I am trying to get motivated to exercise more this year. Since my surgeries and poor health, I have lost a bunch of weight. A happy side effect of all my surgeries, etc. is that I can pretty much eat whatefer I want without gaining any weight. I only weigh a little more than I did in highschool, so that's cool. I am very athletic and have played a lot of competitive sports. I was a fast pitch softball pitcher, a Junior olympic volley ball team, tennis, etc. I was solid muscle until medical school, but was still in shape. I have very wide shoulders and muscular arms. So here is my question. I have lost a lot of muscle. however, I am a lot leaner than I was. I don't want to go back to the super muscle girls, but would like to be lean and toned. When I used to run and lift weights 6 days a week for atleast 2 hours. I and put on muscle easily. How do I workout without getting big again, but feel as though I have a tough workout? thanks in advance.
Do mostly aerobic exercises with very little weight training if any at all. I'd just go walking or running everyday and leave it at that.
light weight and high reps. keeps you tone but not big. also, focus on cardio, but do not neglect the wieghts. they help keep your skeletal system strong.
You can lift as hard and heavy as you want, but unless you eat big you won't get big. I really have no idea why people keep suggesting to either skip weight training or stick to high rep/low weight lifting, but I disagree.
I would think a varied full body routine of explosive compound exercises like prisoner squats, deadlifts, pushup variations, inverted rows, dumbell swings, followed by interval training on the elliptical. I would be very surprised if you gained much mass hitting the full body everyday.
I think a great suggestion is to actually skip the weights. I'm thinking varied pull ups and push ups, core exercises, lunges, squats, jump rope.
If you don't want to get big you should check out Sit and Be Fit on PBS. It's a good challenging workout and you are sure to see quick results. Bozo and Ajax both had good ideas. I wouldn't worry about getting big.
i agree with ajax and the guy below him. skipping weights is a bad idea...you want some lean muscle mass. it keeps your base metabolic rate high. whoever said weight lifting won't make you big is absolutely correct, especially for a woman. i don't care how easily you think you put on muscle, but a female will not get big unless she adjusts her diet/supplements accordingly. I would recommend 3-4 full body workouts a week. always do big muscles first (or else you won't want to at the end of your workout), and give less attention to small, non-compound muscles groups.
Booooo to low intensity or steady state cardio - that doesn't build any lean muscle. Incorporate interval training and definitely go for weights. High reps on weights don't do much - lower reps with higher weights will help you get lean and mean and unless you are gobbling 'roids, eating steak 24/7 or have the genetics of a musclebuilder, you're not going to become muscle-bound. Also, vary your routine every 4-8 weeks so you cause "muscle confusion" otherwise your body will "settle" into your routine and you'll just plateau. Light cardio or walking around won't do jack squat.
I just started the p90x workout last night and it completely kicked my ***. It seems to be a high rep work out with minimal stops/rest. Lots of pushups, pullups and core exercises. There are also some more aerobic workouts as well as a specific ab/core workout. I have never done a workout watching a video before and it feels kind of silly, but if you stick with it, no doubt the results will be great.
Tyler, i admit, I stole a few of the workouts from the interwebs to check them out. The total cost is not that much ($120) and there are some trackers and guides that come with it. Even the meal planner got good reviews as well. A lot of people actually have to eat more in the 2nd and 3rd phases to keep the progression going and this help you plan your calorie intake. so i will order them soon. I just did not want it to turn out to be Tony Little spewing BS and then picturing him laughing all the way to the bank. I first saw this on an infomercial, so that raised a flag there, but people really seem to take to it and there are no gimmicks or crazy machines. You do the exercises everyday, you get in better shape.
Skipping weights is a horrible idea. Girls are not going to "get big" unless you shoot some roids or do some serious power lifter ****. Weight training for woman is a great way to be toned and off set many of the ravages aging takes on the body. You should work on strength training not just "high reps" and low weights. These are all old methods proven to be little more than hogwash.
I really don't get people insistence on weight training. It's great for some people, including myself, but it is far from necessary. Yoga, Pilates, etc can be great without ever touching a weight. Swimming is another great exercise.
Keep in mind everyone reacts differently to various workout routines, so try out a few of the suggestions here and see what works best for you. That being said...FallOutBoy gave you the correct answer.
