Which free weights for "toning?"

[HardcoreJJ]

hmm

flash is exactly right.....
toning is just another word for not being a fat....I think weightlifting is a great way to drop the fat....Im not to big on cardio, besides you get enough training bjj a few times a week

[likuid]

i'm not trying to be anal, but i hate seeing misinformation given to someone because i think the web is a great way to learn about new stuff for people who are just getting started.

there most definitely is a technical definition for 'tone', or 'toning' (see above), and it is not simply the absence of fat, or the loss of the fat.

additionally, to lose one pound of fat, you have to burn something like 3300 or 3500 calories (this is generally speaking, i know there are exceptions and conditions) in excess of what you consume. so that equals a whole hell of a lot of weightlifting as opposed to jogging, or any other form of cardio activity.

[SpeedKing9]

Hey guys. I've been at it for quite awhile, and I've lost about 15 lbs! (5'9 159 lbs). I thought that's all I wanted to lose, but it ends up I think I want to lose about 15-20 more lbs or so, because I don't have anything near a six pack (although I lost quite a lot of weight and 2 belt sizes). It's a slow process! Man, everyday I just want to eat eat eat eat (My problem isn't drinking coke and eating snacks/candy...it's eating A LOT of meat and carbs). Anyways, I'm curious, what are your guys workout routines and such? I'm trying to keep under 1700 calories everyday and eat more protein and less carbs, although I've been 'cheating' every once in awhile. Any more tips to keep this up? What are your guys workouts? Here's what I'm doing:

Weight Training:
(2 times a week)
Bench Press 115 lbs 10 times 4 sets
Shoulder Press 30 lbs 10 times 4 sets
Bicep Curls 20 lbs 10 times 4 sets
Deadlift 135 lbs 10 times 4 sets

(2 times a week)
Dips 10 times 4 sets
Squats (Haven't started yet, will tomorrow!)
Pullups (Haven't started, been using a lat machine)
Tricep pulldown 90 lbs 10 times 4 sets

(Everyday)
Push ups 15 times 6 sets
Crunches 30 times 4 sets

Cardiovascular:
(4 times a week)
Jogging 1-2 miles
Stationary Bicycle for 10-20 minutes
Jump rope 5-10 minutes

Now, I know you guys told me that jogging isn't good for losing weight...what's a good recommendation then? Sprinting? How much?

What do you guys think?

[Bau]

try interval training in your cardio...whether it be running , stationary bike, stairclimber etc...

e.g 1 min fast, 1 min normal, 1 min fast, one min normal

do that for about 20 mins...

ever been to a spinning class??
thats a damn good cardio workout....PLUS its very popular with the ladies....

nice..

[PentjackSilat]

I don't know who told you that, but jogging is really good for losing weight

[SpeedKing9]

I meant jogging is inefficient compared to other running activities. Can anyone give me insite to what kind of cardio running workout I should go for? How often should I alternate between sprinting and walking, and what distance?

[Bau]

oh yeah!! and if youre overweight.... DO NOT do running for your cardio.... it will kill your knee's.... I learnt that the hard way...did alot of running to lose weight....I lost the weight but I have really bad knees now...

[Guest]

As usual there are contradictory scientific theories about everything, and it is no different re using aerobic exercise to lose weight.

Some say you should find you "Fat burning zone", which means working at a pace where you barely break a sweat. They think that the body will use another energy system if you work too hard, and that won't burn fat.

Others say you should just go at it really hard, as it will burn more calories per unit of time.

Me? I don't know. Only eat good food, and get regular exercse. From there it is a matter of minor adgjustments. Up the exercise a little and/or lower the food intake.

[Tektoniks]

Many of you are very uninformed. I will try and help you to the best of my ability speedking. However, there's just so much information that I'm not sure if I really wanna type it all here

Let's start with diet...

I doubt 1700 calories is enough for you, though I'm not positive because I'm not sure what your body generally requires (also known as your baseline caloric needs). If you want to lose fat, then you should have a ratio of about 50/30/20 (protein/carbs/fat) eating about 500 less calories a day than your baseline. If you want to gain muscle eat about 300 calories more than your baseline, with a 40/40/20 ratio. This diet plan is more complicated and warrants a lot more explaining. Tell me if you want it.

If you've lost 15 lbs already, then I hate to break it to you but you're losing muscle. If you're losing more than 2 lbs per week then this is the case.

You should try supplementation. Not necessarily things like creatine (though this can be pretty effective), but definitely products like whey protein. Diet and supplementation can be very complicated, I can answer specific questions if you want.

Exercise...

You're doing too much cardio, you're most likely losing muscle while not even burning fat as efficiently as high-intensity work. Try this 12 - minute workout, 3 times a week (the days you're not lifting): Warm up jog for 4 minutes, then sprint for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, sprint for 20, rest for 10 etc. for the next 4 minutes, then cooldown jog for 4 minutes. So 12 minutes total; this is called guerilla cardio and is extremely effective.

I can go into extreme weightlifting detail if ya want, but here are the basics and reply if you want specifics. You should lift 3 times a week. Do Push exercises (chest/shoulders/triceps) one day, pull (back/biceps/abs) and also legs (quads/hamstrings/calves), I'm typing all of this fast and am probably leaving a lot out so bear with me. You want to work each muscle group with 3-4 different exercises. Example for chest: Barbell bench press, Incline bench press, dumbell flyes. Typically you do 3 sets of each, though some exercies are different. Again I can elaborate more if you want.

I get one day of rest (for me usually Sunday though sometimes Saturday). If you lift more than those 3 times then you won't see results as quickly or even not at all simply because muscles get bigger as they rest (and repair), not while lifting. And if you do more than those 3 cardio workouts, you stand a chance of losing muscle. So you're obviously left with one day in the week. Some people use this as their diet cheat day (eat whatever you want), this is fine but I don't do it personally (I like to see results as fast as possible).

[SpeedKing9]

Here is my big question:

Almost every single one of you said the same thing in so many words...you have to burn more calories than you're intaking and that's how you lose weight. I must be misunderstanding, but how the hell does one do that? Do you mean long term, or per day? I'm assuming the former, because I can see NO ONE burning more than 2,000 calories a day. I do a stationary bike for 20 HARD minutes and I only burn 230 calories. That's only 20 minutes and I'm dead tired afterwards. Please elaborate on this. Also, how do I know what my "baseline" calorie intake is? I'm now about 5'10 160 lbs and a 32 waist. What's my baseline calorie intake? My goal is to see a six pack by september (when school starts) so I have all summer to do this and I'm having decent progress. I've been eating quite a lot of protein and completely watching what I'm eating, and it just feels like I'm hitting a plateau or extremely slow progress.

Thanks.

[Guest]

Easy Tiger! You don't have to burn more than you take in at all. That would kill you!

Everyone has a level of calorie intake that takes care of their everyday needs without either gaining or losing fat. What you need to do is adjust your intake to this level and then burn a little more off with exercise. It's about minor adjustments.

Don't eat too little or your body will think it is starving. Then it will burn just about anything else for energy and do all it can to preserve fat.

Some even recommend the odd binge as your body can adapt to lower levels of energy, again helping it preserve fat. Throw the odd curry down your neck to avoid this. In the Lions Den they have one day a week where they eat whatever they want.

Make minor adjustments and regularly weigh yourself (once a week perhaps). When you see a gradual weight loss whilst still managing to improve your strength and fitness you have hit gold.

[arizona kid]

cardio workout

hey, i bought my wife the billy blanks vidoes last year. she moved up to the advanced video & lost so much weight i thought i would give it a try. a little boring, but it seems to do the trick for dropping weight & weight training is taking care of the muscle building. just a note

[Guest]

Well, don't keep it a secret. What does the Billy Blanks video have you doing?

[arizona kid]

it's mainly a punching & kicking aerobics workout but it works your abs, glutes, legs & back. this is good for definition or "T"
hey get the advanced & try it. if you can't keep up or whatever, just go at your own pace. i am used to slower workouts ie. weight training. i am 6'1" 300 when i am out of shape & 260 when in shape so. it's takin me down to 280 so far in 1 month
i do this for 45 mins evry morning when i get home from work & i workout at the firestation 3 days a week. not a fireman i just work for the city. lemme know what ya think. & could i be doin better things with my time?

[Guest]

Not too sure whether there is anything better to lose fat for you, as we are all different and respond to different things. But as far as learning to fight goes I think it wold be very limited. If you could rig up a decent punch bag instead you would get a good workout that translates to mean punching power too.