TrainingWithTonya Member

Hydrostatic weighing is one of the most accurate ways to measure it, but you can do a general estimate without anything but a tape measure if that is all you have. Here is a link to an old blog post I did with the formulas for estimating body fat.…

Body weight x body fat % = Body fat mass Body weight - body fat mass = Lean body mass Also, these formulas all use kilograms of body weight or lean mass, not pounds. So for any of the calculations, divide weight in pounds by 2.2 to get kilograms. Example: 220 pound person, 25% body fat, Workout burning 1000 Calories 220 /…

Honestly, it sounds to me like you aren't eating enough to fuel the activity you are doing so the body is breaking down muscle and storing fat to try and survive. I see it all the time with clients who think they are doing themselves great favors by cutting food intake to lose weight. Everytime I tell them to eat more,…

Here is a post on my blog from a couple of years ago that should answer your questions about the different ways to measure body composition. Regardless of which method you choose to stick with, just pick one and track the changes over time as that is much more important and accurate for how your body is changing than…

In order to know your target heart rate, I would need more information. Do you have any health issues that would impact your heart rate? Are you on any medications (blood pressure, asthma, allergy, etc.) that would impact your heart rate? How old are you? What is your family history with regard to heart disease, high blood…

Depends on your goal. If you want strength, lift heavy with fewer reps. If you want muscular endurance, lift lighter weights with more reps. Personally, I like to mix it up with some lighter weight, higher rep days and some heavy weight, lower rep days.

Sounds like you are over training. Not that 5 days a week is considered over training, but because you are using the same muscle groups every day instead of giving them 48 hours rest in between, the individual muscles are over training. I'd recommend doing 2-3 days a week of either the body weight resistance or weighted…

As someone who has made an exercise television show, I can tell you exactly why it isn't great music. LICENSING FEES! It costs a lot to license music to put it in videos, so instead we use public domain music that is free so that we can keep production costs lower. If a company does license music for their videos, they…

I also agree with the water aerobics and pilates recommendations. Both are great low impact activities that can be done now without risking the knees. Zumba might be a bit tough, just watch your knees and keep them behind the toes. Also make sure your knees and toes always point in the same direction so that you don't…

I'm a Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist with a Degree in Exercise Physiology. I absolutely do not recommend squats unless you have someone watching your form and it is exactly perfect with no knee movement over the toes. The leg extension is the primary focus in knee rehab because it isolates the quadriceps which…

Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, and Leg Presses as heavy as you can handle for 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps every other day. Specifically, try 30% Leg Extensions (where you only do the top 30% of a leg extension) and 30% Leg Curls will help strengthen the quadriceps and hamstrings to prevent hyperextension. Usually all three of these…

Technically, any gains you are seeing aren't actually muscle fiber growth yet. Before you can actually add more contractile proteins to your muscles, you have to have at least 3-6 months of heavy training while in a protein surplus. (Although I was taught in my nutrition minor that only 50 extra protein calories are needed…

Here are a couple of blog posts I did a while back that cover determining TDEE and macro percentages. I think you have it set wrong, so do this math and see how much you really need. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya/view/bmr-rmr-eer-and-tdee-formulas-262109…

There are a couple of different formulas for estimating target heart rate. The most common is the 220-age for Maximum Heart Rate, with a recommendation of working at 65-85% of MHR to be in the optimal zone for strengthening the heart and burning fat. When doing a stress test, we don't allow participants to do more then 85%…

Here is a blog post I did a while back on determining body fat percentage that gives you the formula for using measurements if you want to do it that way. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya/view/determining-body-fat-104431 If you want to try and find a bod pod or DEXA, call your local university and see if…

Do you have a large mirror in your bathroom? Can you go in there to check your form or bring the mirror out to your workout room? As a trainer, the first thing I would look at is your form. Make sure the knees are behind the toes and the back isn't arching or swaying. Second, I would look at your weight. Where is is…

I highly recommend reading some of the books by Dr. Dean Ornish. He has scientifically studied the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle for heart disease for decades and has written books on how they can be done to safely get all the adequate nutrients you need while losing weight.

Technically, yes, but it isn't a safe or healthy practice. You would be losing water weight and not actual body fat so as soon as you eat or drink anything it will come back. Not to mention how risky it is with dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.

Just a basic calculation without considering weight, speed, incline, etc. is to use 100 Calories per mile walked or ran. There are calculations to determine the exact number would mean knowing exact times you spent at certain speeds and inclines so if you aren't tracking your various intervals specifically, that is the…

I use machines for my clients who are too deconditioned to handle the stabilization of heavy free weights to get their heavy training in and then have them use light free weights to start building the form and smaller stabilizers. I also use the machines for my advanced clients (and in my own workouts) as finishers after…

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya Scroll down....way down....where I addressed this last year. Sorry, I'm having a lazy day and its easier to refer you to what I've already typed then to type it all again. :wink: 16 years Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor 9 years Certified Sports…

My husband is 4 years younger then me. We've been married 11 years on Saturday. He is my soul mate and age means nothing. My Mom and Dad were 7 years apart (with her being older) and they were married for 22 years before she passed away. Again, soul mates. Age is completely irrelevant. It is all about how the two of you…

Jillian Michaels has NO NUTRITION EDUCATION!!! She has one fitness certification that can be taken in a weekend and the test is one my daughter passed when she was 11. Talk to a sports nutritionist for dietary advice specific to your needs. If you don't have access to a sports nutritionist, read my blog.…

Clearly, this was not a Sports Nutritionist who you saw. Standard nutritionists and dietitians don't know squat about exercise and the need to fuel it. Go to my blog http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya and follow the directions for figuring your BMR, RMR (EER), and TDEE (and your macros if you want those…

How long before your workout are you eating? It could be that you aren't giving yourself enough time and are feeling nauseous from the food sitting on your stomach. What are you eating? It could also be that you don't have enough carbs to fuel the weight workouts. Since you are fine for the cardio (which is mostly fat…

Well, I'm pretty blunt and don't worry about pissing off my family members when I tell them to shut their pie hole and workout. LOL But for people I'm not related to, I try to be a little less blunt. :laugh: I do still tell it straight, though. Generally, I tell them about a woman I worked with in Atlanta. She came into…

Personally, I prefer guys both for massages and for my OB/GYN. For massages, I like that they have stronger hands and can give me a deeper tissue massage. For the OB/GYN, I prefer that they aren't female because they haven't felt what they are doing to me. Generally, a woman will think that if they can take it so can their…

When you say you do strength training, what is your actual program? Are you lifting for high reps and low weight or are you lifting for high weight and low reps? Are you doing any kind of steady state cardio? Doing some quick estimations of your TDEE, I think you've overestimated your calorie needs. I would need more…

Personally, I go for a burst resistant ball for safety. I've seen one pop like a balloon in the gym when it wasn't burst resistant and the person sitting on it broke her tailbone when she fell. Another ball that I saw get a hole just slowly deflated with no injuries even though there was a 250 pound woman sitting on it…

Glad you are going to be okay. From the way you describe it, you had an embolism. That's basically a blood clot and they can happen for any number of reasons, breaking loose after surgery or other injury, atrial fibrillation, birth control pills, etc. Exercise is usually not to blame but it can make the problem worse when…