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  1. #1
    Registered User Taerynya's Avatar
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    Just Starting, need advice

    Hello, my name is Shiloh I am a mother of 4 children. 2 boys and 2 girls. 6 yr, 4yr, 15 months, and 4 months. I have been going to golds gym since January of '05 and have lost 27 lb. in that time. My stats are as follows (I just had my last child on Dec. 23, '04.)

    Weight:215
    Height: 5'3"
    Body Fat: 42.4%

    This is as of April 6th, my 6 week measurements. at the gym that is. I want to get into body building for a sculpted firm look. I don't want to be too bulky.

    I have been doing 2 cardio sessions a day 6 days a week, and BodyPump 3 times a week. But I want to gravitate towards the free weights to begin this training. My question is should I wait and lose the weight before I train, or could training now, help me to lose the weight faster. I don't really have the funds to purchase the services of a personal trainer and I have found this site by accident and thought it would be beneficial. I need honest opinions. Not put downs. If you can help me, let me know. Thanks. I also have yahoo messenger and almost always can be found. Thanks.
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  2. #2
    Soaked in Soul bluebird's Avatar
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    Taerynya,

    You have come to the right place. I am new to bodybuilding too and I can't tell you how much I have learned in the short time I've been here from the women on this forum. They really know their stuff and they are extremely helpful and honest. And they will not put you down.

    I wish I had some advice, but like I said, I'm a newbie too and still learning. I do know one thing. You will not get bulky from lifting. Women do not produce enough testosterone to build that heavy bulky muscle that men get. It's not possible unless you're using steroids, so you don't need to worry about that. It does sound like you may be doing a little too much cardio, but I'll let someone with a little more expertise address that

    Anyway, welcome to the board and best of luck with your bodybuilding endevours.

    Bluebird
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  3. #3
    Valkyrie Paichka's Avatar
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    Hey Shiloh,

    First off, let me congratulate you on your weight loss thus far, and tell you that you have come to the right place. These women on these boards would NEVER put you down, and their collective knowledge is incredible. There is no reason to pay for a personal training if you have us and access to this website:
    http://www.bsu.edu/webapps/strengthlab/Home.htm

    That will show you videos of different exercises and whatnot to make sure you have the form down. Now, as a newbie to weightlifting (we were ALL newbies at one point) I HIGHLY recommend hijacking a mirror in the weight room and spending at least your first week of lifting practicing your form to make sure you've got it correct. You may also check at your gym to see if there's an orientation thing you could try -- my fitness center at home has personal trainers you can hire for an hour or so who will show you the basic exercises and correct your form for you. Much cheaper than hiring a day-to-day trainer, and you still get the benefit.

    As to your question: weight lifting will DEFINITELY help the weight come off faster. Building muscle increases your basal metabolic rate, which helps you burn more calories. Muscle is more metabolically active that fat, so weightlifting is a crucial addition to any weightloss program. Since you're a beginning, I'd recommend going with a full-body lift twice a week for a few weeks, and then up it to three times a week after about a month. If you need help with that, post a question in the training section of this forum and you'll get a TON of advice.

    If you have any questions, feel free to PM me at any time.
    Good luck!
    Sunny
    I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum.

    1 January 2017: 175.0
    1 June 2017: 154.4
    Goal Weight: 145.0 (by 1 August)

    Week 1: 154.3 (6/2/17); Week 2: 154.4 (6/9/17); Week 3: 152.4 (6/16/17); Week 4: Friday 23th June; Week 5: Friday 30th June
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  4. #4
    Registered User TigerAngelLeigh's Avatar
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    One of the benefits of body building is that a good amount of muscle will improve the appearance of your body, even when you've got excess weight to lose. In the past, people have thought I've lost weight when I hadn't lost any and even my measurements had hardly changed, just because I was doing a lot of resistance work. Don't worry about getting bulky: this is the biggest myth and a lot of women would love to be able to build up greater amounts of muscle without the aid of steroids. In fact, you will get slimmer as your muscle simultaneously helps you lose more fat. You'd be surprised at how small most female bodybuilders actually are: there was a feature in a fitness magazine I buy back along which compared 6 women with very different exercise regimes. The woman with the smallest dress size - a size smaller even thatn a ballet dancer - was the bodybuilder.

    Start off slowly with some basic exercises and learn the techniques - ask a gym instructor for advice. Squats, lunges, bicep curls, shoulder presses and push ups (rest on your knees if you can't do full ones) are all fairly simple to understand and perform, but give fantastic results. Lift heavy enough to manage only 8-10 reps in a set and aim for 3 sets - lifting too light won't work your muscles hard enough to get good results and lifting too heavy will damage your form and cause injury. To find a programme which works for you, read lots of posts and articles on this website and other similar ones and create your own - don't be afraid to ask for help from some of the more experienced members or even an instructor at your gym.
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  5. #5
    Registered User Laurie's Avatar
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    My question is should I wait and lose the weight before I train, or could training now, help me to lose the weight faster. I don't really have the funds to purchase the services of a personal trainer and I have found this site by accident and thought it would be beneficial. I need honest opinions. Not put downs. If you can help me, let me know. Thanks. I also have yahoo messenger and almost always can be found. Thanks
    First, do not wait to loose weight before training with the freeweights. Lifting moderately heavy weights WILL help you lose the inches better than just cardio alone. Building muscle using freeweights forces the body to use more fat as fuel/energy and this is what you want.

    By the way, Congratulations the pounds so far!

    Three years ago, I was 245lbs at 5'6"/largeboned and decided to take a college women's strength lifting class for my health and to help lose weight. Came here had learned to eat properly as well. I had also dropped 27lbs by the end of the first semester through this venue (checked my journal from the time). The classes were based on a three day split with 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps for an hour/90 minutes. The class was made up all ages but mostly older or just below my own at the time (50). There for different reasons including therapies.

    The instructor took us through the routine using a combination of freeweights/machines at lower poundages at first (i.e. 5 and 10 dbl for curls/dbl rows) This to get our bodies used to the feel of lifting. To learn proper form and to prevent injury. I found I liked lifting freeweights and ran with the premise and continued for a full year's worth of classes. As each new class came in, I just picked up where I left off along with any other return students.

    By the end of the year, I had dropped to 185 as I had hit a few plateaus and had to tweak my diet while changing my routine. My husband found a bench with Olympic bb/plates so I can work out at home. Dropped another 15lbs of fat after a few more months and now at 170lbs. But I am comfortable with this weight.

    The benefits are enormus especially when you are older and have some arthritis. I did this because I do have some in my lower back and shoulders. But was going downhill with a bad diet (hardly eating at the time I started) and no exercise to speak of. I had been 260lbs while my two were growing up (22 and 19 years ago). So I still remember running after two energetic younsters while being heavy. It is alot easier now when taking care of a friend's 7 year old and feeling so tired afterwards.

    Patience and determination. Your body is still going through adjustments and you are doing great so far. Toss the scales into the closest and use your wardrobe as the best indicator. The reason being, there is fat weight and there is muscle weight. The body takes it's fat fuel from all over and not just from one place. Where your fat was desposited at first will be the last to go. With me, it's in my shoulders, back and stomach. Right now, it is mostly in my stomach and after having two ceasareans (both ways), it may never go "flat".

    However, I have not been this "small" since before marriage 33 years ago and loving it.

    Good luck and keep going!
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  6. #6
    Spa Junkie mommykuce's Avatar
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    First congrats on the weight loss and the new baby (wow, 4 kids, god bless). I think doing all that cardio is hampering your progess (2 sessions 6 days a week). Try doing 2-3 days, and definately incorporate weight training- that will help to burn BF quicker and more efficiently than cardio. Cardio burns muscle, and muscle burns fat all day long. How is your nutrition? With 4 kids and all the other activities you need to make sure you are consuming enough good dense calories. Also, are you nursing cause that makes a difference also.
    A Mommy's work is never done- but we get paid in Hugs & Kisses!
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  7. #7
    Registered User Taerynya's Avatar
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    Thanks

    I want to thank you all for the very helpful advice. I was told that you can do cardio up to 6 times a week along side other work outs. I figured it wouldn't hurt to add a few more classes in the week. Some days I will do 2 hours and some I don't. depends on my mood and how I feel. I do get minimum 6 1 hour cardio sessions.

    As far as my diet goes, right now what I am doing is having a slimfast optimum(low sugar) for breakfast, a protein shake for midmorning snack, and then another slim fast for lunch, and then a handful of plain almonds or a serving of cottage cheese with a piece of fruit or an assortment of veggies for afternoon snack and then for dinner I usually have some form of white meat, chicken, turkey, or fish. With steamed veggies and a side salad no dressing. I drink half my weight in water. Roughly 110 oz. daily. I am taking vitamins and thats basically what I have been eating for the last couple of months.

    Is that bad? I was told that it would help to lose the weight. I don't buy processed foods at all. I do however buy the 100 calorie snacks for my children and husband. But I primarily cook from scratch and us the crockpot a great deal. And no, I am not nursing.
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