Weight Training Help 5'4" Female

Hello, I am 5'4" 129 Female and at my lowest I've been 120 and high of 155. Mostly done through portion control and watching calories. I have started doing cardio (elliptical, bike, walk 30-40 mins) 3-5x a week for the last 3 weeks. I have only lost about a pound. I also tried Jillian Michaels 30 day shred two times in as many weeks. I felt sore the next day though. I think toning up is more of a goal for me than actual weight loss.

I think I should do weight training and that it would help me a lot. I've got a set of 8lb dumbells at home and my work gym has a bench and free weights ranging in size. I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out a work out that I can do that doesn't involve me getting a real gym membership to use there machine weights.

Thanks

Oxygen, Shape, Fitness, Self and Women's Health magazines have a lot of workouts on their websites. You can download them for free. Many of them are for a traditional gym but they do have some you can do at home as well. Check them out.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Check out the experts page under Advice and there's a guy named Paul Rogers who specializes in weight training.  He has several articles about it and in one, he suggests a simple circuit that combines cardio and weight lifting (it takes about 45 minutes, depending on how fast you do it).  I've only done it twice, sprinkled among my regular Tae Bo workouts, and it has already made a huge difference!  And it's so simple, you can memorize it after doing it the first time!

http://weighttraining.about.com/od/succeeding withweights/a/circuit_fit.htm

Hi there,

Try these two sites:

http://www.bodybuilding.com and part of the same site http://www.bodyspace.com

Also try http://www.davedraper.com and post in the forums, a great crown and they give a heap of advice.

Cheers,

Rip.

 Shape, Fitness, Self and Women's Health are all monumental wastes of time since they contain mostly horribly useless advice from ghost writers rehashing fitness myths, and is as relevant to your needs as Cosmo or Marie Claire.

 Occacionally they slip up and allow some real training advice through but that's completely accidental - Shape writers have the distinction of once having written about 20lbs squats as 'heavy', which makes me wonder what they'd make of what Suzanna lifts. If she'd been reading any of those magazines they'd have been telling her that she should stop with using just the bar I suppose.

 And people wonder why I have a problem with supposed fitness magazines who mostly serve to rob women of the opportunity to explore their true potential?

 Oxygen is slightly better, at least the forums are, but only because most mainstream "fitness" misinformation is such loathsome thrash; you really need to apply some critical thinking skills and source assesment to their articles as well.

 Bodybuilding.com is better than Oxygen, but they do have their fair share of silliness as well, so a bit of healthy scepticism will serve you well when you're there.

 My personal recommendation? Read the Strength training section of the FAQ, and pay special attention to this List of weight training programs

On melkor's recommendation I have been doing the Total Body Strength For Beginners for about a 3 weeks now.  I started with 8 lb dumbbells and yesterday I went out and bought a 40 lb set, upped my weights and progressed to the Total Body Strength 2 workout.  I am definitely feeling the results, though I haven't noticed any increase in weight loss.  I feel good though and I'm hanging in there for the long haul.  In addition to this workout, I've been doing about 45 minutes of cardio 3-4x a week.  I was doing HIIT (check out this site also on melkor's recommendation) but sprinting outside on the concrete was killing my joints so I'm gonna wait until school starts again and I have access to my university gym and the bikes there.

Anyway, we have similar stats: I'm 28, female, and 5'3.  My lowest adult weight was 115 and my highest was 145.  I started counting cals at 140 (2 months ago) and now I'm at 135.  Wish I was lower, but slow and steady wins the race, yes?  :)

Hey you sound just like me!!!!!!!!! I was running 3 miles 6x a week and nothing! I am 5'4 and currently 157 ugh. Anyway I am giving weight lifting a try. Melkor just posted an awesome link and this is what I am starting. It has videos to show you how to do the moves. I love this. I'm sure I won't be able to walk tomorrow though :) anyway here is the link to the site and program. That's the other thing if you need structure this has it. They give you a schedule for each week. If you want a weight lifting buddy feel free to add me so we can complain about our sore muscles.

 

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=158 9833

Wow, you're pretty much just the same as me! I too tried Jillian's 30 day shred and I'll be frank. It was too hard. It's great that you can do it all in 20 minutes but it's twenty minutes of pure hell! What I did that worked AMAZINGLY in one month is the Abs Diet for Women. They have a nutrition plan that's easy to follow and has good food (the smoothies are now sold at Starbuck's). The workout is challenging but not so hard that you dread it. It shocked me at first that it was more weights than cardio but WOW. It has made a difference. I have only lost 4 pounds, but my body looks completely different. My arms are more toned than they have ever been, my legs look awesome and although I still have fat around my stomach (my problem area) it has improved dramatically. I look and feel so much better. I really recommend buying the book but if you don't want to I can give you more detailed info about the workouts and you can also try the free trial at the Abs Diet website. I REALLY recommend it. I have tried EVERYTHING and am so happy with this.

how long have you been doing this?  4lbs I would be happy starting there :)

I absolutely love the 30 day shred.  Yeah it's hard but it only takes 20 mins.  If you want something fast it's perfect.  I've only been doing it for a couple of weeks and have noticed a difference (especially my arms!).  If you're going to see results it has to be challenging.  If you're busy like me I suggest giving it another try and remember to drink lots of water before and after, even during while switching exercises.  That will help your muscles repair faster and you won't be so sore.