Favorites?

KolieBug27

What are your favorite exercises for arms (more specifically triceps) and thighs?

Thanks!

ndj1979

honestly, you should of starting four to six months ago. You can't spot reduce a specific body part, because fat comes off from where it wants to come off from. All you can do is keep strength training and eating in a deficit.

I would also suggest building long term habits where you are training and watching calorie intake year long, and not "dieting" for specific events.

KolieBug27

Yes, I know... I'm asking for your favorite toning exercises for these areas, nothing more. Thanks!

CrabNebula

I doubt you can fix any of that in a month.

If you have loose skin from being massively overweight like I do, the only cure is surgery. I am in the 120s, have been for nearly a year, I am in the best shape of my life, and my arms and midsection look like deflated, flabby balloons. It is gross, but it didn't stop me from enjoying Hawaii last fall.

ndj1979

KolieBug27 wrote: »

Yes, I know... I'm asking for your favorite toning exercises for these areas, nothing more. Thanks!

again, you can't "tone" a specific area. All you can do is keep following a structured lifting regimen like starting strength, or all pro beginner routine, and keep eating in a deficit.

MzManiak

Weighted squats and dead lifts would be my suggestion for exercises.... but you're going to Hawaii! You should enjoy it no matter what. Just have fun.

rileyes

Ahhh... black sand beaches and rainforest hikes. Lucky you! (Relating to post title before edit)

Reduce the fat through a caloric deficit--weigh everything.
Keep as much muscle as possible through weight training--lift everything.

KolieBug27

ND, I'll respectfully disagree with not being able to tone specific areas. Thanks for your time.


Crab, good for you! Thankfully I'm hoping surgery won't be necessary. While I've been technically "obese", I never tipped the 200 mark and I'm 35 and 5'3". Just didn't really take care of myself in my 20's, I fear! So here I am living life and realizing photos are forever and want to try to get healthy and fit once and for all and stop the yo-yo-ing. Figured the Hawaii trip we recently booked was as good a reason as any to get and STAY motivated.

jdhcm2006

There's not much you can do in a month. Just keep with the deficit, but you're going on a vacation so just make sure you enjoy yourself. Eat, drink, relax, and have fun.

Timelordlady85

I like doing jumping jacks, squats, lunges,HIIT training videos. you can add weights in your hands to make things more challenging. good luck and enjoy your trip.

jemhh

KolieBug27 wrote: »

ND, I'll respectfully disagree with not being able to tone specific areas. Thanks for your time.


Crab, good for you! Thankfully I'm hoping surgery won't be necessary. While I've been technically "obese", I never tipped the 200 mark and I'm 35 and 5'3". Just didn't really take care of myself in my 20's, I fear! So here I am living life and realizing photos are forever and want to try to get healthy and fit once and for all and stop the yo-yo-ing. Figured the Hawaii trip we recently booked was as good a reason as any to get and STAY motivated.

Toning = losing body fat to show a small amount of muscle. You cannot spot reduce fat. Period. End of story. You can spot build muscle but you are not going to build anything visible in the next 5 weeks.

In the long term, starting a complete progressive resistance program and reducing your body fat levels via caloric deficit is always a good plan.

KolieBug27

Thank you ladies! I do plan to have tons of fun and shake what my momma gave me no matter what it looks like! Would just like to feel a little more comfy in that bathing suit!

KolieBug27

tone
/tōn/
verb
gerund or present participle: toning
1. give greater strength or firmness to (the body or a part of it).

This is the definition I was referring to. I am 100% aware that I need a deficit to lose the fat on top if it, my question is your favorite exercises to tone those areas. Thanks.

Definitely looking forward to the trip!! First time to Hawaii as a grown-up! Haha

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

KolieBug27 wrote: »

tone
/tōn/
verb
gerund or present participle: toning
1. give greater strength or firmness to (the body or a part of it).

This is the definition I was referring to. I am 100% aware that I need a deficit to lose the fat on top if it, my question is your favorite exercises to tone those areas. Thanks.

Definitely looking forward to the trip!! First time to Hawaii as a grown-up! Haha

You've got it all figured out by the looks of things.
Enjoy your vacation.

jemhh

KolieBug27 wrote: »

tone
/tōn/
verb
gerund or present participle: toning
1. give greater strength or firmness to (the body or a part of it).

This is the definition I was referring to. I am 100% aware that I need a deficit to lose the fat on top if it, my question is your favorite exercises to tone those areas. Thanks.

Definitely looking forward to the trip!! First time to Hawaii as a grown-up! Haha

What type of body tissue is firm and strong, fat or muscle? It's muscle. What is referred to as "toning" is simply losing body fat and having a little bit of muscle under it. That's it. There's nothing else to it. You're not going to make your fat firmer. The best exercises to provide tone to your body are refraining from eating a certain number of calories and compound weight lifting or bodyweight exercises such as bench press, squat, deadlift, overhead press, pushups, pullups, etc.

flowergypsy79

Squats are always a good idea. Squat til you cant walk!

I lived in Hawaii for 6 months and locals all wear board shorts with a bikini top. If you want to rock some shorts while on the breach you will look like a local and not like you are trying to cover problem areas. If no women on the beach are wearing shorts it just means everyone on the beach is also a tourist.

Maybe make a point to go to a local beach. A lot of people on the islands are bigger and everyone goes to the beach!
Have fun!!

jofjltncb6

KolieBug27 wrote: »

ND, I'll respectfully disagree with not being able to tone specific areas. Thanks for your time.

Is this disagreement based on science or based on wishful thinking?

Because based on everything reliable I've read, he's right.

caurinus

You can't take flabby fat tissue and turn it into muscle. It will just sit on top of the muscle. You just need to burn the fat off.

Set your total calorie target at TDEE minus 30%. Divide those calories up into 20% of calories from fat (at 9 calories per gram), 40% protein (4 calories per gram), and 40% carbs (also 4 calories per gram), and hit those targets as closely as you can every day. No more, no less. Also try to eat as many of those carbs as fibrous fruits and vegetables as possible. Follow a full-body weight lifting program, then do 30+ minutes of cardio after the weights. Time permitting, go on long walks if you're tired of cardio. This is a moderately aggressive plan. Depending how much time you have available to exercise every day, and your current weight, all this might get you to lose 5-15 pounds in that amount of time. Maybe enough to be noticeable.

But really, the whole idea of losing weight quickly is a problem -- people go to extremes (far more extreme than what I described above) and put themselves through a horrible ordeal, for sub-optimal results, because they don't give themselves enough time. Then, later on when they get back from vacation, they subconsciously think of that ordeal with fear and maybe some depression about how little it achieved, and because of that fear and pain, they shy away from dieting and exercise, hopeless that they can really achieve their goals, until about 5 weeks before the next vacation.

Do yourself a favor -- go enjoy your vacation, no matter how you look. When you get back, learn how to do a whole-body weight lifting program that strengthens all your muscles in a balanced way, and start eating at a moderate calorie deficit until you're happy with your looks. It might take many months, but if you learn how to do it properly, are patient with yourself, and you experiment to find what works best for you, you'll get there, I promise. Then it becomes much easier to just maintain your looks through the year and you don't have to deal with all this stress anymore.

I've done a ton of reading about fitness and fat loss, and this book is probably the best $15 I ever spent:
http://www.amazon.com/Burn-Fat-Feed-Muscle-Transform/dp/0804137846

rileyes

Since you changed your post title to "favorite exercises" for triceps and thighs...

Various lunges for legs. Static, walking, single-leg...

And for arms I do 4x8-12 of this arm circuit: curls (half way up x8+ reps then mid way to chest x8+), full curls to overhead press x8+, overhead press x8+ then tricep x8+. Dips are good for triceps specifically. I would train the entire arm for balance though.

jemhh

Ah, yes. Good job, OP. Change the title of the thread and the content of your first post.

ndj1979

KolieBug27 wrote: »

ND, I'll respectfully disagree with not being able to tone specific areas. Thanks for your time.


Crab, good for you! Thankfully I'm hoping surgery won't be necessary. While I've been technically "obese", I never tipped the 200 mark and I'm 35 and 5'3". Just didn't really take care of myself in my 20's, I fear! So here I am living life and realizing photos are forever and want to try to get healthy and fit once and for all and stop the yo-yo-ing. Figured the Hawaii trip we recently booked was as good a reason as any to get and STAY motivated.

the nice thing about facts is that they exist whether or not you want to believe in them. You can't spot reduce, or "tone" certain areas. What you can do is follow a structured lifting regimen, eat in a calorie deficit, and lose body fat which will assist in your body re-composition goals.

rileyes

flowergypsy79 wrote: »

Squats are always a good idea. Squat til you cant walk!

I lived in Hawaii for 6 months and locals all wear board shorts with a bikini top. If you want to rock some shorts while on the breach you will look like a local and not like you are trying to cover problem areas. If no women on the beach are wearing shorts it just means everyone on the beach is also a tourist.

Maybe make a point to go to a local beach. A lot of people on the islands are bigger and everyone goes to the beach!
Have fun!!

I was going to mention board shorts too! I like to wear them for rainforest hiking (waterfall at end) and water sports like SUP.

Pareos or sarongs are great as a quick wrap on the beach. They are also great for photo shoots-- color and movement. You can buy them for about $10-$15 on the islands. You can buy them here in California at all the beach stores too.

KolieBug27

Yes, I changed it. A+ for perceptiveness. I figured I might get more of what I was actually asking for that way. So to those who listened, I thank you for you input! And as far as the toning controversy, my brain thinks in terms of burn fat and build/tone muscle, so since I happen to know I'm burning fat, my question was what are people's favorite ways to build/tone their muscles. If that's not 100% correct, oh well.

Not to worry, I am going to have a fabulous time even if I gorge myself on tacos from now until then and end up twice my size! Haha. Would just like to look as best as possible in the photos, those darn things last forever you know! And I do love board shorts! Thanks for reminding me of those! Love the squat til you can't walk, too!