Hi everyone,

I am 5'3 and 128 pounds and I would like to get to 110-115 by the end of the year. I do not have a deadline, I just thought that losing 15-18 pounds in 6 months sounds reasonable. That is about 2.5-3 pounds a month. It might be too ambitious, but I will take any loss, I am not in a hurry or anything.

I like running, but I had an injury that had prevented me from running for almost 3 months, so I am now back to some light jogging (5.0-5.2 mph). My foot is still hurting, so I try to jog for an hour and I do 30 min or rowing and 30 min of spinning (6 days/week).

In addition, I do 2 days of light weights (10 pounds) besides my cardio routine. My weightlifting routine includes 3 x 15 reps of step up with 10lbs dumbbells, seated row, dumbbell shoulder press, widegrip lateral pulldown, and lunges with dumbbells. Also, I do deadlifts (3 x 45 lbs). This is my basic routine, but sometimes I include other stuff, too. Oh, and I do dips on the parallel bar machine every other day (although I am sure my form is terrible). I sometimes do some pathetic pushups (again, my form is awful).

I feel that I am doing very little, so my question is: what kinds of workouts would you recommend? How much should I do? I see people at the gym who do the same routine every day for 2-3 hours and I am sure that is not OK.

Therefore, I would like to hear what worked for you, guys.

I tried to follow the New rules for women book, but I find it very boring, so if you could recommend me some other plan, I would be happy to try something else.

Thank you so much for reading this!
Also, can I just say how much admiration I have for everyone here? I have read so many inspirational stories and great advice! Thank you, everyone!

I like following videos and have had good luck with P90X, Supreme 90 Day, and Ripped in 30.

Your weight loss goal is very reasonable.

Hi EagleRiver,

Thank you so much for taking time to answer my question. I thought about these programs, but I live in an apartment, so I would not be able to follow them because I do not to disturb my neighbours. I do my workouts at the gym.

Thanks and have a nice evening!

Your goal is totally reasonable and you seem to be in a good headspace. Your workouts also sound fine, but you can totally up the weight you're lifting! Try focusing on increasing strength and you might see some fantastic results.

I was weight training for a while before I "got serious" last fall and started lifting heavier. The scale was stuck for a while, but I lost inches like crazy (which is what really matters, right?). I went from being barely able to lift 40lbs to deadlifting 130lbs (and considering how many reps I can do, I really need to up that deadlift).

Lifting all that heavy weight twice a week has actually made it difficult for me to maintain! I decided I was at goal when I hit 125, but I kept dropping. Now I find if I drop below a certain calorie count (more than what the calculators say I should be able to eat) I start losing again. I try to stay around 115 most of the time.

Hi Sontaikle,

Thank you so much for writing me. I will take your advice and use heavier dumbbells, even though that would mean decreasing the number of repetitions. It is very impressive that you are lifting that much! Also, you look awesome, your avatar is so great, you have so much definition! Also, I am so impressed about how much weight you have lost, unbelievable determination - well done!

I think I will take EagleRiver's advice and your advice and start lifting heavier as well as spicing up my routine. I also think that I should perhaps give the New Rules another chance...

Sontaikle and EagleRiver, I would like to thank you so much for responding me, it means a lot to be able to ask questions and get them answered so promptly! Your achievements are so great and I am happy I get a chance to benefit from your advice.

I wish everyone best of luck with their weightloss and/or fitness goals!

I just completed NROL4W. I was surprised I was able to stick with it for 6 months, as I'm pretty ADD about my fitness stuff, doing this & doing that. But it worked.

However, I am creating my workouts now using a different book, and I admit I'm relieved to have more flexibility in doing what I want to do. The book I'm using now is called "Power Training," by Robert dos Remedios. There's a template for your workouts, and you plug in the exercises you want to do. You have the option of lifting 2, 3, or 4 times a week (2 or 3 times full body, 3 or 4 as a push/pull split).

So you might want to check that out, but I will say that I don't think the dos Remedios would have been quite right for me if I hadn't been through a longish structured program already, and if I wasn't so obsessively research-minded. There's not that much info on proper form in the dos Remedios (I think the book isn't quite geared toward total beginners), so if you go with something like that, I really, really recommend that you do a lot of reading/watching before doing unfamiliar exercises. I also am wary of doing most of the explosive exercises without a strength coach. I stick to squat jumps and one-arm dumbbell snatches. (I think the program would still be fine/effective without the explosive exercises.)

Another book that people work out of besides NROL4W, btw, is "The Female Body Breakthrough." I haven't read it myself, but I've seen it mentioned a lot.

Oh yeah, and another vote for lift heavy.

Like anything else, weightlifting won't do much for you unless you give it your all. You have to CHALLENGE yourself; lift heavy, lift hard, hit those weights with INTENSITY.

5 pound pink dumbbells did not get me into shape.

I agree with what everyone has said so far, but wanted to add one thing. You can vary the exercises you are doing to work the same muscles in a different way as well. You may find this makes those 10lbers heavier for a while. But I would definitely up the weight. My body made more/better changes when I started going heavier. And if I really think about it my purse probably weighs more than what I was previously lifting lol.

Hi Sumire, Jossfit, and Moviegirl,

Thank you so much for your responses, you guys are great! Sorry for getting back to you with such delay, I was away. I truly appreciate your advice, thank you so much! I kind of had a mini-vacation without exercise and weightlifting, so I will now return in full force and start working harder. I am actually looking forward to going to the gym tonight.
Have a great week everyone!
Best regards!