Is this diet/gym regime too intense? Opinions, please!

I'm a believer that to make change last, you need to find something sustainable. Is that a routine you can live with forever? For me, it wouldn't be at all, but for some people maybe. If not for you, it'll only set you up for disappointment. I also echo 1200 is not near enough food on that routine. Strong Curves is a good read as is New Rules of Lifting for Women

The food plan is ok as a base, you'll be able to make variations which stay within your calorie goals. (I'm on 1,200 but am happy to range between 1,200 to 1,500)

The training regime is far too intense for my liking, there is no need to do abs 4 times a week for 20 minutes. I would suggest you pick 3 of the works-outs he wrote up and break it up into 3-5 days per week.

For instance, do monday, wednesday and friday as provided or break them up into smaller sessions.

hesn92 wrote: »

That is crazy I would never. Who has time for that

My concern was for that amount of time for someone new at this. It is fairly common for me to do 2+ hours a day on weekdays and 3-4 hours on sat/sun. Sometimes up to 6hrs

You sound just like me! I'm also about 5'6" and at 142 right now... we have similar goals lol. And you're right, it's been tough for me to get these last few pounds off. I would ideally like to be between 120-125.... but anytime I see 130s on the scale I seem to sabotage myself lol. I also would like to add some muscle to my butt since I gain weight in my arms and stomach. I would love to get a personal trainer once I'm done with school. For now, I'll deal with muddling along on my own

I would see if you can do a free trial at a real gym and work with one of their trainers. If you like it, then you can either stick with that gym or see if PF has the equipment you need to translate the workouts the personal trainer at the other gym taught you. You could also try the Y for a month (they can charge you month by month or even weekly at some of them) and do a similar thing. A lot of people don't keep a personal trainer for months and months anyway, but only for a little bit until they get going on their own.

PF is great in that it is a convenient, low-cost gym, but the ones I've been to tend to be very focused on cardio with a rather limited selection for weights. But they might have everything you need to do the training a decent personal trainer recommends, you never know!

I will say that something I've learned is doing push ups is a great way to tone your arms. I don't really enjoy doing them, but I keep myself motivated by focusing on how many I can do without stopping. When I started out I could do 2 (sad, I know). Now I'm up to 40! You can definitely notice the difference and I'm sure if I could shed some of the extra weight, they would look even more toned. As for the butt... I have yet to figure out that one. Lower body strength training confuses me. One day!

Good luck!! I hope we both make it to our 120s goal and get bigger butts!! lol

2hr at gym OMG, i will end up in ER after 3days if i do that.

aliciamarieUF wrote: »

Hi everyone! I'm 24 years old, 5'6" and weigh 141 pounds. I carry most of my weight in my tummy, arms and back and I don't have a butt. I want to change that. I met with a personal trainer at Planet Fitness (I don't like that gym, but it's close to my house so it's convenient). Anyway, the only personal trainer they have working there at the moment is very young (right out of high school) and seems a little inexperienced. He wrote up an exercise/diet plan for me to try to lose 15 pounds by summer.

It consist of being in the gym 2.5 hours a day, which seems pretty intense to me. What do you all think?

Monday: 10-15 min cardio, legs 1 hour, abs 20 minutes, 45 minutes cardio
Tuesday: 10-15 min cardio, back/chest 1 hour, abs 20 minutes, cardio 45 minutes
Wednesday: 10-15 min cardio, shoulders/triceps/biceps 1 hour, abs 20 minutes, cardio 45 minutes
Thursday: 10-15 min cardio, legs 1 hour, abs 20 minutes, 45 minutes cardio
Friday: Cardio 1 hour
Sat & Sun: Rest

Sets: 3-4 (rest 30 sec-2 minutes)
Reps: 15-20

He says I should be on a strict 1200 calorie diet.

Breakfast: 2 whole eggs, 1-2 whole wheat toast with peanut butter
Snack: fruit, protein bar
Lunch: Vegetable wrap with turkey, ham, cheese, mustard
Snack: Fruit, Almonds
Dinner: Vegetables with chicken or fish
Snack: healthy fats or greek yogurt

Seems a little intense. I don't have a lot of weight to lose. I basically want to thin out and gain some definition.

Thank you for any advice!

You could lose all the cardio and the ab work, still eat over 1200 cals and be losing weight.

DavPul wrote: »

This isn't something I would give someone, but it's actually not too intense. 20 minutes of abs everyday is dumb, and a complete beginner doesn't need to spend an entire hour on one body part, but other than that, meh. If you're going to work out and do cardio on the same day, your going to spend 2 hours in the gym. Plenty of people have done that without dying.

It's entirely up to you if you want to, or can, put in that much time and effort tho. It's an individual decision and you'll get no judgement from me either way me.

1200 calorie diet is kinda dumb for that much activity tho. Either eat more or cut the workouts WAY down

This was the only reply that was actually needed.

2.5 hours and 1200 calories is way too excessive if you only want to lose 5 pounds a month. 5 pounds a month is a deficit of 4375 calories a week. If you are doing an hour of cardio and weight lifting, you are going to burn between 400 and 500 calories at low intensity. So your daily burn will be by estimate 2400-2500 calories a day which would give you well over a 1000 calories deficit a day when you really only need 875 for 5 days or 625 for 7 days. But it sounds to me like you just want to tone up and work on the booty. If that is the case, the number on the scale should not be as much of a concern. I am 5'7" and although I have put on weight due to a back issue, I am on my way back down to 140. But my 140 is muscular, toned and a size 6-8 on the bottom (I have wide hips) and a size 4-6 on the top (boobs). I would stick to lean proteins, and good carbs. I do cardio and abs 3 days a week and weights as follows - Chest, Arms, Back & Shoulders, Legs. My weight lifting is about 45 minutes to an hour depending on availability of the equipment. I do 3 sets of 6-8 reps of heavier weight (I might get to 6 the first few times but when I can do 8 for all 3 sets, I increase the next week.) My abs take about 8-10 minutes (I have 3 intense yoga programs I use from yogadownload.com and I do one each day I do abs) and I do 30-45 minutes of cardio each day I do cardio. That equates to about an hour and 45 minutes a day for 3 of the days and 45 minutes to an hour for the other 2. But if you want to go five days a week, it times out at even less. Sometimes I add in a run on a weekend. I hope that helped you some.