Exercise routines, tips and chatter?

[Bloom]

Hello all fitness fans,

Just popped in to say hi. Has any one done the new Body Pump release? (#67 I think) I like some of the newish moves but not a fan of the music. Hopefully the music will grow on me!

Combat queen - doh! I meant 12.5kg + bar for my chest track - silly me didn't actually write chest. I only do 5 or 7.5kg for warm up (my shoulders have always been weak so I'm not good with overhead press things, so I can't do any more). I've been down to 1 pump per week as I've had this lingering cold/cough, so I'm finding it hard to maintain my weights.

Well, I'm feeling like a massive blob today as I didn't go the Core class this morning. I still have this hacking cough in the morning and I just think it's rude/gross to be coughing all the way through a class! Lol!

What is everyone else up to?

[paradise lost]

Well, i have a road race (10k) on Sunday and i'm practically untrained! I last ran nearly 2 weeks ago, a 7.5k, which was fine, but that's a L-O-N-G taper for a little race! I wasn't really tapering, i hurt my back 2 weekends ago horsing with the baby and then got a cold and have been snuffling, coughing and sneezing all this week.

I had to miss pump last week because of my back, and i'm going again tonight. I will almost certainly get DOMS from missing a week so i hope it's gone by my race! LOL.

I'm looking forward to the race actually, it's only short and my friend is doing the half marathon the same day (i did the half last year, if anyone remembers) and she's staying over with us the night before so we're going out for pizza and laughs. I am glad i don't have to run 13.1miles, but my race STARTS at 9am! Unfriendly early!

In my untrained and medically compromised state i'm guesstimating it'll take me about 65mins, but i'll be aiming for under 60. Wish me luck girls!

Bx

Whoops - PS! The reason i answered at all - Ruth i'm in the UK, we get the les mills releases later than you guys, i think we have another month of pump #66 to go. I really love it though, what's #67 like. TELL ALL!

[C~Q]

You're all back! YAy!

67 is awesome!!! Bec, hmmm...
Warm up - annoying song but good moves, changed the order round a bit to mix things up.
Squats - OUCH!!! Do not go up lol!!!
Chest - was quite cruisey - 2 breaks!
BAck - was hard but might be because I went up 5kg!
Tri's - Pink woo hoo!!! Defo go up, I did hard at the beggining but finishes with kick backs
Bis - OWWWWWWWWWWWW!! New move, an underhand row you bring up to above your belly button, thay make you whack on extra weight to do this which isn't so bad as you can go heavier - THEN they make you do bicep curls again with the extra weight waaaahhhh! BonJovi makes up for it though
Lunges - Not too bad for once!
Shoulders - Ouch! Really, really ouch!
Abs - New move, a plank crunch and it's tough! Esp after that shoulder track heehee!

The reason i'm saying hee hee is i'm not allowed to do Pump for 12 weeks (i've done the new one twice). I'm doing the 12 week challenge at the gym and my god it has been a rollercoaster already and we're only on week 2!!

Earlier this week we did all my measurements and weighing etc and he worked out my body fat % was 26%. Thats not too high but I was devastated, really thought all the work and effort I've put in had been for nothing Anyhoo, turns out he worked it out from 4 skinfolds not 7 so my correct % is 21.6. Much better! My goals are to build muscle and get to 18% body fat.

We've really stepped up the training and Pump has had to go, replaced by more intense resistance training (his words - "if you can still do Pump, you're not training hard enough ) and I am doing interval training twice a week. Did that for the first time today and I swear I have never worked so hard in my life! In 40 mins I burned 800Cals , couldn't believe it!!! So chuffed. My body wasn't very happy though, I ate about half an hour later and then threw up Not sure why but I think maybe I shouldn't have done a step class before training

Bec - How exciting, this weekend!!! I bet you'll surprise yourself! Are you still doing Pump 66 or are they mixing it up yet? If their mixing you HAVE to request tricep track from Pump 27 OMG it;s a killer

Glad everyone is back on board

[C~Q]

You're all back! YAy!

Guess I spoke too soon :P

How did your run go Bec??

[paradise lost]

Well i don't know my finish time yet - over an hour, but i don't know if it was 63 or 65 because i didn't look at my watch as i crossed the line (yeah, i know, genuis aren't i?!). The course was HELL. The first km was a 25% incline!!!! It took me 7.5minutes to run 1km! And then 4 to run the next because it was down the other side of the hill! The whole course was either an incline or a decline, there was about 1.5km total flat bits spread out over the entire course. So i was pretty pleased with my time considering my lack of training.

There was a hairy moment around 8km when i felt i needed to cough some yukky stuff up (sorry guys but it happens when you're running like that!) but when i tried to all i got was a dry bark - my windpipe, which had been infected with my cold virus only a week before, was not very impressed with being asked to deal with the race! It was sad as i could possibly have made it home a minute or two faster if it weren't for that, i was wearing DP's HRM without the telemetry so i could use the stopwatch in the hopes that seeing how fast i was going would help me get the lead out but in the event i didn't HAVE any lead left after all the hills so my push for the finish was at the same 10:30min/miles with just a short anaerobic sprint at the end to take me home.

It's funny i basically decided because of my lack of training that i didn't care if i got a PR or not, and because i wasn't worried about it i got a GREAT sleep the night before, treated the race like a slightly-faster than usual long training run and because of that had a great time and got a respectable enough time considering. Last year i was in a panic and ended up wasting a lot of energy on nervous exhastion.

When i'd finished DP met me at the renunion area to hug me and ask how it went and i just said "yeah it was fine, but those HILLS!" and then we wandered for a bit, looked around the stands and then headed in for a coffee and a shower before my friend finished her half marathon (which she did! SOO proud of her ). That coffee was like HEAVEN. Lol.

I felt a bit nostalgic - i'm not doing it next year. Next year DP and i are going to do the across-country (Glasgow to Edinburgh, it's only 51 miles) bike ride which is next weekend, so obviously i'll need to be prepping for that next year... Oh well, i have one more 10k before then, next May, and i'm excited to train on some of the hills round here before then.

I'm stiff today! All those bluddy hills! My hips, butt and calves are complaining about the ups and my quads, stomach and back about the downs. My arms and neck feel great

Bx

[Bloom]

Great work on the race Hoobley! You're incredible.

Pump #67 is growing on my and I second most of combatqueen's comments. I'm not a huge fan of the new move in bicep track but maybe that's cause my tummy (of fat not baby!) makes the move kinda awkward.

My latest thing that I've started is doing Les Mills Core. Does anyone else do this class? I find it's good as it works the muscles differently from pump (yeah not very technical but that's what it feels like). I do have a bit of a problem with my lower back getting a bit crampy though. It's not like my back is weak but I think my core is weak so my back is working super hard... (again not very technical am I!).

How's your 12 week challenge going Combat Queen? It sounds full on but I guess that's the point isn't it. Your determination is impressive. I'd hate to imagine what my body fat % is! Last time I check I was suprised I didn't melt if you put my in front of a heater! LOL.

Now here's a question. You know those days when you do exercise cause you feel you should but you're not really into it? When you are just at the gym and doing 30 mins of cardio? What do you do with your cardio session? Do you do intervals or inclines on the treadmill? Or their programs in the machines? I never know what to do so I end up slacking off majorly! Help!

[C~Q]

Well done Hoobs!!! I bet you feel great after that! So a 10K in MAy but nothing else before that?? It must feel good training for something specific rather than just training.

Ruth, is that called Body Vibe? I've never heard of Les Mills Core, are you sure it's a Les Mills program? Sounds good though, any core work is tough but as you get better at it you'll really see some benefits

The 12 week challenge has been...challenging!!! I am getting used to it now but it has been really hard. The food side of things is getting easier but i'm really missing salt and cheese! Exercise wise I thought would be easier than it is. I've had to modify my cardio training as I was going so hard on the rower that I rubbed off a heap of skin under my coccyx and between my bum cheeks! Ouch! So i'm going to be running instead. I can already see changes although at the moment just looking skinnier which is not what I want My PT is also a bit cranky as he knows my history (long story - but i've been in recovery for anorexia for 4 years) and said to me on Tues if I lose too much weight he will take me off the challenge The thing is I am doing everything he says and I am eating 5-6 meals a day. I think it's from dropping all the alcohol.

Ruth - what do you want to achieve? Is it fat loss, muscle growth, strength, endurance??? I can do programming now so if you let me know when you can train and what times etc I could help you create a plan. I wouldn't be able to tell you actual weights/distances/levels etc but I can tell you how to work it out

[paradise lost]

LOL, how much alcohol could you have been drinking!?

You know what CQ, my pump instructor was 30kg overweight, then so emaciated from anorexia she had a heart attack, and now she's a fabulous instructor and a strong runner. She's lean, but she's not skinny, she ran the half marathon at the weekend in 1:21:28, and is an all-round fabulous good-egg. I know she still struggles sometimes with her body image, but she is staying on top of the damaging thought processes and she is SO healthy! That said, her coach is VERY careful with her. If he doesn't notice having a down week with AF he sends her for blood tests (she lost AF for a while due to low body fat - as an aside, if i got down to 18% fat i'd DEFINITELY lose AF!!! Obviously your coach will have approved your goals, but it makes me laugh - we must be SOOOOO different shapes IRL ) and makes her take time off. You can totally be well and do what you're doing, EVEN if you get taken off the challenge, you KNOW how to be healthy. So long as you're honest with yourSELF you will be ok.

I got my time- 01:05:10. So not fabulous, but i've had so little good training and so many spanners that i'm actually pretty happy with it I'm aiming for a 00:59:59 in May In fact, training FOR something is what usually gets me injured or ill, because my lifestyle isn't really up to it a lot. Like Since may THIS year i've had THREE weeks of full run training. First i had a foot injury, then DD got a cold and gave it to us all, then XP changed jobs, massively cutting my childcare and limiting a lot of my options, then she was teething for a few weeks and i was getting no sleep and was training but had no zing, you know? Then i got 3 weeks of great training in. Then i got a back injury, then a cold, then it was race day! The annoying thing is that right before the foot injury i ran 10k in training in 58:35, so i KNOW i can do it faster, but it's so hard to be trained on a given day. LOL. I'm thinking i'll do a 5 or 6k recovery tomorrow and then a long one on Sunday, maybe 8.5k, to try to hold my distance, and then next week get into hill runs too.

I will need to pick your brains about my own schedule hun, i feel like mixing things up a bit, but i don't know which direction to go in...

Bx

[C~Q]

LOL, how much alcohol could you have been drinking!?

Bx

Haha not that much! A couple of glasses of wine a night maybe 4-5 times a week but it all adds up.

I am glad he said that he would take me off the challenge, it's been quite hard for me. I thought I was ready and strong enough to do it but I soon found out in the first week that I probably shouldn't be doing it. When he started weighing me and doing the skin fold tests (and when he incorrectly told me it was 26% ) a very big part of me I thought was gone popped it's ugly head up and said "you're fat, you're fat" and when he said to me 4 weetbix is too much, you should have 3 I heard "you're fat, you're fat". A few of my friends thought I should drop out and I did contemplate it, I know that this challenge is not worth getting back into old habits. But maybe THIS is MY challenge and if I can go and get weighed and measured every four weeks and put my diet under a microscope and get through it with a healthy attitude then I'll know I have conquered it.

Anyone please feel free to pick my brains anytime! The more experience I get the better i'll be

[Bloom]

Hey Combat Queen,

Re core, I really thought it was a les mills class but turns out it's a fitness first thing. It's all choreographed and has releases just like the les mills but it's a fitness first class. It's done on a BOSU (half swiss ball thing) and is aimed at improving core stability. Some of the exercises are quite creative (to my mind at least).

Re my cardio goals, it's pretty much fat loss and improving general fitness. I'm very overweight (okay, obese if you buy into the BMI stuff) but I'm not really into losing fat to look good (well that would be nice but I'm kinda used to the size I am). It's more the health aspect that concerns me. So what would you recommend? I much prefer weight training to cardio (hence I'm happy to do 2 x pump and 1 x core plus the odd body balance per week). I did body step and also free style step for the cardio for a while but at 6am on a monday is always a challenge to get out of bed!

Thanks CQ!

[C~Q]

Wow that core class sounds like fun! I did a fitball class when I was in England and it was soooo hard, I was wobbling all over the place lol!

Ok, I don't have much time now because i'm off to the gym :P but I will come back later. About how much do you need to lose? If you could write or pm me your weight and height it would help, if not I understand and I can write you a basic plan (which will, unfortunatly include cardio ).

[C~Q]

The reason resistance training is recommended when you're trying to lose weight is because lean muscle mass has a higher metabolic rate so the more muscle you have the more kj's your body is using just to sustain itself. Having said that to lose weight the recommendations are now cardio training for at least 30 mins EVERY day of the week.

It's easy to say weight loss happens when kj intake is less than kj output, and that is right, but you have to find your own level, if your kj intake is way below your basal metabolic rate (BMR) then your body is going to go into starvation mode and store any food as fat. So it's very important to find your BMR and then work at losing no more than 1kg a week through a defecit of about 2000-4000kj a day at least 1250kj should be through exercise. Initially (depending on how fit or unfit you are) you need to get your cardiovascular system to a level that you can undertake CV training so in the beginning you should stress frequency and duration over intensity. So walking on the treadmil on an incline for 45 mins rather than jogging for 10.

The minimum CV training you should be doing to lose weight is 30 min 6 times a week. There are lots of online calculators to work out your BMR heres just one I found ENERGY NEEDS CALCULATOR | DAILY KILOJOULES NEEDS CALCULATOR | DAILY CALORIE NEEDS CALCULATOR | CALCULATE YOUR DAILY ENERGY NEEDS | BASE METABOLIC RATE CALCULATOR | WEIGHT LOSS ENERGY NEEDS CALCULATOR | CALORIE AND KILOJOULE CALCULATOR

(Getting lazy now, going to copy some from another post!) I would recommend a combination of Cardio training and resistance training. You should be aiming for 3 sessions a week with weights at about 70-85% of the heaviest weight you can lift (there should be instructors on the gym floor that can help you figure this out) and you could do say...3 sets of 12 reps (the last set you shouldn't be able to complete, when you can up the weight). Focus on all your major muscle groups, allow 24 hours between resistance training sessions and 72 hours between training those muscles with weights again eg upper body on Mon - lower body on Wed and both on Sat.

For your cardio, a very rough guide to work out your correct training intensities is by using a formula to predict your maximal heart rate which is Predicted Maximal Heart Rate (PMHR) = 208-(0.7xage).

For fat loss your training zone should be between 55-70% of your PMHR, if you have a heart rate monitor it's easy, if you don't you can use the RPE scale (rate of perceived exertion) which is basically a scale of one to ten and you want to feel like you're working at a 5-7 with 10 being very hard, maximal.

What days can you train? Pump is great for weight loss so you could use that as your resistance training initially. Have you tried any other classes? If you can I really recommend Body Combat, it's my favourite! Is there another Step class you can do aside from the mon morn one?! Also grab a training buddy, it's so much more fun if there are two of you. Also have you thought about getting a personal trainer? It is a bit of money (I pay $50) but it works! And it's fun and you can work soooo much harder than on your own

To be honest for initial weight loss I think doing 2 Pumps and maybe 4 other aerobic classes would really benefit you. Treat the core classes as recreational exercise.

Hope this helps, it''s all a bit confusing and overwhelming as so many people give conflicting advice about what you can and can't eat and do. Don't try and restrict yourself too much with food, just worry more about portion control and the quality of the food you're eating and what it is DOING for your body.

Good luck hun you'll do great

[paradise lost]

Woah - that scared ME CQ - lol!

Ruth i wanted to chime in and say that i was almost obese when i began my journey (BMI 29.9) and though a good amount came of during pregnancy, i'm definitely maintaining my loss with my activity levels. Cardio is soooo much harder when you're heavy - i remember! But as you lose it DOES get easier, i PROMISE. I can remember running for 15mins when i was at my heaviest (214lbs, 97kg or so) and i got sooo tired, my knees ached, i felt sick, it was so hard. But now i run LITERALLY for fun, and on Monday i ran 5k up and down hills that had 38 and 43 degree inclines! So hard and fun!

Bx

[C~Q]

Oh bugger, sorry, I didn't mean to get too techinical if there is anything there that needs clarifying please just ask :P

I am super dooper chuffed today! I had my measurements done as we are at the end of week 4 in the 12 week challenge and I have lost 2kilos and am now at 17.7% body fat woohoo!!! I am so so pleased

Next week everything changes and we up my cardio (I am very scared) I can barely do what he wants now so i'm a bit worried lol!

Wow Hoobs I can't believe how far you've come! You're amazing How long did it take you to lose your extra weight?

How is everyone?

[paradise lost]

It's not the technicality! It's doing hard workouts SIX days a week! LOL.

I lost weight steadily throughout pregnancy (didn't diet or add exercise, just continued walking 4 miles/day and swimming once a week) or rather i didn't gain much. I got PG at about 97kg, but by 11weeks i was 95kg (due to morning sickness) and i just stayed at 95kg until 34weeks. Then i gained a little a week i guess, but i never weighed myself. By the end i'd gained 6kgs, taking me up to 101kg, but by then i was 10days overdue. LOL. I weighed myself on day 4 post birth and was back at 95kg and then the weight steadily came off, first the water (about 4kg) and then the rest through BFing and exercising (that's when i began swimming a lot, and took up running), until by 4 months PP i was about 83kg, which for a 181cm endomorph like me is pretty LIGHT. I'm actually heavier now, about 85 or 86kg, which i'd like to lose, but it seems to be where my body wants to be just now (got here not long after weaning and have stayed whether i'm exercising a lot or not) and at least 1.5kg came on since beginning bodypump - all my clothes still fit so it's hard to believe it's fat and not muscle...

I feel good about it, but i am under no illusions that getting my thyroid problem identified and treated was a BIG part of me getting to and staying at this weight, because in my pre-baby days i DID go through periods of diet and exercise but my weight would never budge unless i did something dangerous (once went through a month of eating 600k/cals a day and swimming a mile every morning - wouldn't call it an eating disorder because once i was as thin as i wanted (lost about 10kg i think) i just stopped and of course put it all back on and more...), though i never went out to run for miles or anything in those days.

Your bodyfat scares me CQ! I seriously would have no AF at that %age! You must be built to be an athlete! Mine is about 26% i think (did a website search once, the average was 26%, but i had 32% (us navy) and 17.6% (some other website) in my 5 or 6 numbers i averaged) though i've not had the caliper test. I think the websites don't work for me because i'm only 6 inches around my wrist (small frame) but 4 inches across my elbow joint (large frame) so i'm a freak! LOL. I remember once at school they did caliper tests of various skin folds and bone diameters and my pelvis wasn't on their chart it was so wide! And i'm NOT even pear-shaped!

I've not had much mojo this week, went out to run hills on monday and then nothing but some sad free weights on thursday (in my living room) since then. COuldn't get to pump as no XP to sit DD, and don't know WHY i didn't run. I'm going to run in a minute actually. My brain is in denial about it but i'm wearing running clothes so i guess it'll come around to the idea once i'm out in the park, running.

Bx

[C~Q]

It's not the technicality! It's doing hard workouts SIX days a week! LOL.
Bx

Oh sorry, I tend to get a bit carried away lol

Don't be scared about my % i'm pretty small anyway. Heres a link to my before pictues and ones I took yesterday https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ry.php?cat=959 there is a difference but you can see that there wasn't all that much to lose to begin with.


Where are you Ruth - have I scared you away

[Bloom]

Lol! I'm still here but just feeling so much inferior to the obviously extremely fit fanatics that CQ and Hoobley are! Lol!

Thanks for the recent info re cardio. I'm trying to get out and do 30 minutes a day (on the days that I don't do weights) but gee... I just get so bored! Maybe I should join a fat women's sports team or something...

Hoobley - I'd love to love running but I've never been much chop at it. Even when I was the fittest rower in my school and in the first 8 (a big achievement and pretty much the peak of my fitness - what can I say it's been down hill since I was 16!). Maybe I'll have another go - you've inspired me a bit. No promises though...

[paradise lost]

Well, THIS "fit fanatic" has had 2 weeks off running, broken by an 8.5k run yesterday (which took an HOUR!). Ruth i am TERRIBLE at running. If i train 4x/week, i can run 10min/miles - that is how most people START. I am not fast, i am not good, but i have fun! Moving my body like that feels great, and i really enjoy my adrenalin rush too! Also i was "gifted" at school and there is something strangely comforting about doing something i will NEVER NEVER be any good at. No pressure

I'm trying to convince myself to go for another run (shorter though, like a 5k maybe!) this afternoon. It's raining though, so i can wear my winter gear (long tights, long-sleeved top) which i can't decide is a plus or a minus...lol.

Bx