Does anyone have suggestions for the best exercises or fitness classes/videos for apple-shaped people? I am a classic apple shape and am tired of looking down at this big ol' spare tire! I am on WW right now, and doing well with my food program, and I work out 5 days a week. Right now, I'm alternating between spinning, step aerobics and the machines (treadmill and elliptical). Also doing weight training 3 days a week. I feel the weight loss in my butt and my legs, but I want rid of this belly! If anyone has any suggestions, I would GREATLY appreciate it.
I am afraid that it won't make much difference what kind of exercise you choose to do, it will take as long as it takes. The truth really is that spot reducing, focusing on one part of the body, just doesn't work.
The good news is that ANY exercise you do will reduce your spare tire. I had a look at your exercise routine and have to say that your cross training regime is great. It is almost EXACTLY what I would have recommended for you!
You just have to keep in mind that your stomach is where your body likes to store it's fat, and where it least likes to give it up. So for you the reality is that your stomach will be the last place you see a difference. Worse is the fact that your hips, chest, legs, arms, face etc will all lose fat and tone quicker, making your stomach look even bigger by comparison. For this reason I always recommend that you pick items of clothing and follow their tightness - looseness (or a tape measure, but that's not as exciting).
Ask me as much as you like. I am an aerobics instructor and an exercise science lecturer. So not only can I teach aerobics but I know the physiology, biomechanics and psychology behind it too!
I am always glad to give info, so please don't hesitate. Stef
I had seen some of your other posts and was hoping you would reply. I had taken kickboxing last year and felt that was helping, but I stopped due to a conflict in my schedule. I was going to go back tonight but I'm not feeling well, so it will have to wait another week.
Thanks for the advice...I guess I will just have to learn to love my belly while it's here!
I know it's probably hard to schedule stuff in but is it possible for you to simply walk?
We seem to be a similar weight and I too am apple shaped. As I have the time I walk for up to 2 hours a day. By walk I mean at a good pace, getting a bit hot and sweaty and a little out of breath (that's 'a bit' and 'a little'). I do my time in 2 or 3 or 4 separate walks as my schedule permits.
I find this really helps and, if I don't teach or participate in a class, or forget to swim cos it's wet and cold and miserable out, I know that I have done something each day! I also manage to come up with an excuse to walk somewhere even if I am too tired to go to a gym.
Having said this I live in a fairly rural town in the UK and I don't know where in NY state you are. You may live in the kind of place that isn't designed for walking. An aging relative of mine has a friend who lives in NY state and she couldn't walk to the nearest mall if she tried. Her area is designed for the automobile and doesn't accomodate pedestrians wanting to cross the road (freeway, whatever!). She is constantly amazed that my great great aunt walks everywhere safely (at 93 years young too!).
Get back to me with any questions you might have, as I have said all over the place, I am only too willing to bore you to tears with the useless/useful info my brain has decided to store.
Yes, I actually do walk quit a bit. On the days when I don't get to the gym, or would rather be outdoors, I walk for 40 to 60 minutes. I live in a very nice neighborhood, with lots of trees and big houses, so it's a great place to walk. I check out all the houses that I hope to someday afford! It's also a 15-minute walk to the gym, so I'm able to get in a little extra workout on my way there and back. I'm a pretty quick walker and I notice my time is improving - walking into town (I'm not exactly sure how far it is) used to take me about 17 minutes, the other day I did in 9 minutes. For a fat chick, I'm an amazingly fast walker - very few of my friends can keep up with me. I love passing skinny people on the street, hee hee!
Also, I'm between jobs right now, so I walk to the bank once a week to deposit my unemployment checks. I think it's about 3 miles round-trip.
So, long story short, I do walk - I guess I should have mentioned that in my first post!
I have a question, though - I know you can't spot-reduce one area, but if you wanted to get your quads in shape, you would bike, for your butt, you could do the elliptical on the gluteal program, etc. Is there really no exercise that would target working the abs and back?
Have you seen the 'abs support group' here on the exercise thread?
I have started to describe in detail some of the basic exercises you could do to work the abs and back safely and effectively. I will continue to supply new exercises and up-dates on old ones as and when people ask me to!
I haven't posted the oblique crunches yet (they are the tummy flatteners), and I won't be doing so for a little while, so you have time to join in and start the ones I have posted already!
I will probably be kept quite busy on this thread if we pass the word around. I am hoping it will grow into a general home based body conditioning class! I know loads of easy to learn, very effective exercises that need no equipment and only a little time each day!
I have also posted my credentials over there, so you can see who I am and where I am coming from.
Yes, I had looked at that before. I've been doing crunches but I wanted to see if there was a way to burn the flab off before trying to tighten it up. That's all I need, firm flab! :-)
I now it sounds odd and goes against a lot of the magazines you can buy, but if you work your muscles you WILL be burning fat. You will be fat burning whilst doing the exercise, fat burning whilst your body is at rest and repairing the microtears you make in the muscles by working them, and you will be burning more calories even when sitting down as you turn that fat into muscle.
Please don't think that because you are not sweating and jogging, jumping etc that you are not burning up that fat. A lot of my students as well as my class participants think that you have to move around and sweat a lot to burn fat so I know that is the message you can get from fitness and diet magazines.
If you have enough weight (or in my case too much chest) to want to jog, jump or wriggle about a lot then working on your muscles is the absolutely best place to start. That and swimming if you can get your head around swimming cossies and communal changing rooms!
I hope I can help you more, as I keep saying I never seem to get bored doing this! Stef
Best exercise for apple shapes?
I had taken kickboxing last year and felt that was helping, but I stopped due to a conflict in my schedule. I was going to go back tonight but I'm not feeling well, so it will have to wait another week. 
