Only Classes?

I am looking to lose about 15 pounds, but mostly just tone up in my stomach and upper thigh area. I am so bored with the elliptical and treadmill, and have recently decided that I just can't do them anymore. All they seemed to do was make my cardio better, but I wasn't seeing the best results. At the moment I am doing only classes. I find that I push myself alot harder in them, and feel like they could give me better results. Currently my schedule is..

Monday: high impact aerobics class + abs for 45 minutes
Tuesday: Muscle works(free weights, abs, squats, etc) for 45 minutes, step class with 12" step for an hour.
Wednesday: off
Thursday: High impact aerobics class for 45 minutes, Muscle works class for 45 minutes
Friday: Muscle works class for 45 minutes, high impact class for 45 minutes
Saturday/Sunday: I take one day off, and one day I take a 60 minute high impact aerobics class.

I am also starting to ride my bike again because the weather is getting warmer. So in a typical day I will be riding around the city for 1 to 2 hours(more on weekends)

Is this going to work for me, or are classes a waste of my time? I was doing the rowing machine for a while, but got bored of that, too. I am open to any and all suggestions! I am sick of not getting results!

"Toned" stomaches are made in the kitchen, not the gym.

Don't tell me that!!!!!!  Great!  There went MY weekend plans!!!

do you have a workout partner?....if so I could give you a good schedule that might help...because if you are talking about toning...I believe I can help.

ok lolo87 here we go...What I'm gunna do is give you two of my training workouts that are pretty tough, but you seem willing and athletic.  The last woman I put on these circuits looked like a superhero after 3 months of dieting and various other workouts, but i'm going to give you just the two that I think you need/want

Physical Strength Stamina/endurance:  to be done only ONCE!!! No. Time/Reps Exercise Description 1. 10 mins Rhythmic knee lifts About 100 lifts per minute 2. 5 mins Cycling Stationary bike – medium heavy setting. 3. 100 Squats 4. 50 Peck deck (seated flye) 5. 100 Squats 6. 50 Tricep cable press-down 60-90 degree movement 7. 100 Squats 8. 50 Preacher curls Preacher curls machine – quick but full 9. 100 Squats 10. 80 Leg presses Horizontal leg press 11. 20 Squats 12. 80 Calf raises Standing calf raise machine – heavy setting 13. 100 Squats 14. 115 Squats

I call this the 715 workout, because I use to do 715 squats a day...that's 5,005 squats a week.  I only do this 2 months before a fight, and rest the last week before the fight; however, I suggest you lower the squat numbers down to 25 each time instead of 100.  this will help tighten the legs, and make them super strong.  The move ment is a regualr full squat...not going past 90 degrees....but you don't have to go to 90 degrees if you don't want to, but over time try to.

Also, when you do the leg press...keep your toes pointed in for the first 40, and then point them out for the next 40.  this will ensure that you cover both inner and outer.  Choose a weight for this exercise that's right for you, and take you time.

As far as Cardio goes:

If you have a workout partner this is great...I sometimes don't have a partner, but I have stations in my basement set up to punch and kick... the main focus is to get your total body workout with this one. It is to be done three to four times with 2 minutes rest in between each full circuit that you do.  Grass running makes you EXTREMELY strong in the legs, and it takes off a little bit of the shock on the legs:

Fight Stamina: to be done Three to four times with 2 minutes rest in between Warm up 5-10 minutes (running ON GRASS)

30 seconds Power uppercuts against pads

Jump straight up and dash 40 meters

Sprint backwards 40 meters

15 seconds Tuck-jumps (knees to chest)

30 seconds Body kicks (against Thai pads or bag)

Run on hands (20 meters) (someone holds your legs or just drag your feet while walking on your hands)

Run backwards on hands (20 meters)

30 seconds Body hooks (punching against pads)

Jump up and dash 40 meters

Sprint backwards 40 meters

30 seconds Punch rush (punching straight punches non-stop)

30 seconds Front kicks (Thai pads)

 

By the way, classes are not a waste of time, but they are not paced for everyone.

Good luck....

Potter

How do you do a full squat without going past 90 degrees?

Original Post by floggingsully:

How do you do a full squat without going past 90 degrees?

I can't get past doing 715 squats, personally

Well, I did work my way up to doing 5x80 bodyweight squats when I was on a bodyweight-exercise kick last year with the goal of doing 5x100, so it's not out of the realm of the possible for someone looking for fighting endurance.

 MMA fighters and boxers train for strength endurance this way at times, and if you're going to be spending a lot of time trying to grapple and kick an opponent strength endurance helps.

 I wouldn't do a MMA conditioning program of any kind for weight loss though, it's way the heck and gone too harsh on the body to do in a calorie deficit.

 (Edited to add:) Though if you ARE an MMA fighter, you're going to wish you'd spent more time on conditioning when Bas Rutten catches you in a leg scissor and starts pounding the living daylights out of you :)

lol...this is true.....this is not just for fighting...it's universal...trust me these are one of the easier workouts...

 

I started off doing just 150 squats a day for a while, then I bumped it up to 450, and then 715 eventually...it was tough, but worth it...

Hi Lolo,

I'm so glad that you posed this because I was actually going to post a very similar question. I was exactly like you about 2 months ago - wanting to lose 10-15 lbs and not really wanting to spend an hour everyday after work on the treadmill (it's boring!).

I started taking whatever class was offered after work and just the classes, combined with calorie counting, helped me lose about 7 lbs. It doesn't seem like much, but I definitely look SO much better and feel better.

My add on to your question is whether it would be beneficial to do 30 minutes of abs/weights (mostly arms/back) and squats in the mornings before work to increase my results?

I hope that helps a little!