Hi folks,

I've been visiting 3FC since April and post quite a bit in other forums here. Meg referred me to this forum a few weeks back (thanks Meg ) and although I'm a more than a little bit intimidated by some of the lifting language here, I plucked up the courage to ask a few questions.

I'm currently doing 1 hour of cardio on an elliptical at home 3 x a week. On the same days I work cardio I also do 15 minutes of light weights on the bowflex we have at home. I can't drive yet (working on that too!) so can't go to a gym. So, Mon, Wed Fri I do cardio and light weights. Tue, Thu and Sat I go walking, typically I will do either 2 or 4 miles. Sunday I rest. I am currently eating a ratio of 20/60/20 fat/carbs/protein and am trying to change that so I eat 20/40/40 fat/carbs protein. I've lost 14 lbs so far with the old plan, I hit a plateau so decided I needed to up the exercise and alter my diet to counter this. I also feel much stronger, like I can take on a bit more effort.

My goal is to burn fat and build some muscle. I'm looking to lose another 53lbs to meet my goal. I'm in no rush for this to happen and am aware it will take time, I'm happy with that.

Ok enough babble about me. What I want to do is increase the amount of weights I do. Instead of working 15 minutes of light weights I want to work on certain parts of my body each day. So my revised plan will be doing 3 x days a week 1 hour on the elliptical and weights on the same day mon, wed, fri, with walking on tue, thur and sat. I use the walking days as rest days, I walk at a leisurely pace.

Does this sound like a sensible approach to introducing more weight lifting to my routine?
Should I do cardio on the same days as I do the weights?
I lift to failure and currently do 12 reps with 1 set of each exercise. Should I increase the sets?
What parts of your body do you work on each day?
Is there any critique that you could give to my revised plan?
Any advice at all?

I am a total newb when it comes to weights! So if I sound like I come across as a babbling fool, that's why!

Hi Lynne! No apologies necessary -- every one of us here was new to a gym (and to all this lifting language) at some point in their lives. Trust me, you're a lot further along than I was just three short years ago!! When I first joined a gym, I thought everyone was talking a foreign language ... "clean eating" splits What on earth is a "tri"

We've got to get you together with Sarah (lessofsarahtolove)! She has a Cross Bow at home (like your Bow Flex) and has just started an at-home program. Here's a thread she recently posted about what she's doing: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41608

My thoughts on your plan, for what it's worth: what about alternating your lifting and cardio days rather than doing both on the same day? That way you allow your muscles time to rest between workouts and also don't exhaust yourself trying to do intense cardio on the same days as lifting. You could take your walks on lifting days, since they probably aren't as tiring. There's no right or wrong here; it's just something to think about (actually there are very few black and white "right and wrongs" in the gym and a whole lot of gray areas -- find what works best for you!)

I'd definitely increase your sets per exercise to 2-3. It sounds like you're using a good weight for you if you get to about 12 reps before failure. As to what body parts to do each workout -- that's called a split (like you split up the body parts) -- there's a million ways to do it. A common three-day split might be: Day 1: back and bi's, Day 2: chest, tri's and shoulders, Day 3: legs and abs. Check out the info in the Basic Bodybuilding Information sticky and I'll bet that others here will have some suggestions.

Have fun, be sure to let us know how you're doing, and don't ever be shy about asking questions! We're glad you're here!

hello and welcome!

Ive been at the gym 2 years now and I am still intimidated when I go to try something new (im currently thinking very hard about using the 45degree hyperextention thingy. gimme another week to research more hehe) so you are NOT alone!

Welcome to the forum, and dont be afraid to post any questions you can think of, cause chances are 3 other people are wondering the same thing and at least 2 people have the answer/experiance to help ya out

Tidey

Hey there, Lynne! I'm the Sarah Meg was referring to -- with the Cross Bow! How are you, my bow-bearing sister?? It's nice to have a fellow newbie here....not to mention a fellow bow-machine user! Seriously don't feel wierd about being new and not knowing everything yet...everyone here has been there at some point, and noone judges. I lurked for a while before asking for help/feedback myself, and I've found this group to be really helpful and supportive. My advice is to do as much independent research as you can on your own, and also come here to get support/advice/input, information as well. Definitely check out this site for a wealth of information about weight training and more. I printed it all out to make sure that I wouldn't miss any information contained in any of her links to another discussion, and it really is an amazing resource. I am also really enjoying a book called The Body Sculpting Bible for Women, by authors Ville-something and Rivera......you can check it out at Amazon and see you think you'd find it helpful.

I've just started using my Cross Bow -- just assembled it this past weekend -- and I am loving it! I work out using a combination of the Cross Bow and free weights (in my case, dumbbells) because I'm doing a full body workout 3 days a week (not splits, as Meg was discussing above) and included in that workout are some exercises that just work better with free weights, like, in my case, squats and an stiff-legged deadlifts. I have adapted the exercises in my routine to those of my Cross Bow (which should be equal to your BowFlex, provided you have a lat bar and leg extension.

Does your BowFlex have those on it do you know? I know they don't come standard with your machine, but buyers have the option to get them for additional $$ -- and can you do squats on it? My Cross Bow allows that, but I wanted to do them with free weights instead so that I'd have more resources to set me up for using good form.

As for the cardio and weights on the same day, I'm sure no expert, but I've heard a great deal advising that you do them on alternating days. I would agree with Meg that flip-flopping the cardio (elliptical) with the walking would work out great -- and be more muscle-friendly! Another thing is to change your routine at least slightly so that your body doesn't get too accustomed to the same muscular behavior.....shaking things up sort of keeps your body on it's toes and you continue to reap the benefits of your hard work with less risk of plateauing.

I'll be interested to hear about more about your routine, and just get to know you better! Welcome -- and feel free to give a holler if you feel that I can help in any way!

Best of everything,

Your Sister in Bows......Sarah

Hi Sarah

I really enjoy our Bowflex. We don't have the lat bar or leg extension but I think I may look into buying both. Starting Monday I'm going to be switching to working out 3 days a week on it, a 3 day split (see, here's me using the lingo!). Working on what Meg suggested and a workout I found in the Bowflex book I'm going to do Chest and Shoulders on Day 1, Back and Arms on Day 2 and Legs and Trunk on Day 3. I visited the Krista Smash site, hilarious btw and found that a lot of her workouts aim towards using actual heavy weights as opposed to a home gym like the Bowflex. I can adapt some of those exercises should I choose to though and she does offer some good advice. I read the body building for beginners thread and must say, some of those links intimidated me even more. They go on about proper diet and and training, eep! Those sites feel to me like they are aimed at "serious" bodybuilders! I just see myself as a little chick who wants to get toned! I think my diet is good now, I'm eating between 1200 and 1600 cals a day, with emphasis on low fat and equal carb/protein ratio.

I'll let you know how I get on with my new regime Sarah and I hope that you continue to enjoy yours. If you find any good exercises on the Cross Bow, care to share with me? I think the Cross Bow and Bowflex are very similar in build, if I find anything that works super well for me, I'll let you know .