Q and A thread - Angus is peppered.

SideSteel

melissa112 wrote: »

Hi, and thank you for sharing your knowledge here.

I have a question regarding strength training. I am female, currently 5ft2 and 152lbs. My first goal weight is 133lbs, then I will see from there.

I started doing the C25K workout, running 3 times a week. Im only on the 2nd week but already feel better, can run further without feeling out of breath. I'd like to continue with this but I'd also like to do some strength training. I wouldn't really want to work out more than 5 days per week.

I can't go to the gym but I do have two dumbbells at home (if loading all the weight onto one the total would be 18.5kg, so not much if using two). I also have two plates which are 7.5kg each. I'm willing to buy some other weights or additional ones but I can only do at home workouts. Is it pointless with such low weights? I want to retain some muscle while losing weight and see better changes to my body than just doing cardio alone.

Do you have any advice? Any suggestions on equipment to buy at home (within a reasonable budget) or is it not going to be beneficial with such little weight?

Do mainly like the cardio so that I can eat a bit more (I'm on 1200 cals per day), but is 3x per week too much?

Thanks so much in advance

1) Yes it will be beneficial compared to not using the weights.

2) Here are two potential options to consider:

- Buy a set of adjustable dumbbells. You can get a decent set of adjustable DB's for a pretty reasonable price on amazon and this would give you pairs up to at least 50lbs or so.

Of course, you'd then need to get a decent program to run. There's a thread floating around the forums with a long list of training programs and perhaps you could find on there. When I write home based DB programs for clients they usually consist of:

Goblet Squat
DB Bench or DB floor press depending on whether they own a bench
Standing DB press
Some type of DB row
DB RDLS and/or single leg hip thrusts

And of course sometimes we incorporate bodyweight movements, and direct arm work/calf work.

- Check out You Are Your Own Gym or Convict Conditioning for bodyweight programs you can do at home.

3 times per week cardio is quite likely to be fine, just monitor how you feel so that you're not getting behind on recovery. Since running tends to actually be fairly high stress, monitor joints/soft tissues to make sure you're not getting aches and pains showing up after weeks of doing it.

melissa112

SideSteel wrote: »

melissa112 wrote: »

Hi, and thank you for sharing your knowledge here.

I have a question regarding strength training. I am female, currently 5ft2 and 152lbs. My first goal weight is 133lbs, then I will see from there.

I started doing the C25K workout, running 3 times a week. Im only on the 2nd week but already feel better, can run further without feeling out of breath. I'd like to continue with this but I'd also like to do some strength training. I wouldn't really want to work out more than 5 days per week.

I can't go to the gym but I do have two dumbbells at home (if loading all the weight onto one the total would be 18.5kg, so not much if using two). I also have two plates which are 7.5kg each. I'm willing to buy some other weights or additional ones but I can only do at home workouts. Is it pointless with such low weights? I want to retain some muscle while losing weight and see better changes to my body than just doing cardio alone.

Do you have any advice? Any suggestions on equipment to buy at home (within a reasonable budget) or is it not going to be beneficial with such little weight?

Do mainly like the cardio so that I can eat a bit more (I'm on 1200 cals per day), but is 3x per week too much?

Thanks so much in advance

1) Yes it will be beneficial compared to not using the weights.

2) Here are two potential options to consider:

- Buy a set of adjustable dumbbells. You can get a decent set of adjustable DB's for a pretty reasonable price on amazon and this would give you pairs up to at least 50lbs or so.

Of course, you'd then need to get a decent program to run. There's a thread floating around the forums with a long list of training programs and perhaps you could find on there. When I write home based DB programs for clients they usually consist of:

Goblet Squat
DB Bench or DB floor press depending on whether they own a bench
Standing DB press
Some type of DB row
DB RDLS and/or single leg hip thrusts

And of course sometimes we incorporate bodyweight movements, and direct arm work/calf work.

- Check out You Are Your Own Gym or Convict Conditioning for bodyweight programs you can do at home.

3 times per week cardio is quite likely to be fine, just monitor how you feel so that you're not getting behind on recovery. Since running tends to actually be fairly high stress, monitor joints/soft tissues to make sure you're not getting aches and pains showing up after weeks of doing it.

Thank you so much

Lesscookies1

Hello! I've been using a weight scale that also measures muscle mass. I was eating a very high protein diet in December, and I noticed my muscle mass increased during that time frame. Recently, I haven't been eating a lot of proteins, and the scale says I lost muscle mass. How much credence should be put on scales that have this features ?

SideSteel

Lesscookies1 wrote: »

Hello! I've been using a weight scale that also measures muscle mass. I was eating a very high protein diet in December, and I noticed my muscle mass increased during that time frame. Recently, I haven't been eating a lot of proteins, and the scale says I lost muscle mass. How much credence should be put on scales that have this features ?

Very little. They rely on a method call bioelectrical impendence (sp) which is highly sensitive to hydration and has a very high error rate in individuals and it is also not reliable for measuring trends in individuals.

Lesscookies1

SideSteel wrote: »

Lesscookies1 wrote: »

Hello! I've been using a weight scale that also measures muscle mass. I was eating a very high protein diet in December, and I noticed my muscle mass increased during that time frame. Recently, I haven't been eating a lot of proteins, and the scale says I lost muscle mass. How much credence should be put on scales that have this features ?

Very little. They rely on a method call bioelectrical impendence (sp) which is highly sensitive to hydration and has a very high error rate in individuals and it is also not reliable for measuring trends in individuals.

Thank you!!

Eelkov

I have a question... I dont add Salt to food... but I also dont avoid salty foods. I find that I am generally in the 1600-1800 range for sodium per day.
According the the australian government the recommended intake is 1600 but on this site it is 2300.
I am guessing that I am in a healthy range of salt intake... but why do they suggest 2300 on this site, and is 1600 too low?

PAV8888

http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/frequently-asked-questions/salt-and-hypertension

Looks like 460 to 920mg is adequate, 1600mg is target level (and is about half of what Australians average) and 2300mg is "upper limit" with "intakes above this level (...) regarded at likely to cause harm".

I note that the site doesn't "suggest" 2300; but it is one of the *limits* that are pre-set/suggested by the site.

You should be able to edit by going (via the web site) to: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals

Eelkov

Thanks PAV