Excercise Suggestions?

I'm 5'4," 140lbs.
I'd like to get down to about 130 by September.. but weight in pounds isn't my top priority. I'd really like to have a firmer booty, and flatter abs.. quick!
I HATE treadmills, and running in the neighborhood is too embarassing for me. Do you have any routines that you like that will get someone in shape fast?

I eat healthy and excercise already, but I just need someone's opinion on how they work out... Something that works within the next two months.

I jump rope for about a 1/2 hr about 5 times a week. It has helped me lose some fat around my midsection. I get weirded out about jogging in my neighborhood as well. I even jump rope in my garage! What's going on in Sept?

School starting up..
It's my major goal to noticably tone up for school, so I can prove everyone wrong, and I've been slacking off for the past few months, but the other night I had this TERRIBLE dream that I went back with my butt HUGE, still, and it was seriously the worst feeling ever.

ps,
I tried jump roping 15 minutes.. it's hard work, haha!
How many calories does it burn in 30 minutes?
Maybe I'll just go look it up.. hehe:)

I don't know how many calories it burns (please let me know if you find out.) I usually try to jump 100 times consecutively, but I take mini-breaks to catch my breath. I do several sets like that. It certainly does work up a good sweat. I wouldn't worry about proving others wrong, just prove yourself right.

Alrighty, looking it up, it says:

Slow Jumping: 508 calories/hour
Moderate Jumping: 635 calories/hour
Fast Jumping: 762 calories/hour

Divide by 2 and wala!
Either way, you're burning alot just by jumping rope,
Thanks!

I got really good and fast results with Tae Bo since it's a total body workout.  However, some of the routines are pretty intense, so when first starting out take the advice from Billy Blanks - when you need to, march in place if you need to catch your breath, or get a drink of water.

Arg! I was just thinking about how much I mis Tae Bo! Sooo much fun. It really wore you out! I used to do it when I was younger, about 14 and I loved it. Just... make sure you eat after you work out. It made me a bit windy...heh.

Hmm, I'm tempted to go and look into some Tae Bo Dvd's....

wildcherrygrl: I really like what you said... "I wouldn't worry about proving others wrong, just prove yourself right."  Good advice, and it doesn't just apply to this situation!

nobuhdy: I have a body like yours (I think?) and I have similar goals.   I'd like to get to about 125lbs by September (well, Aug. 26), but mostly, just like you, I'd like to be more toned (the number on the scale dosen't matter if I like how I look).  My stomach REALLY bothers me, and I'd like to get it so I don't feel so self conscious about it (my boyfriend holding me, pants fitting, etc.).

I'm 5'4, 140lbs too (well, trying to work down from it) and 20 years old.  Maybe we can compare/exchange routines?  Let me know how the skipping goes for you..I'm thinking of trying that.  I don't like running around my neighbourhood either...especially because when I work out my face gets REALLY REALLY red and stays like that for about 45 minutes after I stop.  It may sound stupid, but it's a deterrant for me nonetheless not to work out, so  I just work past it.  I have an elliptical trainer (a really cheap one) that I've been using for cardio...that's about it.  I can let you know more if you're interested.

Good luck!

Also, for those who do tae bo, do you think it's a better cardio workout than the elliptical? Mine is really simple so all it has is a little knob you can move to change the intensity from 1-6...it still challenges me but there isn't much I can change on that.  I tried boxing on the Nintendo Wii and I found it to be a bit of a workout (too bad I don't own it!), and that got me thinking about trying some Billy Blanks videos.

hey nohbudy and jettaranger...I'm the third who is 5'4" and about 140lbs...well, 143. I've been working out fairly hard core for about a year now. I used to be pretty self-conscious about working out in front of people, but just make yourself do it anyways. Everybody else is too worried about what they look like themselves to notice you. Eventually, you start appreciating your body more and you get more confidence. Now, I really don't care what I look like at the gym and believe me, I look like crap. I sweat more than any girl I've ever seen, my face turns really red, and my hair frizzes out all over the place, but I could care less. Seriously, it's the gym. If you want to get toned, you definitely need to do weightlifting or some other equivalent. Like I said, I was self-conscious at the beginning, especially since the weight room is usually 95% guys lifting 10X as much weight as me, so I started out with just some free weights and an exercise ball. Cardio is really important too, though. Here's my routine: every day I warm up with a quick jog around the track (5 min.), then I spend 45 min. weight lifting (either glutes and legs; chest,back, and abs; or arms and shoulders), then I get on the eliptical for another 45 minutes. I do this in the morning because it gets your metabolism going for the whole day. If I'm really feeling ambitious I'll swim in the evenings for about an hour. Working out twice a day gives me the quickest results. If you want quick results, you're going to have to work HARD, but you can totally do it and it's so worth it. The endorphin rush is amazing.

Tae Bo always worked me out well, you just have to be careful with the kicks (I pulled something last time I did it, so I try to stretch out by myself in addition to his warmup). Thanks for the stats nohbudy - after the workout jumping gives me, I was hoping to burn that amount of calories!

Does anyone watch Work Out on Bravo? Jackie Werner said that crunches are a waste of time for the abs. I used to do crunches but they are difficult because I have a big chest. I like the standing crunches like in Tae Bo. I also saw in infomercial for Hip Hop Abs that incorporates standing crunches into a hip-hop routine.

I've been doing this workout DVD that I found awhile back (but have never really looked into it), and it's called Cardio Kick Butt!
I've been doing it everyday for the past two days, and MAN, it's working my legs like crazy. I get it on my Excercise TV on Demand.
If any of you have Time Warner Digital Cable, I'd try it yourself, it's really tiring me out!

Is exercise tv a channel, or do you have to order it? Is it like kick boxing?

I would like to learn about this show called Work Out too. And what is a standing crunch. I too am working on abs and booty as well as lose 10 pounds.

A standing crunch is like bending over but you tighten your abs and you don't go all the way down (this is hard to explain :P) It's actually a small move, and you focus on contracting your ab muscles. Tae Bo focuses on obliques when you step to the side and draw your other knee in diagonally. I hope this helps (I can see it in my head, but putting it in words....)

I think Work Out should be in it's third season this fall. You can google it for more info. Jackie owns a gym called Sky Sport in Cali. and it focuses more on training people who are already in shape (models, athletes, etc). However, the second season incorporated a boot camp with average people who needed to lose significant weight. It's an informative and entertaining show...can't wait for season three!

I <3 Taebo

I went from 113lbs pre-baby up to 186lbs in the last couple months of carrying my bundle of joy. ( The doctor said it was due to water weight but they couldn't give me anything for it. They said if they did it would cause complications. )

Eating healthy, Taebo daily, and walks/light jogs. It's a year later and I'm maintaining 105lbs. The heathiest I've ever been.

Love it. Thank you, Billy Blanks.

" Taebo changing the world, one body, one life at a time "