Do I need to be working out six days a week?

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lingdi
lingdi Posts: 15
in Fitness and Exercise
Over the course of the last year, I lost about ninety pounds. I was working out about five days a week for about an hour long, mostly cardio, and I went from 236 lbs to 145 ( I'm 5'4"/5'5"). I was wondering if I should continue working out five days a week if I want to lose another five to ten pounds?

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  • NatalieBrooke88
    NatalieBrooke88 Posts: 240 Member
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    YOU LOOK GREAT! The last five to ten pounds are the absolute hardest and if you don't tackle it early on... then it just gets even harder (believe me). 6 hours of week of cardio seems a bit overkill, however mixing up your workouts and tripping your body up will put definitely help. I highly recommend HIIT (high intensity interval training). You can google for more information, but basically it is a 20 minute stint of alternating intervals of a very hard push and a moderate push.

    Do something different everyday, and never just stay at one resistance level or speed on any machine! There are plenty of articles to support this theory. Hope this helps!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    YOU LOOK GREAT! The last five to ten pounds are the absolute hardest and if you don't tackle it early on... then it just gets even harder (believe me). 6 hours of week of cardio seems a bit overkill, however mixing up your workouts and tripping your body up will put definitely help. I highly recommend HIIT (high intensity interval training). You can google for more information, but basically it is a 20 minute stint of alternating intervals of a very hard push and a moderate push.

    Do something different everyday, and never just stay at one resistance level or speed on any machine! There are plenty of articles to support this theory. Hope this helps!

    I agree!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    Definitely! The last several pounds are harder to get off so you'll need to work out and eat A LOT.
  • runningneo122
    runningneo122 Posts: 6,962 Member
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    If you are getting lean, maybe consider muscle toning/weight training and lower the cardio a little. The more LBM you have the more calories you burn at rest, even when you're sleeping. Don't worry about looking like a bodybuilder b/c you don't have the testosterone levels for that. You will just fill out the curves better and I'm sure you will like the results.
  • lingdi
    lingdi Posts: 15
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    I need to eat a lot?! O_O!
  • hadl0032
    hadl0032 Posts: 117
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    I agree with the others, you look AMAZING! :) My suggestion....strength training. You can still work out 5-6 days a week but make at least two of those sessions circuit training/strength training sessions. Warm up for 10 mins or so with light cardio, and then GET BUFF! :) Make sure to always stretch after you strength train when you muscles are warm! Best of luck to you!!!
  • lingdi
    lingdi Posts: 15
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    What types of strength training do you recommend? As in, what weight machines should I be using?
  • NatalieBrooke88
    NatalieBrooke88 Posts: 240 Member
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    You should work all muscle groups (back, biceps, chest, triceps, shoulders, and legs). Personally, I do a 3 day split: chest/triceps/shoulder, back/ biceps, legs. I also occasionally throw in full body workouts.

    A great book for novices in the strength training domain is this: http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Health-Big-Book-Exercises/dp/1605295493

    I recommend it to all my clients, and think it is great!
  • lsiberian
    lsiberian Posts: 69
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    If you mostly workout in the home then Chiseled is probably the best strength training program out there. see liveexercise.com.

    If you workout at the gym do a 5 x 5 program. It is a proven strength and muscle builder. It will give the body some more definition.

    The best lifting information is probably at bodybuilding.com. That place is full of peer reviewed articles from people who really have done their homework.

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