Newbie needs help.

frogfan88

I am 27
2 kids ( 2 and 3)
Weight 136.6

I just started working out 3 weeks ago. I have been going 3-4 days a week so far. No set time or routine. Just when I can get the time I don't have a set routine at all yet. I do try to work different muscle groups on different days depending on how my body feels. But I have mostly been focusing on cardio with a light strength training in between.

For example. Yesterday
I did the treadmill for 3.1 miles 50min. And burned 255 calories( based on the machine) I try to keep at a very high walking pace at minimum. While also burst of sprinting for as long as possible.

After that I did abs.
(i don't know all the terms)

Tea cup crunches
Leg lifts
Planks
Sit ups
medicine ball twist.

I like to do one set of all of these then go back through the sequence again. At least 3 to 4 Times. Sometime I have to lower the reps of individual excersie but I still attempt them.

I always follow up with cardio also. This time i Focus on getting one last push of energy out to finish my workout and then walk it out to relax. This day I did 1.25 miles in 20min. Calorie burn 123 (according to machine)

Will someone anyone tell me if this is a good routine/structure for a begginer workout.?

I am a very small framed person with thin arms and legs. I carry all the weight I gained From my children in my hips thighs and stomach. I am not looking to be built. I just want to get back to normal. Before children I weighed 110lbs with no excersice and ate whatever I wanted. So trying to lose it is gonna be hard I think.

Any help suggestion encouragements are welcome.

Yi5hedr3

Reverse it...focus on strength training with light cardio in between

juggernaut1974

Kinda hard to tell from your post, but I assume your goal is weight (ie fat) loss?

If so, that's going to be much more dependent on your diet than your exercise regimen. Exercise helps, but only minimally with regards to weight loss.

So with that in mind, my recommendation would be first of all to get your diet on point (MFP can help with that).

After that, I would definitely encourage incorporating some weight lifting into your routine. It will NOT make you 'built', but will help encourage the weight loss through your caloric deficit to be more fat, and reduce the loss of lean mass.

Personally I find ab routines such as you describe to be relatively pointless. Core exercises are important, but there's really no need to do more than a couple sets a couple times a week at most, as a good lifting routine will include a lot of compound movements that will engage your core without having to do ab isolation exercises.

frogfan88

I don't do abs everyday this was just an example to show how much cardio versus excersice I do. I have been able to maintain the 1200 calorie goal mfp set for me. And I usually don't eat back the calories from excersising. If I do eat back any of them it just enough to curb my hunger. I am usually still in a calorie deficit. I am a picky eater and did start taking a multiviatimin to help reach some of the macros nutrients I was missing. As well as making sure I consume at least 5 bottle waters a day. My thoughts as far as why I work out this way is because I know that cardio burns allot more calories then strength training. So with that being said is cardio the right focus?