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Originally Posted by recruit25 My stats are 5'2", around 135 pounds. I am unsure of my bodyfat percentage. I wear a size 6 pants and a size 10 top. I seem to hold a little extra weight around my midsection. I do mainly cardio, run/walk 3 - 4 miles daily. Three days a week I do resistance training with weight machines. I am looking to tone and trim up the midsection. Thank you for your help |
Heres a great beginners cycle:
1. Eat less
2. Exercise more
3. Repeat
In order to accomplish your goals, you will need to figure out an eating plan that you can stick with. Thats teh key. Any diet can technically work, but if you arent willing to stick with it, then its of no use. Personally, I like low carb/low fat diets. I am a huge fan of routine, so I eat virtually the same thing day in and day out.
For your weights sessions, you really need to push yourself. The vast majority of women Ive trained and observed are sissies, I hope youre not one of them. They will do a set of 15 reps (cuz they dont want to get big
) and still have enough gas in the tank where they could have cranked out 25 more. Thats about as useful as sitting on your couch and counting channel-changing as exercise. You dont need to "go for the burn" or any other such nonsense, but you need to work hard. If your goal for a particular set is 10 reps and you finish the set and could have easily done another 5 or 6, then youre not using enough weight. I dont advocate going to failure (where you cant do another rep on your own), so if you could pump out one or maybe two more reps, then you are in the right spot.
3-4 weights workouts per week, 12-15 reps per set, and about 60-90 seconds rest between sets. 15-20 sets total is plenty of volume if you are using good movements (see next paragraph).
Be sure that you are using compound movements (squats, leg press, deadlifts, rows, etc). Avoid foo-foo movements as if your life depended on it. Tricep kick backs are a prime example of a completely worthless movement. Also, thinking that a lot of ab work will make your stomach smaller is also a myth not to buy into. Your diet will take care of that.
For cardio, 3-4x week for 20-60 minutes depending on your fitness level. If you are eating a low carb, low calorie diet, then you probably wont have the energy for long, drawn out, boring as all get out cardio. Walking is not cardio unless you resemble a water buffalo. Assuming that you dont, then bicycling, the elliptical machine or running would be decent choice. I dont like running simply for the wear and tear it puts on a persons body. Its hell on feet, ankles, knees and lower backs. If you belong to a gym, then they will have all the cardio equip you will need.
Just to share a quick and non-detailed overview of the diet I am on now. Its low calorie, low carb, low fat. I lift 3x/wk and do zero cardio. I have tightened by belt two notches in 2 weeks, I am visably leaner, and my clothes fit much better. Doing this I average about .6-.75 pounds of FAT loss per day (4 to 5.5 pounds per week). And Im talking actual fat loss, not water loss or anything else. If people think a normal low carb diet is hell, then my diet would kill you. But it works incredibly well, which is why I like it.