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Working out/Getting toned...

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by ShebbsIsAwesome, Jun 21, 2011.

  1. ShebbsIsAwesome

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    Okay, so I promised my boyfriend that I would work out over the summer while he's gone on a road trip. (I'm not doing it for him, doing it for me.. blah blah blah.) But he's gonna be my motivation to get through it. Okay, so I'm like 180-190 pounds, 6'1" tall, and 16 years old... What's a good workout routine if I want to get toned? What I usually do is cardio for 20-30 minutes. Sometimes AB workouts if I feel like it. And I do raquetball on most Saturdays. And yoga classes if I can make it to them. But what is a good way to get well toned over 2 months?

    Thanks for the helps!
     
  2. KaraBulut

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    Are you wanting to just trim a little body fat? Or do you want to add a bit of muscle?
     
  3. Rikudo

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    For getting toned any sort of weight lifting is done in low weight and lots of reps. Diet is also key cut out the fatty and sugary foods. Increase your cardio as well and remember it takes about 6-8 weeks to see results whenever beginning a new routine.
     
  4. Tracy Lord

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    OK, so here's my fav weight training routine of all time. It's my fav because it's good if you've been off for awhile, and it's good for packing on muscle, because it's all compound exercises. It's based around the squat, the most amazing exercise ever. Disclaimer: DO NOT do this routine if you've never done these exercises before; you can hurt yourself. If this routine looks interesting to you, get some help from someone with experience at your gym.

    squat: 1 set of 20
    bench press: 3x12
    bent over dumbell row: 1x15
    shoulder press (db or barbell, your preference): 3x12
    deadlift: 1x15

    And if you want, you can throw in some calf raises.

    The idea behind the 20 rep squat is to use the weight you would normally use for 10 reps, then just push yourself to do 10 more. Believe me, it's intense. But, as I said, it's also great when you're just starting out and using lighter weight. You'll still be feeling every muscle in your body the next morning.

    People think you have to spend hours in the gym six days a week to get an effective workout, but this whole thing takes about 45 minutes to an hour, and you only have to do it three days a week. It doesn't sound like a lot but, believe me, it will feel like a lot.

    One might ask: where's the ab work? There isn't any, because studies have been done which show that people who do squats and deadlifts get just as much core improvement as people who do ab work, but don't do those compound exercises.


    On the other hand, if you don't want to spend time inside a smelly gym (which I don't when the weather's good), you might consider bodyweight training. You can get a lot of ideas here: http://bodyweightculture.com/

    There are some very creative people there who have figured out cool things to do utilizing things like the monkey bars down at your local park.
     
  5. TraceElement

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    Judging by the fact that you go to raquetball and yoga, I'm guessing you are a member at a gym. Usually they have trainers there can help you create a work out plan. At the gym I go to, I can get a new work out plan with a trainer every 6 weeks for free, but every gym is different, so you may have to pay a small fee.
     
  6. ShebbsIsAwesome

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    No cardio?
    If there is cardio, isnt it supposed to be before all this lifting?

    ---------- Post added 22nd Jun 2011 at 11:29 AM ----------

    Both, some muscle would be nice. and I've already lost like 110 pounds fairly recently, so it's hard to lose weight, but I still think I can shed a few pounds, or at least maintain this weight.
     
  7. Tracy Lord

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    Since you're only doing the routine three days a week, you can use the other three days for cardio. If you want some ideas about that, I can post some later....

    ---------- Post added 22nd Jun 2011 at 08:33 AM ----------

    >I've already lost like 110 pounds fairly recently,

    WOW! That's awesome, man. Congrats!
     
  8. ShebbsIsAwesome

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    Would you please? I usually do like 20 minutes on the Elliptical and 10ish minutes on the tredmil if I am feeling up to it.

    Thanks
     
  9. Tracy Lord

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    I'll be happy to! In general though, if you're getting a decent workout from what you're doing now, then you should keep doing that until your body tells you it's time to go to the next level.

    The general principle I use is one I learned when I was in the military. The intense version is one day you run two miles, the second you do intervals (sprints, etc) and the third you run five miles. But the only guys who did that were ones who either wanted to get a perfect score on the two mile run portion of the physical training test, or they were training for Ranger school. And those guys were crazy, the types that closed down the bars and then immediately went for a five mile run while still completely drunk....

    Anyway, you can dial that down as much as you want to start out with, ie-a one mile run on the first day and then an easy two mile jog the third day or something like that.

    And that's if you like running. I hate distance running. If your gym has something like the Concept2 rower, those things are great. You also can't go wrong with an exercise bike. And who's to say you have to do one thing all the time? Cardio gets boring; you can always switch it up from day to day and week to week. It's not like weight training, where you want to do a particular routine for six to eight weeks. As long as the heart rate's getting up there for 20 minutes or so, you're giving your body what it needs and increasing your capacity to do more the next time.

    I really have to get to work now, so I'll only be jumping in with brief comments here and there throughout the day, but I'll post some of my fav sprint routines later on....
     
  10. Tracy Lord

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    OK, check this out. I do these drills several times a week, because they're just so great for stretching and balance and agility, etc. Plus, depending on the intensity level you do them at, you can get a pretty good cardio workout just doing these "warm ups."

    YouTube - ‪Running Drills‬‏

    She is doing them across a track, but I usually pace out about 10 yards and do each drill up and back about 6 times.
     
  11. ShebbsIsAwesome

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    Thanks, but I don't think I will do "warm ups" at the gym lol, would look a little weird. I just jump right into the running.
    About how long would it take if I could do the working out twice/ three times a week?
    and running on those same days?

    cause lets be honest, working out is hard, and it takes a little bit to get motivated, and plus I can't drive, so I have to get somebody to go with me or drop me off...
     
  12. Tracy Lord

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    Like I said, that routine takes between 45 minutes and an hour. But you're not going to want to run on the same day; trust me on that one!
     
  13. Dr Acula

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    How far away is the gym? Walking for an hour a day is good exercise, or you could run it. I quite often do - about 3k each way to my gym, so I'll run there, work out, then run back home if I go on a weekend.
     
  14. ShebbsIsAwesome

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    The gym is a bit too far to run, I prefer to just use the machines in the gym to run, because when I'm done working out I dont feel like forcing myself into running back home...
     
  15. dl72

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    You will need to do weight training, cardio, and a good diet. Need to turn fat into muscle mass, and weight lifting alone will not do it. Muscles are denser than fat and in turn it burns more calories. For example if there are two people that weight the same and eat exactly the same, but one has more muscle mass and the other has more body fat, the person with more muscle mass will burn more calories at the end of the day.
     
  16. ShebbsIsAwesome

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    So lifting one day and running the next would be good?
     
  17. dl72

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    Yes. Your muscles need at least 24 hours to recover. Believe it or not, but getting rest and a good nights sleep is very important for muscle strength and toning. That is how your muscles will get developed.
     
  18. Rikudo

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    Well the lifting every other day is only true for weight lifting. You can do cardio every day and it won't do you harm.
     
  19. dl72

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    True, but you still should take a day off completely to let your body recover.
     
  20. Rikudo

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    Well I'm saying this from experience and from a bud of mine that runs some 60 miles a week for Cross Country.