So yesterday was my second time at the gym since signing up last week. I really loved it. I did an hour of cardio. I did 30 mins on the elliptical and 30 mins on the treadmill with a speed of 3.0 and a incline of 7.0. I broke a sweat and it said my heartrate was up to 153(that seems a little high to me but I'm not familiar with that stuff) but I didn't leave feeling like I had worked out super hard.

I woke up this morning and wasn't sore, my legs felt completely normal, nothing like when I did those first few days of the 30 Day Shred.

I like to feel sore, lol, weird...maybe. But it lets me know I am working my body hard. I would have thought doing an hour of straight cardio would have worked it hard but I feel nothing. Am i just being silly??

Also what do you all do to tone, especially in your tummy area. I haven't started toning yet because there were so many machines there I got overwhelmed and had no idea what to use.

TIA.

Hi tschaff!

Soreness is not a particularly good indicator of how hard you worked, especially with cardio work. That being said, you may feel differently tomorrow. (The sores often hit hardest on the second day, aka, "delayed onset muscle soreness", aka, "the second day sores.")

Toning=building muscle + losing fat. To build muscle, you need to lift weights. Don't worry, you won't bulk up. To lose fat, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn through basal metabolic rate, daily activity, and exercise.

There's no such thing as spot reducing. Work your abs like any other muscle (i.e., progressively heavier resistance). To lose the fat covering those new muscles, the best exercises are "table pushaways" and "fork putdowns."

The good news is that *most* women will start to lose fat around their abdomens before they lose it on their hips and thighs. This partly depends on whether you're built like an apple or a pear, though. (Relative to apples, pears tend to lose ab fat earlier and thigh/butt fat later in their fat loss adventure.)

//b. strong,
Kim

Wow, thank you so much for all the helpful information. I knew I was just being silly but I guess I am used to working out for 35(ish) mins to the shred and feeling SO sore the next day. However, that was the first week. I am very proud of myself that I even got on those machines for an hour and was able to do it no problem, that wouldn't have happened 4 or 5 months ago.

I will look into all the stuff you posted and definitely look into weight lifting and other muscle building exercises for my abs. It's all new to me, the working out/toning part. I have the dieting part down, but I know the two go hand in hand.

Thank you again!

Ps, if those are your abs in that picture I am beyond jealous!

Just wanted to quote the brilliance. Abs are made in the kitchen.