Thanks for the info Aunt Sheshie !!! Very interesting !

&

Welcome back Eli !:)

Thanks :D

Thank you Elizabeth for the information! I will try to fit in some strength training if I can. :-)

keep us posted on how it goes... and remember to focus more on inches than the scale!

I ride my horse. It burns alot of calories just GROOMING him, never mind riding. Excellent cardio and works the core.

too much vigorous exercise can knock me out of kitosis??? I have been using my bowflex, punching bag, skipping etc. for about an hour a day. This week I only lost one pound and one inch.....
am I maybe doing too much???

Just posted to you in the chat thread. The most important part of strength training is the rest days between sessions. No rest days = continuous muscle destruction. Not what you want, right?

I've been doing some reading about this and the recommendations I'll be following when I start strength training (on Phase 3), are hard strength workouts 2/week, with one day high-intensity interval training and the other days moderate, enjoyable cardio. I like swimming and walking so I'm going to do them for fun instead of as "must do" exercise.

I'm sure our resident trainer will jump in with her thoughts about your situation before long.

So I should keep it to a minimum till the later phases?
Thanks so much! why isn't my coach telling me this? She's no doctor but should know right?

It depends what you mean by minimum. There are people successful on IP who work out. I don't think they work the same muscle groups every day. Play around with it. If you REALLY want to work out every day (you don't have to :)) cut back to 20 minutes per day, alternating days on strength and cardio. Then increase slowly (2-5 minutes per week) to see what effect it has on your pounds and inches lost. You can increase the workout by lifting heavier and skipping faster in the time.

I don't think daily max strength training and/or cardio even in maintenance is a good idea. You've got to give your body time to rest. Strength training breaks down muscle. The rebuilding and adding muscle mass (minimal bulk for women) takes place during the 2-4 days of rest.

Also, going crazy on the cardio (40+ minutes daily) will probably leave you exhausted and "skinny fat," if you know what I mean.

My guess is that your coach isn't telling you because she doesn't know. Some of the coaches are minimally trained, as in they know the IP program and that's about it for nutrition and fitness. In many cases, doctors are no improvement on the nutrition, wellness and fitness front. A few years ago, my GP referred me to a nutritionist to get assistance with diet changes to reduce my cholesterol levels. He knew that he didn't know enough -- WISE man.

You are a wealth of knowlege I'm Svelting!

I will just do my regular dog walking until I reach my goal and then I will work harder on my muscle tone. It is great to have people like you on these forums I was really harsh on myself.... thanks

Walking the dog is a great idea... I wish I had of walked more as I did very little exercise while one program.... I am doing it now and if I had to redo it over ..... which I will not ever have to but I would get in walking everyday from the beginning ... good for the mind as well as the body:)

Sweetheart, don't be hard on yourself. :hug: You were doing what you thought was best. It's just sometimes when we do that, we're wrong. :shrug:

As I said there are people who have worked out from very early on in their IP Phases. Both pitakitten and Aunt Sheshie have posted about their workouts. If you've got the time, read this thread. Elizabeth is a personal trainer and she's steered a lot of IPrs in a good direction with their exercise.

Aww thanks! :hug: I will read those posts right now! again thank you, thank you, thank you.
Melanie;)

Hey sorry I had not been here in a bit but yes, you can OVER DO IT in many ways... keep in mind ALWAYS the Hear Rate Zones I mentioned previously on this thread.

When it comes to resistance training you can't (or shouldn't) do it every day... your muscles DO need to recoup... as Svelting said you are tearing muscle when you do weights (sounds awful but it's not) so that your body can rebuild it healthier and leaner (see? not so bad ;) ) Try perhaps weights 3 times a week... and by that I mean DIFFERENT routine each one of those days... example... Monday : abs, back... Wednesday: biceps, triceps, shoulders... Friday: quads, glutes & hamstrings...see what I mean?

Hang in there and again and again and again I will repeat this... LOOK AT YOUR INCHES more than the scale! I guarantee you that you are shrinking when you do this even if the scale doesn't show it as much... muscle is less bulky than fat (again, look back on this thread)

Good luck!

Help re: stretching a cramping quad muscle
 

Occasionally I will have a cramp in my leg that wakes me up. It's always in a thin band of muscle running along the inside of the thing from the side of the knee to the mid-thigh. I know prevention and taking the potassium every single day is the best solution. But when it does occur, I don't know how to stretch that baby out. Any suggestions?