Please help answer my fitness questions

alishadunham94
alishadunham94 Posts: 26 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Ok I have a few questions...when I go to the gym I do roughly 45 minutes of cardio(usually 25-30 on a treadmill and about 15 on a stationary bike) I do most of my workout in cardio mode because I have a lot of weight to lose all over(atleast 100lbs) and I heard cardio is the best...in the treadmill I do workouts(where the incline increases and decreases and I walk at a pretty fast pace...close to running but not really) i burn atleast 300 calories on the treadmill in my time range...is that enough cardio to lose weight along with this mfp diet?

Also after that I do strength training which I'm so confused about...like for arm curls and different things like that...ab workouts, hip thingy...idk how many reps of and sets of each strength exercise to do and Idk how much weight on these exercises I should set it too...I heard if you do too much weight then you build mass(and obviously I don't want that lol) I just want to help target certain areas to lose weight(like my arms and chest and tummy) but if I do too little weight then I won't get results...oh man idk what to do:( I don't want these workouts to be in vain...if you are understanding about fitness and what's right please help me reach my goals...thank you
~alisha

Replies

  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    edited March 2015
    Here's a newbie help post which includes links to helpful info such as sexypants (go read it now) ((seriously, now)), setting realistic goals (weight, calories, macros), accurate food logging, exercise basics, motivation...
    .
    I do most of my workout in cardio mode because I have a lot of weight to lose all over (at least 100lbs) and I heard cardio is the best
    Cardio is the most effective way to burn calories, and your metabolism is elevated for a couple hours afterward, but weightlifting is essential because you want to maintain the muscle you do have. It's much harder to get it back than to keep it.

    Also, even though the calorie difference isn't huge (2 cal vs 6 cal), muscle does burn more per pound than fat. So the more muscle you have/keep/build the more you burn _all_ _the_ _time_.
    If you're running behind some day & only have time/energy to do one or the other, do weightlifting.
    Ideally, do cardio at least 5 days a week and weightlifting 2-3 days per week.
    .
    i burn at least 300 calories on the treadmill in my time range... is that enough cardio to lose weight along with this mfp diet?
    Stop thinking of this as a diet. Diets are temporary. Once you go back to your old eating habits, the weight will come back. You have to make a change in your life, that will last the rest of your life, if you want the weight to stay gone.

    If you've set your MFP activity level to "inactive", and you log your exercise, it will be the most accurate for calories.
    As long as you eat less than your body needs, you will lose weight.
    It's easier to do that by controlling calories in than by exercise.
    My doctor & dietician told me that I shouldn't eat back exercise calories because
    a - most people underestimate what they eat and
    b - most machines (including MFP) overestimate calories burned.
    For most people, most of the time, those errors cancel out.
    If you're really hungry at the end of the day once in a while, eat 1/3 - 1/2 of your exercise calories for a snack.
    .
    idk how many reps of and sets of each strength exercise to do and Idk how much weight on these exercises I should set it to... I heard if you do too much weight then you build mass (and obviously I don't want that lol) I just want to help target certain areas to lose weight (like my arms and chest and tummy)
    See the exercise basics blog post I did.
    Recommendations are taken from the American College of Sports Medicine's book "Resources for the Personal Trainer, 4th edition".
    (IOW, I don't just make this stuff up.)

    Yes, you do want to build muscle mass if you can (which is hard for women, and nearly impossible while eating at a calorie deficit). Probably all you'll be able to do is maintain what you currently have.
    The calculator just below says that as I've lost over 80 lb of fat, I've gained 4 lb of muscle. I think it's measurement error, and am happy simply to know that I haven't lost muscle.

    You're not going to bulk up if you're a normal natural woman with normal female hormone levels and you're not taking steroids or testosterone.
    One famous female weightlifter who is a member here on MFP is SaraUK2SF. Go have a look at her pictures. She's not bulky, is she? Looks pretty good, right? She works very hard at weightlifting & is very very strong.

    Here's a body fat calculator, so you can know where you're starting (how much fat, how much lean body mass). It will also tell you the healthy body fat % ranges.
    http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

    Here's an illustrated guide to weightlifting exercises. (Ignore the spam on the site about buying supplements, etc. Just use the free tools, including the one to create your own workout.)
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/
    Work both sides of the body - situps & back extensions (and torso twists), bicep curls & tricep dips, leg extensions & curls, hip abduction & adduction, chest press & row.
    Does your gym offer personal trainers? The one I go to has them for free, but it would be worth investing in a session or two to learn how to safely use the equipment and have her/him write up a personalized exercise plan, plus teaching you how to make it harder as you get stronger.
    Here's where you can search for people in your area who are certified by the American College of Sports Medicine:
    http://members.acsm.org/source/custom/Online_locator/OnlineLocator.cfm

    You can't target areas to lose weight. Your body will lose where it decides to lose. It's genetic. If your female relatives are pear-shaped, have big butts & thighs, that's probably the first place you'll gain weight & the last place you'll lose it.
    What you can do is build the underlying muscle so that as you lose the fat you will be toned & firm.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I could try, but I wouldn't be able to say it nearly as well as MKEgirl did. Great answer on all accounts.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    edited March 2015
    LOL! Thank you. :blush:
    /thread
  • Jennifer_Lynn_1982
    Jennifer_Lynn_1982 Posts: 567 Member
    best answer I've seen in awhile @MKEgal! well done...listen to her Alisha and you'll do just fine :)
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    This...

    All of the above is "spot on" advice.
  • alishadunham94
    alishadunham94 Posts: 26 Member
    @MKEgal‌ thank you so much for your time and effort to give me a detailed response that will help me...I will look into all the links you gave me and practice it:) and to everyone else thanks for responding to my question:)
  • alishadunham94
    alishadunham94 Posts: 26 Member
    I workout every day(except for this past weekend missed a few days because of my bday plans) they do offer a free trainer at my gym but I feel so embarassed to have a training session with a person until I lose some of this weight which I know sounds stupid so I tried figuring it out on my own
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    edited March 2015
    they do offer a free trainer at my gym but I feel so embarassed to have a training session with a person until I lose some of this weight
    Alisha, Alisha, Alisha... :sigh: :disappointed:

    It's good that you're trying to help yourself, and learn, and so forth. :awesome:
    But take the help that's available.
    They don't expect to work with (many) people who are already in decent shape.
    We all have to start somewhere.

    Learn how to do the exercises safely, correctly, so you don't either harm yourself or waste time doing less-effective workouts. (And then have to unlearn bad habits.)

    Besides, seeing you progress will give them a lift, knowing that they've helped. :grinning:
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    BTW:
    You're not going to bulk up if you're a normal natural woman with normal female hormone levels and you're not taking steroids or testosterone.
    Those aren't the kind of steroids you get from the doctor when you have a skin problem (I've taken them for poison ivy) or maybe an asthma flare-up (BTDT). Those are metabolic or corticosteroids. They block chemicals in your body that are involved with allergic reactions, including inflammation. Most likely (unless you're allergic) the worst they'll do to you is make you hungry.
    (And there are some natural and important chemicals which are included in this category, things which keep your body running right, like vitamin D, estrogen, cholesterol.)

    Muscle-building steroids are completely different. Those are anabolic. They're related to male hormones, and they promote muscle & skeletal growth & other masculine characteristics. These can cause high blood pressure, tumors, shrinking testicles in men, facial hair in women.
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