[eviemc]

Hi all
For the past 10 weeks I have been doing kettlebell workouts with a 10lb kettlebell. Well it is too light now so I am going to have to make a change. Either I am going to have to get the 15lb or 20lb kettlebell or move on to something else. I like the kettlebell workout but I am not sure it is working me well enough. I only use it twice a week.

I have seen so much talk about high weight low rep vrs low weight high reps that I am not sure which way to go.

I love my cardio which I am doing 5-6 times a week (walking, running, bike, swimming (very soon I hope), tennis and such) I also do circuits (5 mins treadmill, 5 min bike, 7 min kettlebell x2 or 3)

I am really wanting to get more out of weight training.

[geoblewis]

I love weight training and get a lot out of it. I suggest you do an Internet search for Tom Venuto, or his "Burn The Fat Inner Circle" site for support from a real, clean, body building community. They promote healthy living and have a lot of knowledge and wide scope of experience.

Georgia

[Lydia227]

Eviemc: to the forum!

To reap the most benefits from strength training you will want to lift heavy. Heavy for you should be near fatigue by the 8th to 10th rep of your set. Generally, you will want to complete a set of 8 to 12 reps per set to benefit both from hypertrophy, the nice full muscle that we all like to see, and strength, the power needed to haul six full bags of groceries and a forty pound bag of kitty litter out of the back of the SUV. GRRRR.

Doing more than 12 reps is an exercise that promotes muscle endurance. Nice, but I don't think that's what you are looking for right now. Your goal should be to decrease fat mass while maintaining and if your lucky even building muscle mass.

You may already know this, the muscle you develop is metabolically active. Much more so than fat mass. It's a beautiful thing. You have to eat clean to preserve it, work like to build it and keep it but so worth it in the end. Truly the only success I've experienced especially long term has been through the development of muscle.

You have selected some wonderful cardio options for cross training. Set aside a few days a week for HIIT, high intensity interval training. If this is a new concept to you just ask. We'll be more than happy to fill you in. In short it also has a long term effect by boosting your metabolic rate long past the cardio session. Some say 24 hours, I've even read 48 hours. No matter, it difficult, it's anaerobic, and it works. It's a beautiful thing.

Good luck with your goals and HAPPY LIFTING!

Now I'm off to a new parent Kindergarten meeting.

[eviemc]

Thanks so much, right now with the kettlebell I am doing all one arm excerises because it is too light and I do about 20 reps 2x. So I do need to move up the weight. I am still not sure if I should stay with the kettlebell or go for hand weights.

I have heard of HITT but I am not sure if I know what it all means. So please do explain. I am just at that point were I now know I can do this and I will keep doing it so I am ready to up the workout. I feel like starting off slow helped me not to quit.

[midwife]

Sign my name to Lydia's post (except for the new parent Kindergarten thing---I am a current Kindergarten parent, thankyouverymuch!)

Lift heavy! So much fun. For real!! To get stronger, we need to challenge ourselves. Easy stuff won't make us stronger.

Don't worry about bulking up. Few women are that lucky to bulk up easily.

Muscle takes up less space than the same poundage of fat, so you may very well be smaller at a higher weight than some other women. Muscle is great at keeping our metabolisms humming right along too.

Plus it's way fun! (did I mention that yet?)

I would recommend New Rules of Weightlifting for Women. Great theory and didactic info in the front and a nice program in the back of the book. I would also highly recommend a session or two with a trainer....weightlifting is a skill and with any skill it is nice to have an experienced person around to tweak your technique.

Come join us on our monthly threads. There are some awesome exercises posted! And I like to think we have our moments of being a real, clean, bodybuilding community in our little corner of 3FC! (Just gotta rib you a little, Georgia! Your recommendation is spot on too!!)***

***hmmmm, would my dinner truly count as clean? Mostly!

[Lydia227]

HIIT training is anaerobic training. It consists of a five minute warm up, in your case a piece of cardio equipment, followed by a 15 to 60 second all out effort on the equipment. During that time you are giving it all that you have. Many people who begin this type of training may only sustain that effort for about fifteen to twenty seconds. Eventually you may be able to condition yourself to sustain up to thirty to forty five then sixty.

After the interval period you dial your effort back down to a comfortable level in which your heart rate lowers and you can speak again. After severall minutes at steady state cardio you prepare yourself for the next interval. In the beginning, you may only be able to get three intervals in during your thirty minute cardio session. Eventually, you will be able to add in more intervals for continued challenge. Be certain to reserve at least five minutes of steady state cardio at the end to lower your heart rate again for the cool down.

Don't feel bad if your interval sessions are not as long as you wish them to be. These things are very intense and you should really only do these a couple times a week in the beginning. Keep in mind that during the interval you are using an energy source in your muscles that do not require oxygen to be used. There is a limited amount of energy stored in your muscles and once it has been depleted in your session then you will naturally lose steam and have to stop. It is at that time you need to switch back to steady state cardio at a slower rate in order to recover. During steady state you will then be using oxygen to help create the energy source needed to fuel the activity.

The Tabata method is another HIIT form of exercise that also in anaerobic in nature. These can be compound exercises, exercises where more than one major muscle group is moving, completed in a quick set of thirty seconds followed by a rest of another thirty seconds then back again to the compound exercise (same or a different one).

You may also find some of these links interesting as well

http://www.davedraper.com/hiit-cardio-training.html

http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/20...ause-fat-loss/

This is a clip from Youtube of someone who is doing HIIT or Tabata on the elliptical. I love this one. "You can do anything for four minutes. NOT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKUp4DbRjTk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDh1Cspl0jI

There are many Tabata style workouts. You may find something that you really enjoy by searching some of the youtube clips too.
ENJOY!