Posts by tommy21pmp

Good Luck! Focus on Results! It won't happen overnight but it will if you keep up with it.

Original Post by tommy21pmp:

Whoever responds must agree that weightlifting increases the size of your muscles. If you do not understand or agree with this concept, please do not reply. Also, I know enough about weightlifting where I will do not need specific exercises unless they are uncommon and not difficult. I am mostly concerned with helping my gf reach her goals and justify the purpose of specific exercises to her. I want to give her sound advice and answer the question of "why am I doing this?" when she asks.

I have never quoted myself in a post but here you go. I have a good background in nutrition, diet, and exercise. I get it.

To clarify my question, there are exercises that I concentrate on and avoid because of my goals. For instance, I do not over work my back because it will give me a gorilla look. I spent extra time on my upper pecs to give my chest a flatter, wider look. I am chunking up my legs a little to not look unproportional. These are the types of things I'm looking for. A specific area that I am focusing on and a reason why I am focusing on it. Just as another poster said "build up your shoulders and not work your obliques so much, so your waist looks smaller and more defined, since that's a look most women want." Thanks Haley, this is the kind of advice I'm looking.

As for mtobweddingdiet, who stated "clearly you don't know much about women and weightlifting,"

I know more than most about weightlifting. I know that most people can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time and diet is the sole reason for that. I know that my gf who hasn't lifted before can do both for a few months because she's a beginner. I know one women that I see at the gym looks like a dude with huge arms and a giant back while another women at the gym who looks defined but hot and they both lift. I know that female bodybuilding exists and they don't all get huge from steroids and supplements. I know that form is critical for injury prevention and results. I know that the pink dumbbell theory, in less words, states that women should do high reps and low weight. I have my gf doing 3-4 sets of 10-8 reps of heavy weight, opposite of the pink dumbbell theory. I know that I have motivated her to stand in an uncomfortable maze of dudes to lift weights 2-3 times a week. I know that you should never avoid any muscles because that will lead to injury. Most of all, I know that if I thought she would look huge from lifting I wouldn't motivate her to do it. I know and understand the benfefits of weightlifting for women. You guys are like the parents of a D student who gets a B and give them a hard time because it's not an A.

So, don't give me bro-science about diet, weightlifting, and muscle density. As far as I'm concerned, I have helped her to be more knowledgable and given her more know how than 99% of the women in our gym.

I honestly get sound advice from many people on this site and I thank all that have replied and helped. I have received more information and references than I could have found on my own. Thank you guys and gals.

Original Post by madamq:

If I could get a years membership at a gym, with no monthly dues, open 24 hours a day, and close enough i can help my son with home work while dinner is cooking, I just might get it.

Point is - not every tool is suitable for every user.  The high cost of gym memberships near me keeps me from going to the gym. 

There is also one other important fact that people seem to miss quite often.  Not every one wants to have a body that looks like a fitness models.  Most of us just want to be healthy and look decent in our clothing.

There is no need to go to a gym to be healthy.  The insistance that gyms are the only route to true physical fitness is part of the reason we have so many people who are unfit in North America.  If more people understood that fitness can be obtained with nothing more than your own body and feet, maybe a few props from home, there would be less fitness anxiety.

I dont go to the gym.  But I know for a fact that my health and fitness level do not depend on it.

In just over a month I have:

lost 2 inches off my hips and waist

lowered my blood pressure 30 points

lowered my resting heart rate 12 beats a minute

increased my endurance from 5 minutes of walking to walking endlessly

lifting 2lbs weights to 20 (we dont have the weight bench up yet...who knows how far I will take it)

from having knees so bad I could no go up stairs without pain, to running up stairs without pain or breathlessness. 

The point is, the real fitness does come from a gym or a wii fit.  It comes from hard work that can be done for free.

I agree with everything you said. Goals vary, levels of fitness vary, the tools we use vary. My only point is that some tools are better than other in a perfect world. When I say perfect world, this means that if you could do wii fit for an hour or go to a gym for an hour. Your hour at the gym is more efficient and effective.

I tell people all the time that their fitness or health program should be designed for them personally and that it should be designed around their goals. And it sounds like you are doing just that. So, keep up the hard work.

Original Post by mwheeler75:

Hmmmm...so then if I read this right you are saying that the muscle growth I am seeing at the top is in fact on the bottom too, I just wont see it until the excess weight is gone? that would actually be pretty sweet. I dont know why that didnt occur to me to be honest, I guess because my waist size overall kept going down...

 True, people hold fat in different places. So it is definately possible that you just don't have fat over your upper part of you abs.

Problem: Plateau!!!

What is a plateau?
A plateau occurs when you stay at one level without rising or falling. Once you reach a plateau in your routine, it takes a great deal of motivation to keep plugging away. For most of us, a plateau brings discouragement, excuses and an unfortunate fall from our physical, mental and emotional high.

Why does a plateau happen?
Our bodies adapt beautifully to whatever stimulus is applied. Because of this property, an exercise program becomes ineffective after a short period of time as our bodies reach a state of adaptation. As our bodies become accustomed to the exercises, a program is no longer challenging or stimulating enough to promote gains in strength, cardiovascular conditioning or fat loss. Yes, you’ve guessed it—your reward for getting fit is hitting a plateau. The good news is there are tricks you can use to bust through any plateau.

Simple solution, change it up.

1) Do a different kind of cardio, also called cross training. Your muscles and body adapt to repetitive motion. Try a bike ride, elliptical, swimming, etc. Maybe your heart and lungs say this is hard but your muscles and body say this is cake.

2) Try High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This is a for sure way to break through a plateau.

3) Change your diet not your deficit. Try different foods. Sometimes eating a really unhealthy meal once every 10 days can stimulate your metabolism. Try eating a high protein, low fat, and moderate carb diet. High fiber can also help. Fiber is hard to digest and keeps you full longer.

4) Do different resistance exercises. Use the machines and free weights at the gym. Once again, your muscles and body adapt to repetative motion. If you do dumbbell curls, try a preacher curl. If you do lunges, try walking lunges. If you do push ups, try flat dumbbell presses and so on.

5) Water, water, water!!! Water is a necessity in weight loss. Increase your water intake.

Original Post by st_rider:

If it's the difference between sitting on the couch and doing wii Fit, then go for it. 

 Agreed.

Doing something is better than nothing. If Wii Fit gets you motivated, then that is good. Didn't want to offend anyone but if you want to learn some other workout alteratives, I would be happy to help.

Very simple answer with a question. How long have you been doing this? My best guess is less than a month. At first, exercise makes you gain weight even in a calorie deficit. I gain about 2 lbs of water weight and beginner muscle even with a 300-400/day calorie deficit in the first month or 2. You can't gain muscle and burn fat at the same time...except in the beginning. Eventually the weight will fall off as long as you keep up the calorie deficit. Just remember, it doesn't happen overnight. If it was easy we would all have perfect bodies.

My take on Wii Fit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iYBmAVuBns

One more thing. You don't have to workout to shed the weight. Eating is 75% of the battle. Start there.

Cut off an arm or foot. That should get you down there. If it were possible to cut 10 lbs of fat in 1 week you would probably already know about it and everyone would be doing it.

On a serious note, you can't lose 10 lbs of fat in that amount of time. A good rule of thumb to follow is that 3,500 calories equals 1 lb. So if you maintained a deficit of 500 calories a day for a week you would lose 1 lb. 500 calories is the max that anyone should be in a deficit.

With your numbers stated above and my guess is that your deficit is around there. So to reach your goal, you would have to fast for the 11 days (no food at all), workout twice as much everyday, and liposuction about 1/3 lb of fat each day. If you can't afford the lipo then you still have to fast for 11 days, workout twice as much everyday, and cut a foot or a hand off.

It took me 4 months to cut 10 lbs of fat. It sucks but there are no shortcuts to losing weight.

I weigh myself once a day in the morning before I get in the shower. Last week I was about 159-160. This week I am about 158-159. So I lost about a pound. I enter my weight on this website almost everyday. Then you can really see the difference as it graphs it out.

Your weight will fluctuate throughout the week and throughout the day. So you should weigh yourself at the same time everyday as well. Let's say you weighed yourself on Sundays. It is possible that Sunday was your heaviest day of the week and it seems you gained a pound that week when you really are down one.

This is very common. I stopped using the machine partly because of this. Wiggle your foot and loosen your shoe.

I live in New York and with one step on a patch of ice you would be down. Not much surface area on the bottom for traction with the rounded sole and they look ridiculous.

For future reference, you ran into the .0001 % that does have a problem with sharing. Shouldn't happen again. The other 99.999 % will graciously let you jump in because they hope that you would do the same for you. If somehow your on the machine and the same guy asks to jump in, you should be somewhat humble and let him in, but give him a hard time about the last time you met. Perfect way to avoid the situation in the future.

Are you talking about the V-shape in that area? If so, those are ab muscles.