Looking for a good leg workout!
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yopeeps025 wrote: »hollydubs85 wrote: »OP, you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Pick and choose which one you want first. I'm guessing, by how you describe you want to look, you just need to lose fat.
Look above in her comment and read the reply to me.
Yeah, I saw that afterwards. That's everybody's dream, isn't it? Lose fat and make muscle?0 -
hollydubs85 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »hollydubs85 wrote: »OP, you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Pick and choose which one you want first. I'm guessing, by how you describe you want to look, you just need to lose fat.
Look above in her comment and read the reply to me.
Yeah, I saw that afterwards. That's everybody's dream, isn't it? Lose fat and make muscle?
Everyone dream to do it at the same time yes.
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My personal advice would be to start doing jump squats, step up lunges and good mornings, all of which will strengthen and tighten your hamstrings, calves, quads and glutes.
Jump squats are where you would have a dumbbell in each hand, squat as deep as comfortable slowly, then jump hard enough for your feet to leave the ground, when you return to the ground go back in to a deep squat all in one move...slowly. Do 5 sets of 20.
Step-up Lunges you'll basically step up on to a bench, chair or up a few stairs with one foot, stand tall flexing your calves and glutes and return to the starting point. Do each leg for 5 sets of 20, one side at a time.
Good mornings you'll need a barbell, but you can hold dumbells by your side. Keeping your knees with a slight bend, bend down just barely past parallel to the ground while pushing your rear out, then return to standing straight, back straight. 5 sets of 20 on this.
What 5 x 20? People should be careful with doing so much volume on a plyometric such as a jump squat, especially when it's loaded, as it can be rough on your knees. Low volume plyometrics is great for increasing neuro-muscular activation and can strengthen the muscles through stabilization of the landing, but keep the reps low for this type of exercise.0 -
hollydubs85 wrote: »OP, you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Pick and choose which one you want first. I'm guessing, by how you describe you want to look, you just need to lose fat.
ETA: In which case, maybe you should give the stationary bike more of a chance.
This is the single most incorrect statement made in physical training. Comments like this are why people get discouraged. You absolutely can gain muscle AND lose fat at the same time, ask any body builder. What you need to understand is the role weight training takes in shaping your body. Ever hear the term 'skinny-fat'? You see this with most marathon runners. Perfect example, compare a sprinter's body to a marathon runner's body.
Athlete's train their bodies to be more effective and efficient in their respective sport. In order to be efficient, you need to maximize muscle mass and reduce bodyfat. This is the basis of most weight training routines.
Also, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is leaps and bounds above straight rate cardio. Keeping your heart rate at 140bpm is not training, it is maintaining. In order to increase your caloric burn, you need to get your heart rate up and down, constantly changing.
If you're going to bike, pedal with little resistance and a moderate pace for 40 seconds, then sprint for 20 seconds. keep alternating and as you get better, increase the sprint time and decrease the rest time. You can also change up your resistance levels, whatever it takes.
As far as thanking me for the three exercises...if you do them tonight, wait until Wednesday before you thank me...you'll be sore and might not like me too much.
Last thing you really need to do, get yourself a good quality protein, like Nature's Best IsoPure Zero Carb, or Quest protein. IsoPure taste like hell, but it's good stuff. Quest is much better. There are plenty others out there, do your research. But you absolutely need to get protein in you to keep your muscles fed and to promote growth.
Finally, DO NOT LET ANY WOMEN TELL YOU NOT TO DO SQUATS, LEG PRESS OR ANY OTHER LEG EXERCISES CLAIMING THEY WILL 'BULK YOU UP' Women that are lucky enough to have very muscular legs take years, sometimes decades to get them to look like that, you will NOT LOOK LIKE THE HULK....it's just not true, especially if you're watching your food intake, you'll get very nice chiseled legs.
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ok i haven't been doing much resistance activity, but i've been seeing some nice shapeliness coming along after a few months of stationary cycling. It's not like 'WOW holy amazing stuff that is something mindblowing' but there is definitely something happening. i guess i've been doing it since novemberish?
google these all together to find a good review - boutcher HIIE (same as HIIT) intervals fat
boutcher looked at HIIT studies that found increase in muscle AND fat loss after a number of different HIIT protocols. *all* protocols involve increasing both resistance and speed. there wasn't a massive amount of muscle mass or fat loss, but the first increased and the latter decreased by a statistically significant margin.
i remember the different studies went like this:
- 20 mins of 7 seconds on 12 seconds recovery, with resistance going up each week
- 30 mins of 2 mins on, 3 mins off, resistance going up.
i've been doing this:
- 1 min on 1 min off for 40-50 minutes, including 5 min warmup and 5 min cooldown. 3 times a week
- going up one resistance level for every active interval (so every other minute)
- while shooting for 90-110 revolutions per minute on the recovery, and 130-150 rpm for the speed interval.
- when i can't go up in resistance bc my knee gets cranky, i do 2 mins on and 1 min recovery. so far i've gotten up to level 12 resistance on the bike (not sure what the max is).
if you have the capacity to lift anything you should do that as well; above is just a suggestion to make the most of your cardio0 -
Also, since you're just starting, you can do kettle bell movements with dumbbells. I had a trainer coming to my house, and it wasn't long before my kettle bell wasn't heavy enough and we kept some of the movements in my routine, but subbed in my heavier dumbbell. These dynamic movements helped me burn fat by gaining muscle as evidenced by consistent body weight, lower body fat %, and smaller measurements, all calculated by the trainer. If you're not trying to power lift your way into a strongman competition, you can gain muscle and lose fat. Good luck.0
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hollydubs85 wrote: »OP, you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Pick and choose which one you want first. I'm guessing, by how you describe you want to look, you just need to lose fat.
ETA: In which case, maybe you should give the stationary bike more of a chance.
This is the single most incorrect statement made in physical training. Comments like this are why people get discouraged. You absolutely can gain muscle AND lose fat at the same time, ask any body builder. What you need to understand is the role weight training takes in shaping your body. Ever hear the term 'skinny-fat'? You see this with most marathon runners. Perfect example, compare a sprinter's body to a marathon runner's body.
Athlete's train their bodies to be more effective and efficient in their respective sport. In order to be efficient, you need to maximize muscle mass and reduce bodyfat. This is the basis of most weight training routines.
Also, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is leaps and bounds above straight rate cardio. Keeping your heart rate at 140bpm is not training, it is maintaining. In order to increase your caloric burn, you need to get your heart rate up and down, constantly changing.
If you're going to bike, pedal with little resistance and a moderate pace for 40 seconds, then sprint for 20 seconds. keep alternating and as you get better, increase the sprint time and decrease the rest time. You can also change up your resistance levels, whatever it takes.
As far as thanking me for the three exercises...if you do them tonight, wait until Wednesday before you thank me...you'll be sore and might not like me too much.
Last thing you really need to do, get yourself a good quality protein, like Nature's Best IsoPure Zero Carb, or Quest protein. IsoPure taste like hell, but it's good stuff. Quest is much better. There are plenty others out there, do your research. But you absolutely need to get protein in you to keep your muscles fed and to promote growth.
Finally, DO NOT LET ANY WOMEN TELL YOU NOT TO DO SQUATS, LEG PRESS OR ANY OTHER LEG EXERCISES CLAIMING THEY WILL 'BULK YOU UP' Women that are lucky enough to have very muscular legs take years, sometimes decades to get them to look like that, you will NOT LOOK LIKE THE HULK....it's just not true, especially if you're watching your food intake, you'll get very nice chiseled legs.
I didn't even read the rest, but it is my opinion, and one that is widely held, even by bodybuilders that I have asked. Of course, the two exceptions are individuals who are obese and individuals that have never done any kind of workout before.
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Yeah, after reading that first sentence, the rest can be thrown out. lol.
>_<0 -
I would challenge you to do some research and produce some credible resources that state you cannot lose fat and gain muscle concurrently. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, however giving poor information is just irresponsible, especially when someone is genuinely looking for advice and motivation.hollydubs85 wrote: »
I didn't even read the rest, but it is my opinion, and one that is widely held, even by bodybuilders that I have asked. Of course, the two exceptions are individuals who are obese and individuals that have never done any kind of workout before.
Again, you're last statement was so far off base it's laughable.
@tomatoey Glad you spoke more about HIIT training, it truly is far superior.
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Run?0
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nicolealamode wrote: »marcolbmp-- Thanks, that looks great! Thanks for taking the time to explain each exercise, much appreciated! I'm going to try it out after work today and see how I feel tomorrow!
aggelikik-- I agree with you, I've maxed out the 10lbs. However, I'm not going into this to compete or anything of that nature, I'm doing it to tone/for the aesthetic/for the metabolic improvement/for general health improvement. My arms and legs look like they don't belong to the same person! Hence why I'm so keen on lower body at the moment. I'm happy with my arms at present, so I think I'll stick with the 10lb free weights for now.
yopeeps025-- I'm 10lbs away from my weight goal. However, not close to my fitness goal. I'm looking to lose fat AND gain muscle-- in fact, losing 10lbs of fat and gaining it back in 10lbs of muscle would be ideal!
lauRoxx-- I've heard amazing things about kettle bells! That might be the next thing I invest in. What weight would you recommend?
I am a woman, I am not lifting really heavy, have zero interest in competing, and have zero interest in bulking much. I think we have similar goals. But, in practice, on the long run, either you keep challenging your muscles, so find a new routine, or increase weight, or you will not longer see any effect at all. Like, you will end up lifting the same dumbbells for about 100 reps, just to feel something happening, which is at least boring, at least for me.
When you say your arms and legs do not look like they belong to same person, is it because the legs are thinner and you need to bulk, or because you tend to accumulate fat on the lower body, so you need to lose weight? Because it is quite possible you do have good muscle volume on your legs, especially if you use a bike as you say, but the last pounds of fat are still clinging to this area, so you just cannot see the muscles that well.0 -
If you're not attached to using weights, you can get a great workout with bodyweight exercises. Startbodyweight.com is a good progressive programme that I like and use for my own resistance training.0
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nicolealamode wrote: »Wow everyone, thank you so much for all the response!
But yes, as Brolympus caught, I am working from home and the heaviest weights I have are 10lbs. I wasn't sure if that was suitable for any of the muscle groups concerning the lower half of my body.
I'm looking for a good routine I can do from home with what I have and maxing myself out before hitting a gym or investing in some equipment, and seeing how serious about this I'm going to get (although I think I will, I prefer weight training over cardio any day).
Also, I have no idea what kind of regime I should be making for myself... three exercises a day? Five? Seven? And what exercises target what muscle groups. I've done some googling, but I thought it would be nice to find a routine that someone in my situation or who has been in my situation used and found results.
It's nice discovering names of different exercises though, more to read up on and learn!
Those 10lbs dumbbells are not really going to add more challenge than just bodyweight exercises would for your legs. You legs contain big, powerful muscles, and need big, heavy weights to grow. Personally OP, I would look into either a) finding a gym that has Olympic lifting equipment for cheap or b) cruise craigslist for deals on equipment or c) look into doing stuff like plyometrics (jump training) while you build up some cash for a) or b) if you are really broke at the moment.
Your time is valuable, you should try to spend it doing the things that will maximize your efforts. It is a lot more difficult to build a 1lbs of muscle than lose 1lbs of fat. The legs need a decent amount of stress to get bigger/stronger, the kind of stress that comes from squats, deadlifts, etc. Bodyweight exercises will add a little bit of muscle, but a large amount of the strength gains you will see from them will come from neural adaptation, which will eventually plateau out when your body has maximized its ability to use the given amount of muscle fiber it has.0 -
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If you only have 10lb dumbells, walking lunges whilst holding them will work your legs pretty hard! Admittedly mine were in addition to squats and squat press yesterday but I can hardly walk today my glutes are so sore! Can also feel it down the side of my thighs - strangely where my sticky out bits are not along my quads where I though it would be.
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