Give me the basics! Critique my plan!

rieann84

I'm back from yet another fall off the wagon. It's like..every time I start over again I am totally lost and have no idea what to do. Getting really depressed because I feel like I've been trying to look better my whole life. I don't know what exercises to do, what to eat, when to eat, etc...

I did New Rules of Lifting for Women in the past. Only got about 2 stages in.. The workouts became way too long and tedious. If that's my only option, then I guess I will go back to it, but I really like the idea of collecting a bunch of moves and making up my own routine that can fit into 30-45 minutes. One of my friends on here sent me her own DIY strength routine, but I guess MFP erases old messages and I lost it

Someone please tell me if this sounds like it will work?

I am almost 29 years old. 5 foot 2. I weigh around 150 pounds. I fit into a size 9 or 11 in juniors and a size 8 or 10 in women's. I feel most confident about: my legs. I have great muscle definition in my thighs. I am least confident about: almost everything else. My arms are large and flabby. I have lots of back fat and a belly. Just LARGE overall, I feel like a cow.


I have my calorie goal set to 1750 per day and I want to aim for atleast 100 grams of protein. The plan is to strength train 3 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes, throwing in a 10 minute jog at the end. I'd like to take one day a week to get out there and just do cardio for maybe 30 minutes. I'm a bartender and I work on my feet for anywhere between 7 to 13 hours during my shifts. I work 5 days a week.

Help I feel helpless like I'll never GET it. I get impatient, start to doubt myself, lose motivation and that's when I fail.

athenalove46

Check out Nia Shank's blog: http://www.niashanks.com/

She has a bunch of fantastic programs. The one I'm doing right now is her Beautiful Badass program. She has 3 days or 4 day split programs. My workouts usually take anywhere from 30-60 minutes. Squat days have been my longest, while my chest and arm days run me about 35 minutes.

rieann84

Thanks! 60 minutes here and there would be okay with me. I was hearing from people deep into NROLFW saying that the workouts took an hour and a half..that's just too much for me

athenalove46

Also, with you doing all that exercise I would suggest upping your calories. Check out this calculator to figure out your BMR and TDEE: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

The scale can't measure awesome. Remember that!!! You want to transform your body, lose fat, but don't focus on the scale. Take progress pictures and measurements. They are a better way to determine change. It's also recommended not to eat less than 15% of your TDEE so you might want to start there. There is this fantastic group on here called Eat More 2 Weigh Less. I'd suggest you check it out! It's so liberating to EAT and still lose weight.

jess7386

If the NROWL doesn't work for you then don't do it. Stick with something that you find sustainable. Even if it's 30 minutes it's better than nothing.

I would go on bodybuilding.com and start researching some beginner routines. Decide if you want to do full body workouts or certain body parts per day (which may be best if you want to keep it short - one day for legs, one for back/biceps, one for chest/shoulders/tris). Then look for fitness plans that incorporate these moves, or make up your own - just assign 3-4 exercises (low reps heavy weights) for each body part.

The important thing is to push through even when you don't feel like doing it... and if you happen to fall off the wagon, get right back on the next day.

rileysowner

Personally, unless you really know what you are doing, it is better to purchase a program. Personally I have been lifting since I was a teenager, but even with all the reading I have done in that area, my programs pale in comparison to some of those I have purchased. I personally recommend Turbulence Training 2.0 by Craig Ballantyne. It is a 30 minute workout that will really challenge you. if you have a gym available to you. Google to find out more. I am doing it right now. I have done a bunch of programs from Craig and most have been great. The latest ones seek to maximize your time working out even more.

Mr_Knight

To be perfectly honest, if all you can dedicate is 30 minutes a day then it will be a long hard slog. That just isn't very much exercise at all, which means your weight loss/recomposition will have to be driven almost exclusively by calorie reduction. So I wouldn't even worry about form that 30 minutes takes - first goal should be consistent logging of all food intake, because it's the calories that are going to matter to you.

rieann84

Well, I said 30 to 45 minutes + a 10 minute jog so it's really 40 to 55 minutes. I wanted to do 3 days a week because I figure I ought to rest atleast one day inbetween. Mon, Wed, Fri. Weekends are hard, maybe I can do something saturday mornings, but it would be tough after getting home at 3:30am. Saturday night I will work until the same time, then get up at be at work at 11am for a 12 hour shift.

Mr_Knight

30 minutes of effort doesn't require rest days. If that's the maximum you can devote to this, I would suggest doing 5x5 lifting 3 times a week and running (not jogging - running) 30 minutes 3x a week.

Alternate the activities, and it leaves one day free for "whatever".

Princess_Lee2013

Help I feel helpless like I'll never GET it. I get impatient, start to doubt myself, lose motivation and that's when I fail.

Hi! Based on what you have said here; I have some suggestions for you: I definitely know how you are feeling - a year ago at this time I was 178 lbs, feeling extremely helpless and hopless! Don't lose motivation! You can do it and you can set a plan that has attainable goals that you can follow and feel good about. My first question to you is: while strength training is definitely important - is there a reason you are focusing most of your workouts around the lifting?

I would recommend - given the time that you want to devote to exercise - that you pursue a combo/bootcamp/HIIT style program instead. You can get a really really great HIIT workout in about 45 minutes that will get your heart pumping, calories burning, sweat going and get you lifting heavy weights at the same time. For me, what got me really motivated was signing up for a class at a local health club. The time sucked, it wasn't convenient at all, and I was constantly lugging around my gym stuff - but if gave me the commitment and accountability to schedule the exercise into my life and get me addicted to it! I would highly recommend looking into something available in your area and making it a mandatory requriement. - if you never start work say before 11 am, schedule something for early in the morning - or on your days off, or whatever you can do to make it a mandatory requriement in your life. As we get older, if is so much more important - I'm 27 and knew I wanted to do it this year because I didn't want to feel even more helpless with the age factor kicking in! if you can find some HIIT stuff the workout is usually under an hour. I can also make some up for you that u can do at home or in the gym.


While being on your feet as a bartender definitely helps from putting on added weight, it's not unfortuantely (in my experience) enough to actually contribute to losing weight either. I say this from experience as I was a server for nine years during which time I still worked out haphazardly - not on a routine basis and gained about thirty pounds over this time.

Further to this, as we all know you can work out as much/little as you want but it's the diet that makes the most significant difference. Are you willing/wanting to tighten up the cleanliness of your diet, even just a couple of days a week? I found that when I started my weight loss journey I was quite "defensive" about what I was eating, insisting it was healthy and that I was on a good path - but if that was the reality then - well - I probably wouldn't be feeling the way I was.

I made a significnat effort to eat squaky clean - low carb - healthy stuff all week, and then allowed some treats on weekends.

The other huge thing for me was giving up alcohol - I used to drink daily and have changed to maybe once a week, twice a week if something special going on ...

Anyway - I might be starting to ramble - but I know exactly how you feel and am happy to offer support/advice if you need it! I can also message you some workouts of your own moves if you're intersted! Don't lose the faith!

rieann84

damir00 -- I can't help but feel as though you are being really condescending. And considering you don't have a photo uploaded and you've lost 1 pounds of your 48, I'm not sure how you can come off as an expert.

How can you tell me that 30 minutes doesn't require rest. Do you know what I'm doing when I work out? I do heavy compound lifting. (Again, you're focusing on 30 when that is the least amount I ever plan on doing..I'm aiming for more like 45 to 60). I gotta laugh at jogging vs running. I'm pretty sure the difference is not that big..just so long as your heart rate is elevated. FWIW-- when I say jogging, I mean a pace that is comfortable for me. (5.0 - 6.0 on the treadmill)

rieann84

My first question to you is: while strength training is definitely important - is there a reason you are focusing most of your workouts around the lifting?

Probably because I have done cardio and I was not very impressed with the results. I got down to 135 using strictly cardio and major calorie reduction but I was still flabby..just a slightly smaller version of my former flabby self. I want to change my body composition. Seeing some of the results lifting can bring is true motivation. Plus. I genuinely enjoy doing stuff like barbell squats and deadlifts.

athenalove46

damir00 -- I can't help but feel as though you are being really condescending. And considering you don't have a photo uploaded and you've lost 1 pounds of your 48, I'm not sure how you can come off as an expert.

How can you tell me that 30 minutes doesn't require rest. Do you know what I'm doing when I work out? I do heavy compound lifting. (Again, you're focusing on 30 when that is the least amount I ever plan on doing..I'm aiming for more like 45 to 60). I gotta laugh at jogging vs running. I'm pretty sure the difference is not that big..just so long as your heart rate is elevated. FWIW-- when I say jogging, I mean a pace that is comfortable for me. (5.0 - 6.0 on the treadmill)

Damir00 is being condescending. You absolutely CAN get a good quality workout in a very short amount of time. As long as you stick with the basics (Read several articles on Nia Shanks' website she explains this). Stick with the main lifts (deadlift, squat, bench press, push press, etc.) and leave the fluff at home. Aim for low reps and heavy weight. You will continue to burn calories long after you stop working out....no matter how long that workout was.

Cardio is SO NOT my thing, and as long as you are pushing yourself with the weights it doesn't do any good. So skip it, or do your 10 minute jog after if you choose. Just remember that your muscles do need time to recover. I do a 4 day split right now Mon,Tues, wed rest day, Thurs, Fri.

missnelso04

I don't like to spend over an hour in the gym (generally speaking..busy life, you know!) so I'm a believer in circuit training. I do 4-5 exercises - usually a combo of free weights and machines - back to back with little to no rest and complete at least 3 circuits. It's a huge time-saver to train this way and since I still classify myself as a beginner, it suffices for me.

Weebs628

So this is the beginner routine that Sara recommends a lot in the "Eat, Train, Progress" group... Maybe give it a try?

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843&page=1

I thought I could resend you the routine that I sent you before, but it's gone from my sent messages and I've switched up my routine again. Had to condense my routine to 2x a week. I can send you what I've been doing recently if you're interested. It's similar to what I sent you before, I just cut a bit more of the "fluff". Let me know chicka!

darharmar

www.fitnessblender.com free workouts online. Strength, cardio, whatever you are in the mood for. With or without warm ups can be done under 30 min. Or longer. All at home only needing dumbells, if that. From beginner to advanced. They are AMAZING. I got bored with Jillian michaels and this is NOT that. Much more challenging depending on what you can do and what you want to do. I work out at home only and have gone from size 8-10 to 6ish. Haven't shoppe for a while as none of my pant fit anymore but I have no cash for new ones! This is a Wonderful site that is 100% free. I was tempted to get NTOLFW but I know myself well enough id never follow it 100% all the way through. And if I can't sustain it I better not start. I got rid of my "fat" pants and I ain't goin back.

knackeredat34

I do 30-45 minutes most days, 3 days I weight train at home, 2 days I go for a run and one day i will do a cardio DVD, I've made really good progress and I don't think you need to slog away for hours to make exercise count.

silken555

Wow...lots of great into in here!