Suggestions please

lucidchroma
lucidchroma Posts: 57 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been meaning to achieve a few goals. Since I am fairly a beginner, it would be really helpful if you guys put your input.

Background : I am 4'11'', 30F, hovering around 112-114 lbs, I don't have a structured eating pattern. Like some days I eat very minimal amount of carbs, some days I eat a lot of it. I am not much of a meat eater. I tend to go for fish, eggs, cheese. I don't have a workout routine either. Some weeks I workout 6 times a week, some weeks I am just puttering around. I am very new to workout. I also don't have a gym membership and I fancy the calisthenics kind of functional movement.

Goals

1. I want to lose fat, I am not concerned about weight. I have a wider waist and I am very squishy. According to the body fat calculator online, my body fat is around 29-30%

2. I want to be flexible and strong. Strong enough to do proper push ups, pull ups, handstand someday.

3. I want to do 30 minutes of some sort of cardio at least 6 times a week for the rest of life for heart health.

4. I want to learn and establish a good eating habit, not the winging it everyday pattern that I have been so used to my entire adult life.

5. Most importantly, I want to grow as a healthy individual.

Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
    Hey, great that you want to become healthier. With regards to sports it looks like you have three different goals: cardio, mobility and strength. I think you need to balance this carefully as the risk of overtraining is certainly there. In order for strength to be effective you'd need to train at least 3 times per week. Cardio the same. Flexibility likely the same as well. And if you do too much of one then you don't have the energy to do the others properly and progress there.

    With regards to strength there are a couple of good bodyweight programmes which also include handstands. They are all beginner and can be scaled to ability. Have a look at convict conditioning, bodyweight warrior and the recommended routine at Reddit r/bodyweightfitness/ I've recently started the Reddit one.

    For flexibility you need good goals. I only work on my hips and legs at the moment, and this alone takes me about 1 hour per session. Of course there are those 'get really flexible in 15 minutes per day' videos, but those are as effective as those 'get shredded and build crazy muscles in 15 minutes per day'.

    I've given up running now, simply because I don't have enough time and there wasn't enough recovery. I still do a long walk or cycle tour on a weekend day and dance like crazy on Friday evening.
  • lucidchroma
    lucidchroma Posts: 57 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    Hey, great that you want to become healthier. With regards to sports it looks like you have three different goals: cardio, mobility and strength. I think you need to balance this carefully as the risk of overtraining is certainly there. In order for strength to be effective you'd need to train at least 3 times per week. Cardio the same. Flexibility likely the same as well. And if you do too much of one then you don't have the energy to do the others properly and progress there.

    With regards to strength there are a couple of good bodyweight programmes which also include handstands. They are all beginner and can be scaled to ability. Have a look at convict conditioning, bodyweight warrior and the recommended routine at Reddit r/bodyweightfitness/ I've recently started the Reddit one.

    For flexibility you need good goals. I only work on my hips and legs at the moment, and this alone takes me about 1 hour per session. Of course there are those 'get really flexible in 15 minutes per day' videos, but those are as effective as those 'get shredded and build crazy muscles in 15 minutes per day'.

    I've given up running now, simply because I don't have enough time and there wasn't enough recovery. I still do a long walk or cycle tour on a weekend day and dance like crazy on Friday evening.

    Mobility will take time for me too. I am not as flexible. Think I will walk at moderate pace everyday after dinner and strength train 3 times a week and spend an hour or so in flexibility routines (Its very zen) . I am quite weak to start with the reddit one. Although I love it and want to do it for 6 months after I get gymnastic rings and a dip station. Till then, for the first 5 weeks, I have decided to do these 6 exercises in 8 reps for 3 sets.

    1. Bridge
    2. Hollow Hold
    3. Push ups (I still can not go all the way down and shake like an earthquake hehe)
    4. Bodyweight Squat
    5. Lunges
    6. Tricep Dips using a chair

    I don't have the core stability for handstand yet. So for skill work, I chose crow pose at first and mobility goal right now is to do forward bend.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
    I would start by making a list of types of exercise you can realistically do, considering time, money and availability in your area. Then see which ones sound more interesting and give them a try. No need to be disappointed if you do not like something you thought was interesting, just keep trying different things and pick the one you feel you can commit to, at this time. Enjoying the exercise you do, it is key to being able to commit to something on the long run. Do you enjoy walking? If yes, awesome. If you feel it is a chore, run instead, swim, get a bike, dance, join a class, online or in person.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
    edited June 2020
    Since you want to be flexible and strong, and like calisthenics, I would suggest looking for yoga, pilates, and Barre type workouts on YouTube. I've been following Sydney Cummings and Jenny Ford/Freedom Fit. Sydney has some yoga/pilates style workouts(and a bunch of other styles) and Jenny Ford has a lot of step and "marching" workouts for cardio.

    Do you have an eating style in mind? I like to focus on produce, and then pair it with a protein and possibly a carb. Examples:
    Breakfast: fruit and Greek yogurt
    Lunch: big salad...mixed greens, tomato, (insert any veg here really) with chicken/turkey/salmon or tuna/beans/hard boiled egg, a little shredded cheese
    Dinner: a piece of fish or tofu/beans/mushroom/lentils and mixed veggies and potato or rice.
    But you have to make it your own.
  • randyolf
    randyolf Posts: 61 Member
    I've just started doing Shaun T 's T25 workout DVDs....25 minutes of nonstop
    work, 5 days a week plus stretching on Sundays. Just lost 3.5 lbs in the 1st week.😁👍
  • lucidchroma
    lucidchroma Posts: 57 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    Since you want to be flexible and strong, and like calisthenics, I would suggest looking for yoga, pilates, and Barre type workouts on YouTube. I've been following Sydney Cummings and Jenny Ford/Freedom Fit. Sydney has some yoga/pilates style workouts(and a bunch of other styles) and Jenny Ford has a lot of step and "marching" workouts for cardio.

    Do you have an eating style in mind? I like to focus on produce, and then pair it with a protein and possibly a carb. Examples:
    Breakfast: fruit and Greek yogurt
    Lunch: big salad...mixed greens, tomato, (insert any veg here really) with chicken/turkey/salmon or tuna/beans/hard boiled egg, a little shredded cheese
    Dinner: a piece of fish or tofu/beans/mushroom/lentils and mixed veggies and potato or rice.
    But you have to make it your own.

    Thank you. The eating style you follow gave me some idea about how to have a pattern. I want to make my meals around the source of protein and I think I will have the carbs heavy meal for dinner. I have a sweet tooth but it is manageable with fruits.
  • lucidchroma
    lucidchroma Posts: 57 Member
    edited June 2020
    Here I am including photos I took today for better understanding of how my body looks like and what should be my approach towards it.

    https://imgur.com/a/KvlEuWz

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