i have very little motivation to workout at all. I've FINALLY got my husband to quit bringing junk food that i like into the house so. . . im getting better with my eating (not great, but better). I actually do cardio most weekdays but i'd like to start working on my strength/toning. I'm not one for big muslces or body building or anything. I just want to add a little strength or toning. I have some resistance bands/tubes at home but no free weights. So i guess my question is. . . will the bands be enough? Maybe the bands with squats and lunges for my legs. Or should i go out and buy some dumbells? If i need to get dumbells, what sizes do i get (yes i'm a BEGINNER hahaha)? Maybe up to 10 pounds and do several reps with lighter weight?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Amy

There is a sticky at the top of the forum on a resistance band workout:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96976

I would also recommend reading some of the other stickies at the top of the forum. It will help dispel some myths about body building and that everyone should strive to build muscle.

I would start with the resistance band workout, then I'd recommend investing in some dumbbells. If you don't do weights now, then up to 10 lbs would be fine but eventually you'll need heavier dumbbells.

I use both free weights and bands on a regular basis. Especially since I don't have a cable station in my home gym, I use them frequently to replicate many of the cable exercises.

I even use them for HIIT cardio from time to time as well and do some runouts with the bands for resistance.

If you don't have a lot of space to dedicate to a home gym, you probably will never outgrow bands, but if you have room to add some free weights, you will have many more options to find exercises that you like.


Some more info on band workouts:

http://www.performax4u.com/library.iml

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.a...nd%20Exercises

Thanks guys for the info. I guess i may start with the stretchies and once i get a routine going i may move up to free weights. Its hard for me to add strength to my cardio since i'm lacking in time, so i did think about taking my stretchie to work with me and using it at lunch. I can shut my office door and go at it. Finding the motivation to do that is going to be hard but. . . maybe after reading on this website enough i'll get motivated. Thanks again for the info.

Amy

You can also do alot of stuff with just body weight. Not sure how much you weigh, but even if you are just trying to lose a little, using your entire bodyweight to do squats and lunges is a great starting point and how I started, before I added 3 lb weights. That will probably keep you busy for at least a month before it feels too easy, then you can slowly add on with dumbbells from there.

HRBabe,
To be honest, i'm not over weight. I'm 27 years old and 5' 2" and weigh around 125-128. I would like to get down to about 115 but if i don't that's ok too. I want to get fit and toned. You'd think i'd be fit but i'm so not! If i get on the treadmill i can only go for like 25 minutes until i'm tired. I use to be active but when i got a desk job (about the same time i quit playing city softball and volleyball) i got lazy. And it just went down from there. I was also eating a lot of fast food. LOL! But now i'm trying to eat right (every day battle) and exercise daily which is also a battle.

Amy

Amy

I think you're very smart to start weight training. It will help you in more ways than your weight. Choosing a healthy lifestyle in your 20's will be a lifelong benefit. Keep up the good work.

Hey, thanks for supplying these links. TONS of exercises here; yet another tool in my exercise arsenal!

Question: Can you give specifics about what you do using bands for HIIT for cardio and what are "runouts"? Thanks!

Jo

http://www.performax4u.com/uploads/p...un_Workout.pdf

Basically, you run out as hard as you can (you are not only running against gravity but the bands resistance as well). Soon you will running in place as the bands resistance matches the effort you are able to give. However, you must keep digging away at full speed just to keep in place. I do these for 60 seconds at a time and alternate with some lighter work such as lunges or walking in place for 30 seconds and do it all over again for 10 times. It really gets the heart pumping. You don't want to use the light bands for these though. You want to use one of the two heavier bands. You also need to be very careful when you end your "run out" to slow down gradually and keep your footing firm, or those bands will pull you back with great force. If you try to just come to a dead stop and are not careful, they are fully capable of sending you airborn in reverse.

Here's a link to a recent Alwyn Cosgrove blog post on bands including a couple of You Tube videos:

http://alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com/20...unleashed.html