need work out advice :(

[Purl]

This is a little embarrassing-but I don't know what people mean when they say they "workout". I really want to look good for this summer. I figure I've got about 4 months to "get in shape"-BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW!!!! Like-how much areobic exercise? How to I "scuplt" my body from an apple into a long lean bean? LOL! I definately don't want to bulk up any more-I already have alot of muscle under all of this fat. I need to flatten my stomach-but I don't know how to get anice looking stomach.

Basically I am so confused about how to go about looking fit. I don't understand how much time and effort I need to put in to see results. I've only got 4 months to get to a place where I am not embarrased. I haven't worn shorts or a bathingsuit in 3 or 4 years!!! I really want to be comfortable playing with my dc at the local pool. For the last few summers I haven't even gone there-I;ve sent my mom to watch them because I was too embarrassed to go.

Anyone got any advice for this confused yet determined lady? :cool:

[tglasco4]

If you're very serious, my advice would be to go to a gym and work with a personal trainer. They can help with all areas from working with your nutrition to your workout schedule. Especially if you are giving yourself a certain timeframe (in your case 4 months) and you haven't much workout experience. It would be a good investment because not only will you see results you will learn alot to help you going forward.

Peace.

Todd

[jaurequi]

If you have muscle under fat then you are lucky :).You may just need to do some cardio and little light weight training if you want to get lean.

Start with 30 minutes of cardiovascular work -- fast walking or jogging; cycling.
If you have some light weights you can begin with doing 5 sets of 10 repetitions for biceps. (lift 10 times - that's one set - wait 1 minute and do another set). If you can, then do 5 sets of 10 of lifting the weights straight up -- starting from your shoulder lift above your head -- to work shoulders. That would be a good day's work out for a beginner.

Good luck and I admire your determination. You can do it! :)

Best,

[aisah]

I like that you stated 'determined lady'!! To me what use if you can work out any/all parts of your body muscle but not your mindset. Having been in the instructing line for 8 years and counting, I have seen alot of people working out only on the 'surface' layer and those on the 'deeper' layer. The ones with 'deeper' layer approach, I find, have faster better result simply because they are focused and they bring more attention to whichever particular body part they are working on and the result surfaces faster. It is just like you gobble your food down your throat as compared to taking time out, chewing thoroughly and enjoying every bite of it. Surely, the latter practice will bring about many benefits and better digestibility. Like my Master said, 'Train your body, do not strain your body'. I would rather you do little sets and at a focus approach rather than many sets in bursts and sprints.

Now coming back, you mentioned you would want to strive to be 'long lean bean'. You can achieve the long lean bean that your body has already 'constructed' for you, just waiting to re-surface. My advise take up a good yoga class. Do not get me wrong, I am not selling yoga though I teach, live, learn and breath yoga but I do firmly believe in it for I have seen and proved it to myself and many others time and time again how yoga can work miracles for your body AND mind. Note my key work, 'good yoga class'. Plus I have students from all walks of life, from a young girl age 6 to doctors to bodybuilders to personal trainers to homemakers to pilates teachers to other yoga teachers to a 65 year old elderly lady to a patient who requires a pace maker from the very healthy to the chronic pain... I have seen them all improved, health-wise, physical-wise, mental state and feeling very happy, bliss, content, at peace etc and yes they have all 'sculpted' their body shapes.

The style of yoga I teach is definitely not the commonly perceived by many as slow and just-full-of-stretch class. The style I teach gives a total body and mind workout. I have had students coming from various well-known yoga styles/practices and they are amazed and (most if not all - to each his/her own) are very delighted with the class and result, even after the first class, though hard-work, will leave you feeling exhilirated. Plus I make sure the class is enjoyable (despite the pain!!), so enjoyable and fun (most like it) that it will make you forget the 'pain'...

Why yoga? A good yoga class will give you the best strength, stamina, endurance, stretch complete with mind & body approach (all at the same time) hence resulting in one having that long elongated look (again do note every body is built differently, each will have their own version of the long look). It will definitely elongate and tone your muscles. With the back bends and arches and side-stretch it can help one achieve a firmer tummy. Do also note that a firmer tummy is not achieved solely by doing thousand sit-ups, it is a '24-hour' thing. Such as watching your posture when you sit/stand. Think of it, say you do crunches 12x a day and the rest say 23 hours you slouch, what much can that help to firm your lower abdomen? Slouching will not only cause slack of abdomen, loss of muscle tone in that region, also contributes to sluggishness in the digestive sytem. So sit up or stand tall, that also will assist you in achieving the long sturdy strong look. Yoga is not practiced 1hour a day neither is it 2x/week, it is a 24 hour practice, meaning awareness at all waking times. It helps to achieve many goals by learning to do so (even applicable in the raw food diet... *side tracking side tracking*...). In addition to that, yoga has a practice of Agni Sara, which has tremendous benefit in increasing the 'fire' in your digestive system, awaken your energy and a sure to tone in the lower abdomen (note : not easy to perform but once you master the movement it sure does work!!).

Apart from the physical aspect, yoga works on the breath approach. Yogis take utmost importance to breath after all this is the sole factor that keeps you alive for you can do without food for many months and water for some weeks but you cannot live without breathing (some can hold breath long enough I am not sure of the latest records so say half an hour??!). Its quality of breath the yogis work towards and again awareness of it. With the breath practice, you will learn it affects and balances your brain hemispheres plus there is a breathing technique that helps to increase fire in your system.

Yoga has many benefits. It cannot be wrong when it was founded 2500 BC years ago can it? ;) Apart from that, yoga work in-depth. It even touches the hormones aspect where it will leave you to be more natural to yourself. You will feel more in tune and much more womanly, feminine and divine!!

i would like to share what one of my students exclaimed, 'Yoga takes off and puts on where your body deems appropriate and at the right place'.

So go on a good yoga class hunt. Yes you can get recommendations from friends/sources but ultimately, you have to go down personally to experience the class. See if you can relate with the teacher, it plays an important part to your well-being. I can say alot of benefits of yoga, but you have to want to find it out yourself. After all, yoga is a self-discovery journey.

peace be with you ~ aisah

[michigan roman]

to me the term workout stands for getting your heart rate up and or exerting your muscles - repeating a movement til your muscles get too exhausted or near it to do it anymore . day after day , month after month you keep doing it then you develop greater endurance and strength at doing your choosen movements/exercises and in the process the state/shape of your body changes , your muscles grow harder and fat burns away , your heart , a muscle , grows stronger giving you the endurance and strength to do more . i see you speak about wanting to lose weight and i would say to you RUN , running is thee best exercise for anyone in my book . i dont care if you can only run a 100 yards , just make it habit and youll eventually grow better at it . i know its (running and exercise) harder for women alot of times because they didnt compete at athletics like men did when kids so arent real coordinated and as confident so ide suggest look all the time (thats if you never have been athletic, sorry for assuming) for women triathlons and watch them run so you can copy their styles , copying the pros is very helpful . yes running is the number 1 thing i suggest to you . then for stomach theres alot of different exercises , an easier one to me is laying on your back , bending your knees til their about 2' off floor and your feet are flat on floor . then lock hands behind head . now at same time move your knee caps towards your elbows and your elbows towards your knee caps til they touch , over and over til your tired . then as your stomach begins to strengthen get a situp bar (like i described few weeks ago in your exercise room post) to lock your feet under so you dont slide around and can really focus on using only stomach muscle to pull your self up and do bent leg situps with your hands locked behind head . then for your arms and shoulders ide say use dumbells standing up and lift them high as you can over your head as many times til almost cant , rest a few minutes then repeat , do this say 5 to 10 times each exercise session / day . use a weight you can lift around 25 times , that amount of weight has the effect of making muscles harder/leaner rather than making them bigger . ide also say watch for this women on the fitness channel cathe freidrich , her shows called cardio blast , this women does alot of good exercises for stomach you could learn , searching for one that you like , plus she uses dumbells so you can learn there too . shes a good example to follow in my opinion . and on losing weight i would try drinking alot of grapefruit juice , and also green tea which has an appetite quelling affect , and get into fasting cuz once you break the ice it grows easier (thats if youve never done it) and theres many benefits besides losing weight . and last thing is on exercise i dont care if you only run 100 yards , do 10 situps , 10 military lifts (thats over the head lift) each session , what is important is to get in the groove of doing it a certain amount of times each week and never doing less . you have to make yourself respect that habit and see it as forever , not just months . so you find the execises you most enjoy , and just keep thinking im doing this as long as i live and wont let anything interupt . well im sorry if im sounding like a know it all , im just trying to express how i see it because ive been exercising my entire life and it sounds like youve never have . good day

[michigan roman]

i just reread your thread purl and saw you asked how much to exercise . say if your doing my suggested routine of running , situps , dumbell militarys . ide say first week you do it every other day for a total of 3 sessions per week , ide start off by jogging say a mile , then doing 5 sets of situps and dumbell militarys each . do that for a week then see where you stand . if youve got more than that run further the next week , do more situps and militarys and make it 4 days . its trial and error to see were you stand .

[karenisraw]

I used to work out all of the time and got to be a bitty little thing of 105 lb's just by excersicing (cardio) 6x 1hour per week. I ate VERY healthy although SAD. Another time I was juicing a lot (although still SAD) and looked very good just from brisk walking 6x45min per week. I was very lean considering I have a little bit of a muscular and chunky looking figure.

Make sure you do something that is not going to damage your joints in the long run.

k