What's best program which helped you to tone up?
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Oxymoron since lifting light weights for high reps builds muscle endurance. To build muscle you need to overload it with high resistance for about 8-12 reps and multiple sets.by Stew Smith
Lose Fat, Build Muscles With Circuit Training
When the weather turns cold, I receive many emails discussing running in the cold weather, or alternative exercises you can do in the weight room that will also have a cardiovascular effect. Circuit training is one of the best ways to make a resistance and strength training workout that is also challenging for your heart and lungs.
This workout is a 20-minute workout that will take you to your maximum physical effort as well as your maximum heart rate. The object of this workout is not to rest in between exercises. You will see that one minute of a particular exercise will burn out the targeted muscle group as well as increase your heart rate to a fat and sugar burning zone. Try the 20 minute workout below - if it is not challenging enough for you try it again, totaling only 40 minutes of your time in the weight room.
20 Minutes Circuit Workout
(*choose light weights for max reps)
1) Bench press* or pushups - max in 1:00
2) Squats - max in 1:00
3) Pullups or pulldowns - 1:00
4) Bike or jog - 3:00
5) Military press* - 1:00
6) Lunges - 1:00 each leg
7) Bicep curls - 1:00
8) Bike or jog - 3:00
9) Tricep extensions.- 1:00
10) Leg ext - 1:00 (requires leg machines - or repeat squats with weights)
11) Leg curls - 1:00 (requires leg machines - or repeat lunges with weights)
12) Situps - 2:00
13) Crunches - 2:00
14) Stretch
There is an unlimited number of ways to organize a circuit workout. The above workout is organized with upper body, lower body and cardiovascular exercises. By simply doing the above upper body and lower body exercises in such a way, you will be able to rest your upper body muscles while you workout your lower body muscles, but you will never rest your heart. This is how you make the circuit workout challenging to your cardiovascular system as well as your major muscle groups. Studies have shown that mixing a resistance training regimen with a cardiovascular element will increase your metabolism, therefore burning fat and building muscle. The result is a decrease in body fat percentage.
So, if you are looking to lose inches and body fat, workouts like this coupled with 4-5 smaller meals and 3-4 quarts of water everyday will help you achieve your goal. The best thing about this diet program is that you do not need a single dietary supplement - just good old fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and other lean meats. The key is to burn more calories than you take in and this workout will help you with that - promise.
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How do you progressively increase strength doing pullups if your body weight goes down? The resistance is going down, so you're not getting stronger. How is that laughable?Resistance is resistance. Work such that you reach failure in 5 reps or less or 15 seconds or less and you will get stronger, regardless of where the resistance comes from.
The fact that you are saying that pullups don't make you stronger, yet you post your credentials on every post, is one of the most laughable things I've ever seen.
Progressive calisthenics works. Do you think that gymnasts are a bunch of wimps?
Fact is progressive bodyweight work will have you working in the ultralow rep range; heavy singles, doubles, and triples, far more than most weight schemes (things like 531 excluded), weight people seem to be afraid of working really heavy, and that is where the strength gains are massive.
You'll build "muscle endurance" once someone has mastered doing 50 pushups with bodyweight, but unless you add weight to that body (via a weighted vest or a weight on the back) strength ISN'T increased.
Also how do you "progressively" do ultra low reps with bodyweight? Unless you're speaking of going from a two hand push up to one hand push up, you can't do 1 or 2 pushups after being able to do 50 and "progressively" get stronger unless the bodyweight is increased.
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Taking notes and bumping for updates.0
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P90x, P90x2, and Insanity!0
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Definitely P90X. I've done several of Jillians's workouts, and while they are effective, she merely copied a few moves from Tony and they're not nearly as good as the original if you ask me.0
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Hate to tell you that many of those "moves" have been around for decades. It's how it's packaged and advertised that made it popular.Definitely P90X. I've done several of Jillians's workouts, and while they are effective, she merely copied a few moves from Tony and they're not nearly as good as the original if you ask me.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Hate to tell you that many of those "moves" have been around for decades. It's how it's packaged and advertised that made it popular.Definitely P90X. I've done several of Jillians's workouts, and while they are effective, she merely copied a few moves from Tony and they're not nearly as good as the original if you ask me.
The select few "moves" I'm referring to I've only seen from those two. His came out years before hers, hence my assumption. And I did state it was just my opinion.0 -
How do you progressively increase strength doing pullups if your body weight goes down? The resistance is going down, so you're not getting stronger. How is that laughable?Resistance is resistance. Work such that you reach failure in 5 reps or less or 15 seconds or less and you will get stronger, regardless of where the resistance comes from.
The fact that you are saying that pullups don't make you stronger, yet you post your credentials on every post, is one of the most laughable things I've ever seen.
Progressive calisthenics works. Do you think that gymnasts are a bunch of wimps?
Fact is progressive bodyweight work will have you working in the ultralow rep range; heavy singles, doubles, and triples, far more than most weight schemes (things like 531 excluded), weight people seem to be afraid of working really heavy, and that is where the strength gains are massive.
You'll build "muscle endurance" once someone has mastered doing 50 pushups with bodyweight, but unless you add weight to that body (via a weighted vest or a weight on the back) strength ISN'T increased.
Also how do you "progressively" do ultra low reps with bodyweight? Unless you're speaking of going from a two hand push up to one hand push up, you can't do 1 or 2 pushups after being able to do 50 and "progressively" get stronger unless the bodyweight is increased.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Actually as a certified personal trainer you should know there are tons of possibilities to progress with bodyweight only. Classic pull up getting to easy? Do it with one arm or move onto salmon ladder where you move the bar up! It doesn't end with a classic pull up.
Did you ever watch Ninja Warrior? They don't look like they have difficulties to build obstacle courses and make them tougher and tougher. Contestants only move their body through them. And believe me they are not beginners.0 -
I wasn't questioning on "how" to progress with bodyweight, I was questioning waldo on how strength is progressed when resistance is decreased.Actually as a certified personal trainer you should know there are tons of possibilities to progress with bodyweight only. Classic pull up getting to easy? Do it with one arm or move onto salmon ladder where you move the bar up! It doesn't end with a classic pull up.
Did you ever watch Ninja Warrior? They don't look like they have difficulties to build obstacle courses and make them tougher and tougher. Contestants only move their body through them. And believe me they are not beginners.
Leverage and single arm/leg movements will definitely make a pullup/pushup harder, but strength progression will eventually halt if resistance isn't added.
The people that compete on Ninja Warrior not only train on bodyweight, but many do extensive training in gyms or other weight resistant exercises. They use other techniques to strengthen their forearms (wrist curls, grip squeezers, finger rolls) with weight resistance.
I've NEVER said you can't be progressive with one's bodyweight, I've stated that INCREASING strength without INCREASING resistance doesn't happen. People can condition their muscles better with bodyweight, but as bodyweight lessens going from 10 to 20 pushups isn't an indication of strength.
Great example is a person that can do 10 pullups with bodyweight. Add 10lbs to them and now they can only do eight. They lose weight and now can do 20 pullups. Put the weight back on them and 20 pullups drops back to 10. That's not strength progression.
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Dear friends I am very thankful to all your recommendations of programs But I am in strength training-lifting for 2 months already. I lift 3 times a week. One day it's very heavy I did squats with 80 kg on my shoulders on Sunday and pushed platform with 130 kg I lift from the floor 60kg usually I don't know how much in lbls it is but 61 kg is my body weight, so I train with weight equal to my body weight and even much more, two other times I do resistance/balance exercises with 14 kg weight, all the rest days pilates+ I walk a lot and don't miss any stairs. I was in fitness (including lifting actually) before I got sick for a year and before that it was dancing and yoga. Of course I am not even close to saying that I understand much in fitness, if I would I'd not be here asking for peoples advices. As for toning.... English is not my native language, I am Russian and I speak english, chinese and italian. Toningment for me building more muscles I don't understand why some men posted so negative comments...why do you think that I am one of those chicks with little pink stuff doing little exercises...I simply want to increase my exercise amount (between I eat also a lot and that's mostly good food so I have forces to exercise) I believe such men are just women haters, or maybe they just disliked me so much for some reason....whatever Thanks again for those who are supportive, feel free to add me to your friend list and please fly the kight t those who post negative comments here0
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^^ This. I love it!!In my opinion even better than 30 day shred is 'No More Trouble Zones' Its a killer but it works! You won't lose much weight doing it but you will lose all that unwanted fat! I swear by it (dropped over 2 dress sizes in 3 months)!0 -
Dear friends I am very thankful to all your recommendations of programs But I am in strength training-lifting for 2 months already. I lift 3 times a week. One day it's very heavy I did squats with 80 kg on my shoulders on Sunday and pushed platform with 130 kg I lift from the floor 60kg usually I don't know how much in lbls it is but 61 kg is my body weight, so I train with weight equal to my body weight and even much more, two other times I do resistance/balance exercises with 14 kg weight, all the rest days pilates+ I walk a lot and don't miss any stairs. I was in fitness (including lifting actually) before I got sick for a year and before that it was dancing and yoga. Of course I am not even close to saying that I understand much in fitness, if I would I'd not be here asking for peoples advices. As for toning.... English is not my native language, I am Russian and I speak english, chinese and italian. Toningment for me building more muscles I don't understand why some men posted so negative comments...why do you think that I am one of those chicks with little pink stuff doing little exercises...I simply want to increase my exercise amount (between I eat also a lot and that's mostly good food so I have forces to exercise) I believe such men are just women haters, or maybe they just disliked me so much for some reason....whatever Thanks again for those who are supportive, feel free to add me to your friend list and please fly the kight t those who post negative comments here
I am sorry if I came across that way.
Here are some recommendations:
Toning really is nothing more than a combination of increasing muscle while lowering body fat. Many people find it difficult to do both at once due to the rather odd (and difficult) dietary needs involved which is why they go through phases where they first concentrate on building muscle and then once they have achieved a sufficient level of muscle mass, they then alter their routine to one that focuses more on fat loss and achieving definition. I think this might be the easiest way. Spend a good 2-3 months focusing exclusively on resistance/weight training in splits (working different muscle groups on different days) working with heavy loads allowing each muscle group MORE than 48 hours rest. Do not entirely stop cardio but keep duration and intensity to a minimum. 20-30 minutes a day of walking at a brisk pace is sufficient during this phase. After completing this phase when you have achieved the desired amount of muscle gain and functional strength gains you should switch your training style (and nutrition plan) to one that focuses more on fat loss. Switch from doing alternating muscle groups to doing circuit training style workouts with lighter weights or bodyweight exercises 2-3 days a week while doing high intensity cardio on your off days. Things like HIIT sprints and such. This is basically how pro fitness athletes train, although they spend much more time on it.0 -
one more time here too I lift and lifted I work with weight at least equal to mine! but i can't lift every single day, so for days off that I need to increase my workout amount to something more then just pilates0
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one more time here too I lift and lifted I work with weight at least equal to mine! but i can't lift every single day, so for days off that I need to increase my workout amount to something more then just pilates
During the muscle building phase I mentioned above most fitness athletes and bodybuilders don't do any cardio at all. They simply call it a rest day and leave it at that. They focus on those things more in the fat burning phase.0 -
On the days you don't lift you can try doing Tabata Protocol (can be done with just about any type of cardio) or HIIT cardio. This are high intensity cardio sessions that will help to increase your VO2 max and endurance. That should translate also over to more endurance (less rest times) between lifts.one more time here too I lift and lifted I work with weight at least equal to mine! but i can't lift every single day, so for days off that I need to increase my workout amount to something more then just pilates
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One where you have to lift some weights. While body weight exercises are good, as weight gets lost, the resistance lessens meaning that you're not increasing strength. It's like when people who were heavy try to do a pull up, couldn't, then lose 50lbs and now can. They didn't get stronger per se, they're just pulling up less weight.
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What?
Resistance is resistance. Work such that you reach failure in 5 reps or less or 15 seconds or less and you will get stronger, regardless of where the resistance comes from.
The fact that you are saying that pullups don't make you stronger, yet you post your credentials on every post, is one of the most laughable things I've ever seen.
Progressive calisthenics works. Do you think that gymnasts are a bunch of wimps?
Fact is progressive bodyweight work will have you working in the ultralow rep range; heavy singles, doubles, and triples, far more than most weight schemes (things like 531 excluded), weight people seem to be afraid of working really heavy, and that is where the strength gains are massive.
Wow, you really missed the point of what Niner was trying to say, didn't you?
I didn't miss the point at all. He said (paraphrasing) that you have to lift weights to get stronger, that BW exercises are too easy. That pullups don't make you stronger.
And this is a load of crap. As pullups get easier you can continue to modify the pullup or other closely related exercises without extenal resistance to extremely high strength levels.0 -
Masha is my friend and she is NOT afraid of building muscle, even though she lives in a country where muscle on women is generally frowned upon, and there is a great amount of pressure for women to be ultra-skinny. Masha is braver than most women I know, and she's going against societal norms to try to achieve the body she desires. She is open-minded and takes constructive advice without being defensive, which is more than I could say for most people.
For those of you who've griped and judged her for using the word "tone"--shame on you. English is not her first language, and she was asking for advice, not looking to be critiqued on semantics. You guys are the reason people get discouraged instead of encouraged. I wish I could reach through my computer screen right now, but that wouldn't be helpful.
Masha--you're doing great, and I know without a doubt you'll achieve your goals. Keep lifting heavy, eating healthy, and don't let anybody or anything get you down. :flowerforyou:0 -
Masha is my friend and she is NOT afraid of building muscle, even though she lives in a country where muscle on women is generally frowned upon, and there is a great amount of pressure for women to be ultra-skinny. Masha is braver than most women I know, and she's going against societal norms to try to achieve the body she desires. She is open-minded and takes constructive advice without being defensive, which is more than I could say for most people.
For those of you who've griped and judged her for using the word "tone"--shame on you. English is not her first language, and she was asking for advice, not looking to be critiqued on semantics. You guys are the reason people get discouraged instead of encouraged. I wish I could reach through my computer screen right now, but that wouldn't be helpful.
Masha--you're doing great, and I know without a doubt you'll achieve your goals. Keep lifting heavy, eating healthy, and don't let anybody or anything get you down. :flowerforyou:
I really am sorry if I came across that way. Was not my intention.0 -
Masha is my friend and she is NOT afraid of building muscle, even though she lives in a country where muscle on women is generally frowned upon, and there is a great amount of pressure for women to be ultra-skinny. Masha is braver than most women I know, and she's going against societal norms to try to achieve the body she desires. She is open-minded and takes constructive advice without being defensive, which is more than I could say for most people.
For those of you who've griped and judged her for using the word "tone"--shame on you. English is not her first language, and she was asking for advice, not looking to be critiqued on semantics. You guys are the reason people get discouraged instead of encouraged. I wish I could reach through my computer screen right now, but that wouldn't be helpful.
Masha--you're doing great, and I know without a doubt you'll achieve your goals. Keep lifting heavy, eating healthy, and don't let anybody or anything get you down. :flowerforyou:
I really am sorry if I came across that way. Was not my intention.
Thank you for saying that...so rare that anyone actually apologizes. I don't think I've ever even SEEN that on MFP before. I'm sure Masha will see this and sincerely appreciate it. There is a lot of good advice on this thread, including yours, so thanks for clearing that up. :flowerforyou:0 -
To get stronger you have lift against resistance that the muscle isn't used to. You may build strength when you begin, but will eventually reach adaptation. Once you adapt to bodyweight exercise, explain how you get stronger doing the same exercise without increasing bodyweight? Notice I said "same exercise" and not changing it by angle, leverage, on fingertips etc.I didn't miss the point at all. He said (paraphrasing) that you have to lift weights to get stronger, that BW exercises are too easy. That pullups don't make you stronger.
Yes you did miss my point. Read it again. If someone LOSES weight, then their resistance of bodyweight goes down, you DON'T get stronger using less resistance was the point.And this is a load of crap. As pullups get easier you can continue to modify the pullup or other closely related exercises without extenal resistance to extremely high strength levels.
And you just reaffirm it by saying that if a pullup gets easier you "modify" it. So if you don't modify it and continue to do the SAME pullup, explain how you get STRONGER if body weight goes down or even stays the same?
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Wow thistimeismytime! Can I simply say you are my hero! And yes thank you everyone for your advices and I really appreciate that one of persons who criticized me not knowing me apologized.0
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I strongly recommend you try the building/cutting phase idea I mentioned above. It works for the pros, it should work for you.
You may feel at some point like you're not doing "enough" because all you're really doing is weight training during the building phase. If your diet is good you will find that you have lots of energy to burn but your muscles are too sore to do anything about it which can feel frustrating. Go on walks to try to deal with this. During this phase it's a simple philosophy of lift & walk. That's pretty much the bulk of your training here. You start getting into the complicated forms of cardio and mixing up your exercise routines during the cutting/leaning phase.0 -
I lose 27 pounds doing P90X and feel great!!
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First of all never be intimidated. Thats silly. Lift based on a percentage of your maximum. Then compare to your body weight. If you weigh 100 and can comfortably lift 50 then "heavy" would be 80 pounds. And measure your max by what weight you can lift 3 times.0
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Bump - for some ideas!0
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any of jillian michaels!0
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P90X and Insanity0
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bumpin for later0
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thanks for sharing0
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weight lifting is the best it will help you tone up your muscles if you dont have a dumbbells yt you look at this to find what suites you http://bestadjustabledumbbellsreviews.com/0
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