I have no idea how to form a good workout routine!

If you don't know how to put one together of your own then don't. Follow a pre-fab plan. You'll only get yourself into trouble trying to put your own together.

Also, get the idea out of your head that your goal is "weight loss and not toning." You get them both the same way if you're doing it right.

Do you have access to a squat rack as well?

As long as you burn more calories than you eat, you'll lose weight so it's best to do exercises you'll stick with. If you want a more formal plan, hire a certified personal trainer for a couple of sessions. Most professional gyms have them. It was one of the best investments I ever made with regard to fitness.

weight loss is all about having an energy (calorie) deficit...the most efficient way to achieve this is through diet. Exercise will increase your fitness and overall health and well being and ultimately make you look better...but weight loss is 100% diet. Diet for weight control; exercise for fitness...this is my little way of saying that you should set independent fitness goals. The problem with having weight loss as your fitness goal is that you then associate fitness with weight loss rather than just fitness. So, people lose their weight and stop working out because they so closely associate that activity with weight loss...then they end up gaining all the weight back.

Truth be told, fitness is very important to your health...but when it comes to weight control, fitness is far more important at maintenance than it is while trying to lose.

Setting independent fitness goals will help give you direction in what you should be doing. Also, I agree with my friend contingencyplan that you should follow a pre-fab fitness plan for now; that will provide you with the most benefit. When people just make stuff up when they don't really know what they're doing, they just tend to waste a lot of time and get little benefit from it.

Cardio is awesome for overall fitness. You'll loose weight and increase your stamina, but lifting weights will burn more calories faster. It's important to do both! Remember, that when your lifting or doing crunches/puchups one whatever NOT. To over do it! If your uncomfortable, your muscles are working & you're getting a good workout. If they HURT, then stop. You should not be in pain. I do "Core Rhythms" a few times a week & go running. For strength, I use a stability ball. I've lost 20lbs and feel great! Just do what you feel comfortable with and will stick with, and you will be fine. . Keep up the good work.

Theres a ton of workout DVD programs many individuals have been very successful with the variety of Beach Body Programs, I am in no way affilliated with beach body I am just stating a fact. Also heres a website to check out http://www.dailyhiit.com/. Theres a ton other sites also im sure.

Congrats on losing weight!


They say the best advice for anything, not just exercise, is to find someone who's accomplished your goal and have them be your mentor. For example I follow Jessica Alba's workout because i think her body is perfection and she comes from a chubby family like I do. Her workout consists of a combination of HIIT (high intensity interval training is supposed to burn calories long after the workout is over) and strength training.

15 minutes cardio (treadmill or ellyptical) high intensity spurts - get your heart rate up to 150bpm
then a set of 50 crunches and lunges
then another 10 minutes of cardio
And another set of crunches and very light arm resistance
Then another 10 minutes of cardio.

Mix up the arm and leg exercises, and i do Hot yoga 1x per week. Hot yoga burns almost 600 calories per session - Which is the equivalent of jogging 6 miles. It keeps you flexible (running tightens you up) and is easy on your joints.

If you want a more muscular look, follow Jillian Michael's advice which you can google. Add in dumbells and weight training. But i prefer to look feminine and sleek like Alba.

Its true, she admitted to an eating disorder when she was a teen, training for Dark Angel. Her workout/eating habits were overboard back then in 1999. She was obsessed with working out, and eating under 1000 calories is very destructive. Poor thing.

This is her current workout, and she's certainly not underweight now at 32 after having two kids. This workout is only 35 minutes of cardio and a medium amount of strength training, and a dash of yoga. I don't believe anyone could objectively say this is overdoing it.