3-weeks to bikini! Help!

[YasB]

Hi ladies,
I haven't posted in a LONG time but I still visit this board for all the wonderful advice and now I need a little help. If you only had 3 weeks to get ready for the beach, what type of workouts would you focus on?

Brief background: I have been consistently exercising for 4-5x per week for the last 5 months- jogging, step & strength with mostly Cathe tapes. The last 3 weeks I have upped it to 6x per week alternating cardio and strength work and including 2 leg workouts per week. So, 3 cardio & 3 strength alternating UB & LB.

I just finished a 2 week S&H rotation and now have shifted to endurance with Leaner Legs. The last 2 weeks I'm going to do Pure Strength. Cardio is either a 2 to 3 mile jog, twice per week, or an interval type workout mainly a CTX tape. Basically, I'm trying to do a short intense workout instead of a long moderate workout so cardio usually takes only 30 minutes.

So, my question is for maximum fat loss in the next 3 weeks should I do more (or longer) cardio or should I focus more on strength? Or should I just keep up what I'm doing and be happy with whatever results I get? (Hey, the carribean beach will be beautiful no matter how big my butt looks )

I want to lose ~3# which is doable. As far as diet, I can't go below my current 1600 calories because It just makes me miserable!

Thanks for any help! The advice on this board and, of course, my Cathe tapes has made all the difference in my fitness level!



Yas B

 

[tsut]

Hi Yas B-

I've read that fitness competitors increase their cardio to increase fat loss and do a circuit-style strength training routine. There were several competitors asked about this article and they all said more cario, cardio, cardio. Most of them did cardio at least 6 days/week and sometimes twice a day. Of course they have the time to do that too.

 

[YasB]

Just bumping up!
Yas B

 

[candice]

Hi,
I'd add more interval work if I were you. If your legs/feet can handle it, that is. Interval work has been shown to blast more fat than longer cardio work. I am currently taking my cardio from 5 days@45 min. to 3 days @30-40 min, but much more intense. I use the treadmill and alternate intervals of 5.5mph(recovery) + 6mph(moderate) + 7-8 mph(all-out-sprinting) and it is so tough that I can only take about 20 minutes of this! Then I jump rope for more intervals - jump 1 min., rest 30 sec., etc. I do that for the remainder of my 30 minute workout. Today I did 7 intervals of IMAX and jumped rope for 5 min.(with 2 rests), for a total or 40 min. workout. Running hills is also a great way to get intensity, plus it really works your legs&butt. If you run hills you will definitely have a sore butt the next day! This is just my $.02 but shorter, intense interval work seems to get rid of abdomen fat on me a lot quicker than long, 45-60 min. workouts of lesser intensity. Good luck!
Candice

 

[YasB]

Thanks Candice!
I was thinking of adding Interval Max into my rotation over the next three weeks. I'm also going to do some sprints during one of my twice weekly runs.

It's amazing how easy moderate but longer exercise becomes when you do intervals. But, I don't think I'll be jumping rope after 7 IMAX intervals!! Wow!

Do you alternate b/t doing the moderate cardio for awhile and then switch to interval training?

Thanks for the info,
Yas B

 

[candice]

Hi Yas,
I haven't thought about what I'll do next - for the past 3 weeks I've been doing only the shorter cardio 3x per week. I know you have to constantly mix things up to shock your system, so maybe in a couple more weeks I'll do 2 interval workouts plus 2 longer less-intense workouts, like a 40 minute run or a Cathe step video. I think I will always try to keep at least 1 interval workout per week because, like you said, it really helps you up your fitness level so that the longer workouts seem easier. I will keep the jumping rope too, I like to add that on for 5 min. to any cardio workout, for an extra boost. You ought to try it - it burns tons of calories! I get so bored doing any cardio longer than 40-45 min. so I don't think I'll ever be one of those who do cardio 5-6 times per week for an hour! Good luck and let us know if you hit upon something that works well for you!

Candice