Exercise Plan

katiejanecollins
katiejanecollins Posts: 236 Member
edited November 13 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all

I've just written myself a basic exercise plan to try and stay on track, I'm not looking to lose much weight - mainly just want to lower my BF%. Several people have suggested I do strength training alongside cardio, is the below a good mix? (I'm incorporating various different ab/leg/full body moves that I learnt from the Bikini Body Guide by Kayla Itsines):

MONDAY - 20 MINS ABS
TUESDAY - 20 MINS CROSS TRAINER + 10 MINS STEPPER
WEDNESDAY - 20 MINS LEGS
THURSDAY - 20 MINS FULL BODY
FRIDAY - REST
SATURDAY - 20 MINS CROSS TRAINER + 10 MINS STEPPER
SUNDAY - 20 MINS CROSS TRAINER + 10 MINS STEPPER

Thanks :)

Replies

  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    Just a few things:
    - Abs are accessory, so I’m not sure I’d dedicate a full workout to them.
    - If you work legs on wednesday and then again on thursday (full body), I’m not sure you’re getting enough recovery.
    - With this program, you’re only working the body parts once per week (that can work, but are you really killing it those days?)
    - Why only 20 minutes? Strength training requires heavy lifting (3 - 6 reps) followed by short recovery (1 - 3 minutes). You won’t get many sets in that way.

    Please look into New Rules for Lifting for Women or stronglifts. Either one of those programs is going to give you better results. I’d do compound movements 2 - 3 times per week. A standard strength training session is going to take closer to an hour. You can go to splits, but as a beginner, there really isn’t a reason to do so (other than time constraints).
  • katiejanecollins
    katiejanecollins Posts: 236 Member
    edited February 2015
    .
  • katiejanecollins
    katiejanecollins Posts: 236 Member
    AllanMisner wrote: »
    Just a few things:
    - Abs are accessory, so I’m not sure I’d dedicate a full workout to them.
    - If you work legs on wednesday and then again on thursday (full body), I’m not sure you’re getting enough recovery.
    - With this program, you’re only working the body parts once per week (that can work, but are you really killing it those days?)
    - Why only 20 minutes? Strength training requires heavy lifting (3 - 6 reps) followed by short recovery (1 - 3 minutes). You won’t get many sets in that way.

    Please look into New Rules for Lifting for Women or stronglifts. Either one of those programs is going to give you better results. I’d do compound movements 2 - 3 times per week. A standard strength training session is going to take closer to an hour. You can go to splits, but as a beginner, there really isn’t a reason to do so (other than time constraints).

    I'm really not looking for intense strength training, just a bit here and there. 20-30 mins of abs/legs/full body works well for me and any longer at this stage wouldn't be good for my body based on previous attempts.
  • WolverhamptonFitness
    WolverhamptonFitness Posts: 233 Member
    I think what he was saying is - to lower bf% its better the lift heavy. (Simplified, but the original response was a good one)
  • katiejanecollins
    katiejanecollins Posts: 236 Member
    edited February 2015
    Ah hour of heavy lifting, as suggested, would probably kill me! :o
  • grantevans11
    grantevans11 Posts: 114 Member
    edited February 2015
    Your best bet is compound movements if your trying to burn fat and HIIT for your cardio.

    Compound movements include squats, kettle bell swings, clean and jerk etc.

    But you don't look like you've got much fat you need to burn anyway.
  • katiejanecollins
    katiejanecollins Posts: 236 Member
    Those are the sort of things I was planning on incorporating :) I want to lose about 5% max - legs are problem area!
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