Need diet & exercise advice.

heartbreak_star

I'm female and built like a tank - you won't bulk with heavy weights as you're building compact, dense muscle

Kettlebells are great but you do need to have your technique right. It's sad how many gyms have booted barbell stations in favour of machines

HBS x

ethan12

no need to diet hard instead plan your diet wisely. add more and more water to your diet. salads and fruits can do wonders. instead of taking 3 meals a day divide them in to 4-5 or even 6 smaller meals in order to give a little rest to your stomach.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Thanks all. Some great ideas there.

Incorporated more resistance training today & used the 6kg dumbells. Boy can I feel it lol. Can only be a good thing.

Also, did more high intensity on the rowing machine, which I really enjoyed. Would've have gone on longer but was getting a numb backside from sitting on the hard seat lol.

ethan..I do feel that my tummy needs a rest. So for the next few days, I'm going to try & eat smaller, lighter meals.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

There is a kettlebell class at the local gym, might have a look at that. Just to change my routine a bit. Also, I guess once you have done a few classes, you could just the exercises at home.

custardy

okay had a dig around

This is the KB swing. basically the core move in KBs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj6bNUB3FII

Now this guy has other good vids on the basics of the swing(they are annotated in video)
What to realise in the swing is your arms simply hold the KB
your power is coming from your hips.
Imagine as you swing that you squeezing a pencil between your bum cheeks
You should feel it in your bum the next day!
Start with an 8kg bell. its actually harder to get good form with too light a bell

I like to do timed sets of KBs with my Gymboss(well worth buying)

Eg
round the head for 30 seconds,10 second rest
2 hand swing for 30 seconds,10 second rest
figure 8 for 30 seconds,10 second rest(there various levels,I do figure 8 combing a lift on each swing)
snatch for 30 seconds,10 second rest
single handed swing alternating for 30 seconds,10 second rest
press for 30 seconds,10 second rest

thats either 16/20kg depending on what else Im doing
again times can be tweaked with longer rests or activity times

You can really mix it up with the KBs
however to start. focus on learning the swing

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I've bought a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor. I am going to look at the calories I'm in taking & hopefully have an idea of what calories I am burning in order to lose weight (hope I got that right).

cookiemonsie

For a woman to put on noticeable amounts of muscle (like the women who enter bodybuilding competitions for example) you have to basically be taking steroids - it is practically imposible for a woman to create masses of muscles.

In addition, the calories needed to build excessive muscle are huge (over around 4000 calories a day) so I don't think you have anything to worry about by lifting heavier weights if you're on a normal or sub 2200 cal per day diet.

For normal weights I was always told to start each session by lifting light weights to warm up and then increase weight until you fail so if you're routine is to do 5 sets with 5 reps and you can lift 6kg dumbells easily but can only manage 3 sets of 5 reps of 10kg dumbells then you need to reduce back to a weight that you can do 5 sets with 5 reps and increase slower at your next session so don't jump from 6kg to 10kg try 6kg to 7 / 8kg next time. Hope that makes sense!

BTW I'm a girl too and I don't look butch even though I'm now up to 32kg benchpress

Also, be wary of protein shakes if you're trying to loose weight as they often contain quite a lot of calories. If you're a veggie then try eating quorn as it's low fat but high protein. Alternatively, low fat natural yogurt (quark as well if you can find it) are both pretty good cources of protein but low fat.

quidsy

Lift heavy for shorty reps, lift as heavy as you can to 8 reps. If you can do more reps increase the weight if you can't, decrease. Cardio is fine for warm ups but to really lose weight you need to build muscle. Protien shakes are full of sugar, avoid at all costs, eat nuts, lentils & other veggie high protien.

Also change up your routines often, the body gets comfortable after a while with repetative excersie, try different classes, mix up the weight routines. Look at bodybuilding dot com website, they have a lot of routines for women that contrary to some view, lifting weights willl not make you bulky but will give you a fabulous muscle tone.

quidsy

Also if you don't already, start tracking your intake. It helps to have an idea of what goes in & how accurate your own estimations might be.

Myfitnesspal website is free & very comprehensive. Ignore the "1200 cal a day" estimation it gives you aim for 500 cals less than your daily TDEE. For me I burn 2900-3000 cals in a 24hr period & eat approx 2000 a day, I am losing around 1.5-2lb a week & eat ALL day.

nlj1520

A few months ago I dropped cardio workouts for weight/resistance training. I am overweight, but gradually developing muscle definition (not muscle mass) and losing weight. I feel GREAT on it. The weight training is still a good cardio workout at the weights i am doing (heart sometimes trying to beat its way out of my chest!!!).
The increase in metabolism rate lasts longer from a weights session than a cardio session provided you eat within 45 minutes of training. Also no caffeine for at least 4 hours after training.
Along with the usual sources of protein have you tried Greek Yoghurt? I have a very irritable digestive system and this really soothes it.

Although as another poster said dead lifts are a wonderful exercise you MUST be taught how to do them properly, not just watch a You Tube video. You need someone who can watch what you do and spot if you are twisting and that you are engaging the right muscles. Otherwise you will hurt yourself and not be able to train while it heals!

I do weighted lunges too.....weights down by my sides (for my glutes) or held over my head (for core stability).

Could you hire an outside personal trainer to come to the gym with you and give you some ideas?

Good luck and well done on progress so far!