Need help changing my workout routine

mkath4

I have been doing the same type of workout for the past four months: 45-60 min of cardio (vary between stairstepper, treadmill and elliptical), as well as 10-15 min of strengh training (weight machines at gym). My weightloss has been at a standstill the last month.

While I can feel the muscle in my legs and arm, I can't see the muscle yet. I really need to lose the fat on top of the muscle. My husband keeps telling me more cardio. I am hearing a lot on MFP about weights. I would love your ideas how to get out of this plateau and start losing the fat and keeping/gaining muscle. I want to look lean. Thanks

baileybowman

I think that your hubby is right about cardio.. maybe try elliptical more instead of stairstepper? Or running/intense walking uphill (I sometimes do the treadmill at 4-4.5mph with incline on 5-8) .. And definitely the 30DS. That helped tone me. I hope this helps!!

KyleB65

How many days a week do you train? Is it the same routine every workout?

For me, lots of cardio helped me lose lots of weight last year (mostly cycling). However, another key ingredient was keeping my calories under control.

As for workout ideas. Check out Bodyrock.tv they have lots of good exercise ideas that you can do independently.

Another way is to join a class or group. Dancing, yoga, martial arts, etc all offer a varied and interesting workout. And, as you get some experience you can figure out what works for you.

Best of luck!

michael300891

60 min of cardio is probably enough but the quality is perhaps whats lacking. I imagine that the intensity will have subconciously dropped or at least plateaud. Intervals will probably give you the most significant benefit. Instead of doing 15 mins of a cardio machine straight do 4 minutes at your normal pace then 1 minute at a much higher intensity then drop back to the next 4 minutes so your doing 3 intervals in a 15 minute period. It will BLAST the fat off you. The 1 minute interval should be hard enough that you are breathing very very hard and struggle to reach the full 60 seconds of that minute without stopping. Hope this helps.

jadedone

Are you doing intervals? Replace one or more of your workouts with intervals. The workout will be shorter. About 30 minutes.
Looks something like this on any cardio machine:
3 minutes of warm up
1 minute as fast as you can
2 minutes moderate pace
repeat 8 times
cool down for ~ 5 minutes

I posted about this a few weeks ago: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/487790-8-reasons-to-do-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit

And then lift heavier weights.
Try to up the weight on the machine by 10-20% and reduce to 8-10 reps. Make sure the last rep feels almost impossible. If it doesn't, up the weight.

mncardiojunkie

In 2009 the guys in the weight room finally convinced me that I needed to change my routine. It took them two years to make their case.

When they told me that if my weight regime was good enough that my body would burn calories all day with the muscles firing.

So I went from one hour or more to on the elliptical or stair stepper to 30 minutes max on the tread mill. And then I spent the majority of my time in the weight room, learning from the guys.

I dropped weight immediately. When I say that, I mean a size 10 to a six from January 1-April 1. I was more toned, I lost cellulite, etc etc.

Now, I'm back from forgetting that from Oct-Dec 2011. But I'm back on the correct regime, and I'm getting toned much quicker and losing weight.

I had a room full of guys at the gym helping me. Now that I switched gyms by buddies aren't there anymore, I'm going to have a couple of sessions with a personal trainer to firm up problem areas.

Best of luck to you.

mncardiojunkie

Are you doing intervals? Replace one or more of your workouts with intervals. The workout will be shorter. About 30 minutes.
Looks something like this on any cardio machine:
3 minutes of warm up
1 minute as fast as you can
2 minutes moderate pace
repeat 8 times
cool down for ~ 5 minutes

I posted about this a few weeks ago: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/487790-8-reasons-to-do-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit

And then lift heavier weights.
Try to up the weight on the machine by 10-20% and reduce to 8-10 reps. Make sure the last rep feels almost impossible. If it doesn't, up the weight.

This is what I've switched to. You needed live on a cardio machine.

mkath4

I workout 5 days a week. Sounds like I need to do interval training. I have not done that yet. Thanks so much for the ideas. Interval training, here I come.

DaveMXF

Look up Mercola Peak 8, see if it is a fit for you....It works for me when I want to switch things up, and plenty of friends agree.

AliciaBeth78

Are you doing intervals? Replace one or more of your workouts with intervals. The workout will be shorter. About 30 minutes.
Looks something like this on any cardio machine:
3 minutes of warm up
1 minute as fast as you can
2 minutes moderate pace
repeat 8 times
cool down for ~ 5 minutes

I posted about this a few weeks ago: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/487790-8-reasons-to-do-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit

TOTALLY THIS ^^^^^^
And then lift heavier weights.
Try to up the weight on the machine by 10-20% and reduce to 8-10 reps. Make sure the last rep feels almost impossible. If it doesn't, up the weight.

This is what I've switched to. You needed live on a cardio machine.

getalife9353

Do some research on interval training....
I do a 1 to 2 ratio of intense effort vs. recovery. I do either a 20 sec intense: 40 second recovery, or a 1 minute intense; 2 minute recovery. I use a HRM monitor and try to push the intense portion to a HR of 90-95% max HR. Recovery portain I like to see my HR drop below 70 - 80%. Of course I do a warm up first (5 min) and cool down after (5 Min). Total time anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes. Also on your strength training insure you are going heavy enough for it to be effective. I finish my workout off with stretching.

jcoco

The first thing I would recommend is buying a heart rate monitor. It is invaluable in monitoring how hard your working. The biggest mistake I see in the gym are people watching TV, reading a magazine, etc.. & not paying attention to how hard they are working. I constantly challenge myself against my target heart rate. The better condition you are in, the harder you have to work to stay in your target heart rate zone. Also, I would try doing Crossfit exercises. Crossfit is a combination of cardio & weight training. If you google Crossfit you will get some ideas & workouts. Your body adapts very quickly, so you must change your exercise routine every 4 to 6wks at least. I change week to week. Good Luck!