9 Months Until Vacation!

JS268

Hello everyone, I am looking for support from members to help keep me on track to have a confident, photo ready body for my trip to Europe in April. I want to be able to go to the beach and feel amazing, and to try all the cuisine (French Cheese, British Fish and Chips, Italian Pasta etc) without having to worry about inhibiting my weight loss. I don't have to lose much weight, but I defiantly need to start toning. I am very good at procrastinating which is why I'm already hounding myself for something thats 9 months down the road :laugh: .
Anyway, here is a little bit about myself:
Height:5'7.5"
CW: fluctuating from 117-123 lbs
GW: 110 lbs
Current Measurements:32"-25"-36"
Goal Measurements: 32"-24"-34"/35"
If anyone has any advice for at home toning, or strength exercises that can be done without any equipment, that would be very helpful. Feel free to add me, any motivation is welcome.
Also if anyone has 9 month results I'd love to see them!


Thank you!

GauchoMark

Good for you starting early and giving yourself reasonable goals!

Exercises you can do at home -
abs: crunches & leg lifts
pecs and tricepts: push ups and dips
back and bicepts: pull ups
legs and butt: lunges and stairs/hillclimbs

RuthieCass

Hello everyone, I am looking for support from members to help keep me on track to have a confident, photo ready body for my trip to Europe in April. I want to be able to go to the beach and feel amazing, and to try all the cuisine (French Cheese, British Fish and Chips, Italian Pasta etc) without having to worry about inhibiting my weight loss. I don't have to lose much weight, but I defiantly need to start toning. I am very good at procrastinating which is why I'm already hounding myself for something thats 9 months down the road :laugh: .
Anyway, here is a little bit about myself:
Height:5'7.5"
CW: fluctuating from 117-123 lbs
GW: 110 lbs
Current Measurements:32"-25"-36"
Goal Measurements: 32"-24"-34"/35"
If anyone has any advice for at home toning, or strength exercises that can be done without any equipment, that would be very helpful. Feel free to add me, any motivation is welcome.
Also if anyone has 9 month results I'd love to see them!


Thank you!

My advice to you would be to pick healthy goals. At 5'7, 110 lbs is underweight (with a BMI of 17). Right now, your stats indicate that you're borderline underweight.

I would suggest that you eat slightly above maintenance and lift heavy weights so you can gain muscle. Many women who do this find that they are happier with their appearance with a bit more muscle as opposed to getting as skinny as possible. If you can't access any weights, try some body weight exercises: push-ups, squats, leg raises, Pilates, etc.

GauchoMark

My advice to you would be to pick healthy goals. At 5'7, 110 lbs is underweight (with a BMI of 17). Right now, your stats indicate that you're borderline underweight.

I would suggest that you eat slightly above maintenance and lift heavy weights so you can gain muscle. Many women who do this find that they are happier with their appearance with a bit more muscle as opposed to getting as skinny as possible. If you can't access any weights, try some body weight exercises: push-ups, squats, leg raises, Pilates, etc.

You are assuming that she fits into the "BMI average". BMI is such a poor generalization that most people don't use it for more than a very rough categorical estimate. If you do not fit into the race and body type that the indexes were created from, then it doesn't apply. At least ask some followup questions before you tell her she is underweight and should go in a completely opposite direction.

jofjltncb6

Indeed, lift (relatively for you) heavy. I generally like StrongLifts (at least as a concept...I'm not entirely sold on everything about it). Given you want to workout at home, then any of the bodyweight routines will get you a very long way towards your goal in nine months, but only if you start now/soon.

When people say they want to "tone", I read that as they want "more noticeable muscles". You get those by increasing muscle size and/or decreasing body fat. Compound movements with relatively heavy weights is a great way to do that.

And if possible, try not to fixate on that scale number. No one who sees you will know or care what that number is...and that number will have little to do with how you look or feel.

lin7604

i have 5 months till vacation and i am close to my goal but i also need to tone like you said. that way i will feel confident in my swim suit. are you serious saying that you want to be 110 and your 5.7 ft? that is super slim ....i can see that if your 5ft2 inches or something... but that's just my opinion...

GauchoMark

http://www.mybodygallery.com/search.html?height=5+7&weight=110&pant=any&shirt=any&zphoto=Large&new=1

JS268

110 is what I think I'd look best at, I have a very small frame. But if I start feeling too skinny I can always stop. I'm not too worried about the weight, as long as I'm losing inches and looking more defined I'm happy.

RuthieCass

My advice to you would be to pick healthy goals. At 5'7, 110 lbs is underweight (with a BMI of 17). Right now, your stats indicate that you're borderline underweight.

I would suggest that you eat slightly above maintenance and lift heavy weights so you can gain muscle. Many women who do this find that they are happier with their appearance with a bit more muscle as opposed to getting as skinny as possible. If you can't access any weights, try some body weight exercises: push-ups, squats, leg raises, Pilates, etc.

You are assuming that she fits into the "BMI average". BMI is such a poor generalization that most people don't use it for more than a very rough categorical estimate. If you do not fit into the race and body type that the indexes were created from, then it doesn't apply. At least ask some followup questions before you tell her she is underweight and should go in a completely opposite direction.

I'm not too interested in arguing over BMI as a measure of health. You can go to the thread about BMI if you want to get into that. And I don't even want to touch the comment about different races and body types. The fact is, that at 5'7.5, she will be very likely to have very (maybe even dangerously) low levels of body fat. You seem to imply that BMI/weight measures are all about looks, when there is a lot of research out there showing how having a BMI too low can increase your risk for all sorts of health problems. OP can look this up for herself or (better) discuss her goals with a doctor and nutritionist.

I did appreciate the pictures in that link you posted. Pretty useful for looking at a wide range of bodies at various heights and weights. But again, I am more focused on the (non-subjective) health implications than the (very subjective) aesthetics. I've seen many many people arguing that the BMI is flawed because of how great some people with higher BMIs look (or the same argument for people w/ low BMI). But, IMO, this is a poor argument.

My (admittedly subjective) advice still stands: at lower weight/ levels of body fat, you will likely improve your appearance by building muscle rather than trying to lose more fat.

RuthieCass

110 is what I think I'd look best at, I have a very small frame. But if I start feeling too skinny I can always stop. I'm not too worried about the weight, as long as I'm losing inches and looking more defined I'm happy.

This is definitely the right approach at your current weight.

If you have a current estimate of your body fat, you can base your goals off of there. (IMO, setting a goal BF% is better than setting a goal weight, especially when you are already relatively lean.) Here's a calculator for ideal weight based off of BF%: http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

If you don't have access to calipers/etc. to estimate your BF%, you can use online calculators based on your body measurements. E.g.:
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html
http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/body-fat-percentage-calculator.php
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcalculator.htm

and use some visuals to confirm and set goals: http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages

Once you get some, I'd suggest you do some strength- and muscle- building. You can get some handheld weights for relatively inexpensive (also check out your local Craigslist for good deals). Body weight exercises will probably be okay to begin with, too. Squats, push-ups, tricep dips, leg raises, lunges, wall-sits, are some good ones. You also want to make sure you're eating enough protein (1-1.5 g protein per pound of lean body mass), fat (.3-.7 g per pound), and calories in general (I'd suggest that you stay close to your TDEE). You might achieve better results if you cycle your carbs so that you eat above TDEE on workout days and under TDEE on rest days (look up "lean gains" and "culking" for some examples).

GauchoMark

I'm not too interested in arguing over BMI as a measure of health. You can go to the thread about BMI if you want to get into that. And I don't even want to touch the comment about different races and body types. The fact is, that at 5'7.5, she will be very likely to have very (maybe even dangerously) low levels of body fat. You seem to imply that BMI/weight measures are all about looks, when there is a lot of research out there showing how having a BMI too low can increase your risk for all sorts of health problems. OP can look this up for herself or (better) discuss her goals with a doctor and nutritionist.

I did appreciate the pictures in that link you posted. Pretty useful for looking at a wide range of bodies at various heights and weights. But again, I am more focused on the (non-subjective) health implications than the (very subjective) aesthetics. I've seen many many people arguing that the BMI is flawed because of how great some people with higher BMIs look (or the same argument for people w/ low BMI). But, IMO, this is a poor argument.

My (admittedly subjective) advice still stands: at lower weight/ levels of body fat, you will likely improve your appearance by building muscle rather than trying to lose more fat.

I'm not here to debate either. I'm here to help other people accomplish their goals.

What I took exception to in your original post was that, without asking for any details about the individual, you essentially accuse her of being borderline unhealthy, tell her that her goal weight is unhealthy, back up your statements with BMI, then tell her to lift weights, which is what she said she wanted to do in her post, but you don't give her any extra suggestions that I didn't already give an hour previously. So, aside from blindly using BMI to tell her she doesn't need to lose any weight and that her goals are unhealthy, you offered no information to actually answer her questions.

Maybe I'm getting too grouchy reading these boards, but I get tired of reading post after post of people not being helpful and answering the questions that were asked. She didn't ask your opinion about if she should lose more weight, she asked what strength training exercises she could do at home.

JS268

How about if I were to do that BodyRock.tv stuff 3x/week until my vacation. Would that be enough to tone and tighten my body? As well as a proper diet of course.

GauchoMark

I don't have any experience with that workout, but I checked out the site and some of the videos on the homepage. Gotta say, I could watch those videos all day! Seriously, though, from what I could tell, it looks like a lot of ab work and some compound exercises mixed in. The one in the beginner video with the sandbag is typically done with kettle bells. I also saw a few plyometric style exercises which can be good.

Maybe someone with some specific knowledge of this program can chime in.

lin7604

How about if I were to do that BodyRock.tv stuff 3x/week until my vacation. Would that be enough to tone and tighten my body? As well as a proper diet of course.

i have no idea about that exercise program either but i do know that i did 30ds and rin30 and got results. That is what i am going to do come AUG, i will go easy on it this time as i did it 7 days a week before and sometimes 2 levels a day. this time since i have a longer time to achieve results i will do it 3-4 days max a week till my new years holiday!

graelwyn

Personally think you should scrap the idea of getting down to 110, you may well find you stop menstruating and all sorts, as it is pretty underweight, and I think BMI has its place outside of those who are into weights. It gives a range for people from small to large builds and it is a pretty broad range as well. I would just forget the weight and start resistance training which will give you a really lean body, add some muscle and in doing so keep your metabolism ticking over nicely. You can get kettlebell DVD sets on Amazon I believe, and that is one good way of incorporating both cardio and resistance training in a workout at home. It is pretty tough going though, I must warn you, lol.

JS268

Okay, I appreciate everyone's help!