A bit confused

K

katia7

Cathlete
My goal is to lose a size and be lean (not jiggaly). Everywhere I read it says to lift heavy and work on building muscle and that high rep workouts don't do anything for your phesique, they just build endurance. But at the same time, I DON'T want to gain ANY size (muscle or not), I want to reduce it.
So from your experience, what types of workouts will help me do this? I know diet is the #1 thing that will help with losing body fat, but how should I lift in order to be toned (not jiggaly), but not have showing biceps? Just for an exampe, I want the phesique of Jennifer Aniston reather than Madonna.

Thanks :)
 
More cardio and less weights. This is what works for me. I hardly look like Jennifer Aniston, but 40-45 min. of cardio followed by 15-20 min. of weight work. I alternate lower and upper body. For instance, today I will do a 40 minute floor cardio workout (Christi's Still Jumpin) followed by PUB premix. Tomorrow I will do 40 min. of cardio with lower body work. I also incorporate a full circuit workout and a just cardio workout in my workout week. No expert, but it works for me. I exercise 5 days per week.

BTW, don't look at an actress for body guidance. It's so defeating. God gave you your own body, you can only make it better, not create a whole different body type. I am taller and have longer muscles, so I don't bulk up. Your body type may be different.
 
? Just for an
>exampe, I want the phesique of Jennifer Aniston reather than
>Madonna.
>
>Thanks :)

i agree with the last reponse about what might work for you. as for getting a celeb physique, you are not built that way so don't aim for that. and besides we don't know what they really do to get that body. jennifer is beautiful no doubt but i a pear shape so i will never have the long lean body like her. i can come close by working with what i was born with. exercise and diet is great and everybody should do it but genetics play a big part in your fitness as well. just aim to lose body fat and be healthy.


kassia





When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be
disappointed to discover they are not it -- Bernard Bailey
 
I know I won't look like Jennifer Aniston, I just ment that I want more of a thin look reather then muscular. So for that, what type of weight training should I be doing?
 
moderate weights with higher reps something like 3-4 sets 8-12 reps. i have heard that high rep training thing too but you have to find out for yourself it it works for you. i use high reps for my legs b/c i don't want to bulk them up but use heavy weight and low reps 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps for upper body to balance it out.

its mainly bodybuilders that get in a tiffy about the high rep thing and they are right you won't build muscle with high rep training but you can still get strength and defintion.think cathe's power hour workouts. they are endurance but you will defiantly see results with that. but the post before about cardio will help shed body fat. and weight train for 3 days a week(if you do full body) or alternate days like upper body one day and lower body the next for maybe 4 days a week. and you should change up your routines and rotations often to keep the body from adapting.

i hope kathryn will jump on this one b/c she always gives such great advice and ideas.

and i just wanted to add that it is very hard for women to gain muscle anyway. depends on the whole mesomorph ectomorph thing and genetic metabolism.



kassia



When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be
disappointed to discover they are not it -- Bernard Bailey
 
I wanted to add that it depends on your body type if the muscle will show or not. When I was in my 20s and had low body fat, everyone thought I was into heavy weightlifting because my arms were so cut. In reality, I did cardio 4-6 days per week and weighttraining only a couple of days per week with my heaviest weights being 5 pounders. That was all I owned at the time. But because my body fat was so low, my muscles were very obvious. Luckily, I like that look.
 
High reps, moderate weight builds muscle. This is what competative bodybuilders do. Low reps, heavy weight increases muscle strength by increasing muscle fiber density - how competative weight lifters train. Both increase muscle size, the key is working to failure, adequate nutrition and recovery.

If you dislike the muscular look, just stick to more cardio based workouts with shorter weight workouts during the week. Everyone is different (as you know :)), how your body reacts to weight training is anyone's guess. If you don't incorporate weight training though, you'll stay jiggly - regardless of size.
 
A bit off topic here.I would also love to look like this celeb but I don't think I could.Although at one point in time she was the same weight as I am right now.
Did anyone notice towards the end of the series that the girls were less muscular looking and they were thinner? They were never overly muscular but Courtney Cox's arms always looked a little muscular and I also think that this was at the time when pilates was introduced.But towards the end of the series it seemed as if they opted for a thinner look instead of well toned.
Lori:)
 
a personal trainer gave me this list about what to use in weigthtraing, i don't know if it will help you out. i am still waiting to hear from the bodybuilder of the group b/c i believe he does some personal training as well


>>>I'll leave the competitive body-building perspective to Sherman but I can offer you the perspective of a personal fitness trainer instead.

Muscular Endurance: 15-20 reps, 3 sets, 3 x per week for 6 weeks or more
Muscular Hypertrophy (size): 10-12 reps, 5-6 sets, 3 x per week for 12 weeks or more
Muscular Strength: 4-8 reps, 3 sets, 3 x per week for 12 weeks or more
Muscular Toning*: 12-15 reps, 3 sets, 3 x per week for 6 weeks or more

* I know Sherman hates the word Toning because he feels it has no meaning, but its taken directly from the textbook Advanced Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription which was one of the textbooks used in our courses in college. I believe it is an equal to the word "definition" that you used in your post.

Probably the most important point from my perspective is that when they give a range of 10 to 12 reps, that means that 12th rep is near impossible to perform. The saying we used in college was "you can't succeed without failure" which meant you had to push the muscle to the point it simply can't do more. Of course, you build up to that slowly, otherwise you will injure yourself.

Severt<<<


kassia

When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be
disappointed to discover they are not it -- Bernard Bailey
 
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