking up a book called The New Rules of Lifting for Women (or even the original The New Rules of Lifting, which is geared toward men but can be done by anyone). I'd also recommend getting over your fear of the gym and hitting those weights. I promise that the bench and curl warriors are too busy admiring their gunz in the mirror to pay attention to what you're doing. Trust me: lifting weights won't make you look like a female version of Arnold.

I did a search for Max Workouts, and it doesn't look like anything new, really. Circuit training, intervals, full-body workouts. Meh. I wouldn't pay $40 for it when I could find similar info for free.

Finally, you can do the greatest workout in the world, but unless your diet is dialed in, you won't see the results you're after.

Can you tell I'm passionate about this stuff? Good luck to you.

Hey Eilan, thank you so much for taking the time for sharing your advice! I am in the process of checking out the mentioned sites and already found what looks like a basic beginner program on one of the forums that is meant to help you out while figuring out which exercise routine you want to follow. Great idea!

Also, I have to admit that pointers like yours are necessary to guide me since I feel rather overwhelmed when simply googling for fitness or home workout. There seem to be so many options and different programs and I find it challenging to decide which way to go.

 

[viper2000]

www.acsm.org American college for sports and exercise science.

www.tnation.com alot of good articles.

www.crossfit.com great for a newbie if you can modify them to suit you.

You need to set yourself some goals maybe see a personal trainer and explain how you feel and get them to design a program for you to do at home.

Id recommend maybe getting some books on the basics of training and maybe working out with a friend who knows a bit about working out and you can do that home. For you I would say try doing 50 bodyweight squats, 50 situps,50 tricep dips and maybe some chip ups if you can. This is a program you can work up to or do every now and again when your strained for time. Note this is a warm up I do for Boxing training and may take time to work up to and is no substitute for a well designed program.

 

[GWNorth32]

I have had great success with the ABS diet books, they have one specific to women and the entire book is dedicated to a sensible eating plan, with a workout you can do in 30 min. It was never available at the library so I just bought it it was under $30.

http://www.absdietforwomen.com/uof/absdietforwomen/

 

[cromsgirl]

I also have bad knees. My workouts involve 15 minutes of a dance game (In the Grove) on the PS2. It is a lot of fun and you can turn the jumps off, unlike DDR. I also have 3 sets of dumbbells of different sizes and got exercises from Sparkpeople.com. I alternate days and the strength training takes about 15 minutes as well. Quick and easy and it still works. I lost 23 lbs this summer using this workout ( I took one day a week off) and keeping my diet about 1300-1600 calories. Hope this helps.

 

[Sidney_1]

I'm thinking about investing in the Physique57 workout videos. But, you also need to include some form of cardio for 30 minutes , 3 times a week.

I also like the Rodney Yee yoga video series.

Lately, my health club blasts music and it's so annoying. But, if you attend, it gives you the most flexibility of options.

 

[Toadisbest]

This is the best article I've ever read on getting fit:

http://www.liamrosen.com/fitness.html

Reader's Digest version:

1. Build muscle. Muscle helps you lose fat, so you look better naked. If you accidentally develop muscles that you feel aren't feminine (VERY hard to do), you can scale back later.

2. Best workouts are going to be at the gym, using free weights. You don't need fancy machines, just basic weights and racks.

3. Sensible diet also required to help you lose fat. A great workout program can still be sabotaged by poor eating habits (and vice versa).

Getting in shape is relatively simple; it just takes a lot of hard work and determination. Keep at it.

 

[youngofficeguy]

a couple super easy things for weight and fitness are:

stop immediately drinking ALL sodas of all types & brands, instead drink water with some lemon slice or lime wedge in it ... you can also buy the carbonated water and add some real 100% fruit juice in it

stop immediately eating white rice, eat brown rice or lentils instead

eat a good breakfast EVERY day, it gets you burning calories for the day ahead

 

[Jackotheshadows]

Eh, I'm 40, and have knees that are beat to crap, but I started two things last year, that seemed to work nicely. One, Zone diet. I'm not advocating that particular diet, but just try to keep an eye on portions, and the amount of processed food in your diet. Two, I started crossfit. Now, that's a little scary at first, but the aspect of functional fitness and the ability to bodyweight type exercises was really appealing. Again, not necessarily advocating crossfit for you, but pace yourself, and stick to whatever you decide as far as exercise goes. it'll pay off.

 

[viper2000]

Jackotheshadows nice work if thats you in the picture good tone (hedro man compliment) Eilan is that was your pick your ripped as.crossfit def changes things up its a challenge. I have a friend of a friend who was quite outa shape and is now a crossfitter and is alot better for doing it. I love the premise of crossfit though I do worry about people without the knowledge to tweak the WODs to suit them say if weights to high or the complexes have to many reps.

 

[baphemetis]

you also need to include some form of cardio for 30 minutes , 3 times a week.

I just want to reiterate this point. Fifteen-minute cardio workouts are not sufficient. From a biochemistry perspective, when you work out, your body will first use any energy that's in your blood (from eating). This is why its best to wait at least one hour after eating before working out. Then, your body will used energy stored in the form of glycogen. Your body has about a 30-minute supply of glycogen. Then, your body will start to burn fat.

A fifteen-minute workout will use up half your supply of glycogen which your body will restock after your next meal. If you want to lose fat, you need to workout for 30 minutes.

Now, it's perfectly okay to start out with a 15-minute workout and then build your stamina so that you can eventually go for 30 minutes. Just don't stop with an end goal of 15 minutes.