RE: OT: What would be best to add first? LONG!

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/1/03 8:49:10 PM Pacific Standard Time, pvisser@...

writes:

> tuesday: full body strength training with dumbbells which includes about 10

> mins of abs/butt toning and may or may not include some cardio (45-50 mins

> total)

Ok...If I got dumbbells, how do I know what exercises to do? Should I get a

book? A video? Also, I can't do strength training for the lower body with

dumbbells, so what about that? Do you do lunges or something like that?

Also, any recommendation on how much weight I should try at first? Thanks

sooooooo much!

" ...losing is not always a disaster. If you know how to lose, you can become

a great champion. " ~Mika Hakkinen (Luxembourg 1998)

[Guest guest]

> I'm thinking about adding something to my workout regimen. However, for

> financial reasons, I want to add one element now and something

> else in the

> future.

>

> So....should I go for something to give me more cardiovascular

> work....something like a bike, treadmill, glider, etc.

>

> Or....should I go for something that does some weight

> training/sculpting type

> work?

>

> What should I add to Tae Bo first?

ahha! right on. now that you have your cardio happening with tae-bo,

there really isnt any need to add more unless you looking for some variety.

you should do a cardio workout, oh, 3-5 times a week... whether it is tae-bo

or walking or whatever.

in addition to cardio, you should do some strength training. some people

use machines, some use free weights, some use resistance bands, some use

balls, and some people just use the resistance of their own body. push-ups

are an example of using your own body weight as resistance. we are supposed

to do strength training, oh, 2-4 times a week. do not work the same part of

your body two days in a row as your muscles need time to rest and

repair/build.

in addition to cardio and strength training, we should be doing some

stretching. like yoga or athletic stretches (like those that billy does at

the end of our tae-bo workouts.. yes he does some stretching but it is

probably not enough). stretching increases your flexibility and will

reduce the soreness from your other workouts and it just feels so darned

good

in addition to all of that, we should also concentrate on our abs and glutes

at least once a week... and work these areas as much as possible during the

rest of the week as well.

hmmm, thats about it! wheew!

personally, my workout schedule looks like this... i try to fit in the

recommended number of workouts in all areas but heck, there is only so many

hours in a day/week:

monday: tae-bo (mixture of basic and advanced... whatever i draw off of the

top of my pile) and athletic stretching (30 mins of that)

tuesday: full body strength training with dumbbells which includes about 10

mins of abs/butt toning and may or may not include some cardio (45-50 mins

total), followed by athletic stretching (30 mins)

wednesday: abs and butt toning (30-40 mins or up to an hour depending on

which tape i use)

thursday: same as monday

friday: same as tuesday

saturday: pick any day: pick ether taebo with stretching, strength training

with stretching, abs/butt work or just stretching by itself

sunday: rest day

for strength training tapes i use kathy smiths 'timesaver: lift weights to

lose weight' which is an excellent workout, especially for a beginner.. very

easy to follow along. she also has some other strength tapes called

'secrets of a great body' which im going to borrow from a friend,

and im using the firm's 'maximum body shaping' which i already posted about.

the good thing about using weights is that you tailor the amount of weight

to your ability and work your way up.... you dont start out *wham* with

something that you absolutely cannot do.

you can also devise your own strength workouts... there are many books and

online resources and software out there that can help you figure out what

exercises to do and what weights to use and when.

for stretching i have devised my own 10 minute routine (mainly because kathy

smith doesnt have a warmup on her timesaver video which is one downside to

that one)... and i also do pilates which is great (and great for the abs)...

but i want some variety so i have ordered 3 stretching tapes which are:

'Beginner's Stretch for Flexibility' with Tami Lee Webb (from the '... of

Steel' videos), 'Reebok VersaTraining Stretch' with Kathy s and

'Autonomy: Stretch' with Rod Hill, Amy Shomer, Carl Ferro, narrated by Keri

Tombazian.

also yoga is a fabulous stretch and many people love it but id rather do the

athletic stretches or even pilates is preferred... but that is just me.

for abs/butt i use billys tapes (abs & glutes and the new ultimate tapes when

they arrive) or i do winsor pilates abs toning and winsor pilates butt/thigh

toning.

i think that if you go to videofitness.com and look at the workout reviews

there and the various tapes by all of the instructors you can pick something

for each area and instructors that you will enjoy.

i hope that this helps... dont hesitate to ask more questions... there are

lots of people here who can help!

-carolyn in ont canada

[Guest guest]

hi stephen!

ok, i knew you were going to ask these questions because these were the

exact same questions that i had

> Ok...If I got dumbbells, how do I know what exercises to do?

> Should I get a

> book? A video?

personally i love working out with videos so that is the route that i took.

i didnt want to worry about what exercises i am supposed to be doing, but

wanted an instructor to lead me through them.

i know there are books out there... check a good bookstore or library in the

fitness category... i just saw a bunch yesterday actually. but i dont know

how well i can workout and reference a book at the same time. i think that

video instruction moves a lot faster and with a good instructor you can get

live demonstration of proper form and verbal cues and tips while you are

actually doing the exercise. hey, i know! go down to a library and look

for a tape called 'strength training for dummies' (or perhaps it is 'weight

lifting for dummies'). caroline in this group got that tape at her

library, learned all of the exercises pretty quickly from it and wrote them

down on paper.. these would be the 'daily dozen'.. return the tape to the

library and then work from your notes. that is an inexpensive solution!

and remember that before you do any weight lifting that you need to warm

your body up first with some light cardio and some stretches.

> Also, I can't do strength training for the lower

> body with

> dumbbells, so what about that? Do you do lunges or something like that?

ah but yes you do work your lower body with dumbbells... you hold them, in

your hands, kind of on your hip bones (beginner) or hanging down at your

sides (intermediate) or up on your shoulders (advanced). and/or you wear

ankle weights. and you hold the dumbbells or wear the ankle weights while

you do lunges, dips, plies, squats, leg lifts, etc.

> Also, any recommendation on how much weight I should try at

> first? Thanks

> sooooooo much!

this is the big question!!! and the answer, unfortunately, is that noone

knows because everyone is so very different.

so here is what you do... go to a store that sells dumbbells and try them

out. pick a body part, like your bicep for example, and do a curl

(everyone is pretty familiar with a bicep curl, right?) and try to do, like,

12 repetitions of the exercise. if you can easily do more than 12 reps with

the weight you have picked then that weight is not heavy enough for the

exercise. while weight training, your goal is to exhaust the muscle.. so

that you cannot do another repetition of the exercise *while maintaining

good form*. so pick a heavier weight and try it with the other arm and see

how that feels. you want it so that the last 2 or so reps are difficult.

that will determine what a good weight is for that particular exercise.

however, each body part will require a different weight... smaller muscles

need lighter weights and larger muscles need heavier weights. so you pick 3

different weights in dumbbells. the weight that you could lift with your

bicep will be your heaviest weight. pick 2 other weights that are lighter.

say you can lift 10 pounds with your bicep... so also pick out a pair of 8

pounders and a pair of 5 pounders to use on other parts of your body.

personally i started with 1.5 pounds, 3 pounds and 5 pounds. after 3

months, i now use 5 pounds, 6.5 pounds and 8 pounds, so i guess you could

say that i started at the bottom and am working my way up... i started off

so low in weight because i had no clue what i *should* have started at. i

may have wasted some workouts using little 1.5 pound weights but hey i like

to ease into things in the kathy smith tape that i have and told you

about, she tells beginners to use 3 and 5 pound weights and go from there

and while working out, instructors dont say 'ok, time to get your 10 pound

dumbbells out', they say 'ok, use your heaviest weight for this' or 'pick up

your lightest weight for this', because everyone in the room is using a

different weight.

ok, so after you start working out a little while with weights you will

begin to realize which parts of your body need something heavier and which

need something lighter. perhaps those 5 pounders wont do much for your

bicep but they will be great for your triceps... or perhaps those 8pounders

are too heavy for your triceps but they are great for holding while you do

your lunges. everyone who weight trains must tailor their weights to their

own needs and it takes a bit of experimenting at first. dont let it all

sound complicated... because it isnt rocket science.. just a new adventure

in fitness for you to explore. and once the reps with your current weights

get too easy, it is time to do more reps with them or move up to some

heavier weights and start all over again

-carolyn in ont canada