Well this is what im doing right now and keep in mind im totally new to this so i would really appreciate any and all tips! I reaLLY need to work on my abs arms and thigh's but i know you can not train certain spot's of your body but im doing a aerobic (sp) workout for 20 minutes in the morning while my daughter sleeps and then i do 30 minutes on the treadmill at night when she goes to bed, I want to do some stregth training like crunches ect.. stuff for my arms with some 5lb weight's can i do all these on my ball? will i see result's if i do the strength one's every other night? should i be doing it more can I ? I really don't know what im doing and shouldn't be doing please help thanks a bunch! - kim

Glad I saw your post - I have the same concerns myself and have limited things to work with at home as of right now......I hope someone out there can help us!

there doesn't seem to be too many ppl out there huh? especially for those of us with questions.. Sometimes i feel like im talking to myself ( i probally am ) I know im crazy!

Hello!

Yes start weight lifting (sounds scary but it isn't) check out www.stumptuous.com and click on iron. There are some great exercises, tips and lots of stuff for newbies, don't get overwhelmed by the hardcore stuff

You might want to start out with 5lb dumbbells for some exercises, but you'll need heavier ones soon. You might also want to try the Ladies Who Lift forum on this board for more advice.

You can do weight exercises on a stability ball, it will work your core muscles into the bargain!

Your aerobics sounds good, but remember to take one whole day off a week to chill out and give your body a chance to heal and grow stronger.

Great advice THANK YOU!

You can train certain parts of your body, what you can't do is spot reduce. So if you want nice strong legs so you can run, walk and kick better, yes you can train them. If you want nice slender thighs so you can wear a purple skintight mini, then no, only diet and overall cardio will sort that out!

The ball is fabulous for abs and for doing dumbell type exercises, and for overall core training. There are stacks of resources out there to help, like dvd's, books and websites. This one is one a lot of us refer to over and over again
http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php

What you're doing already is great and you are managing your time really well. What your proposing, doing strength training every other day, is fabulous, as it's what I do!!!

The forums get busier at night (when I am asleep - I'm in England!)

hahahaha snap frus!

Strength training is good for a bunch of reasons. You will firm up muscles and if you build muscle mass, your metabolism will increase. Also, a pound of muscle is a lot smaller than a pound of fat.

Everything I've seen indicates that you should rest your body 48 hours or more between training sessions. So, if you want to do strength training every day, divide it up between legs & arms -- legs one day, arms the next, then legs again, etc...

You can do a lot with just dumbbells and a bench. When I got into strength training, I did a lot of reading -- some of the books I especially liked were Strong Women Stay Slim, Body For Life, and Weight Training for Dummies.

Good luck!

great advice everyone...

another thing you may consider is interval training--alternating intense cardio with toning exercises. It works great for me because it lets me catch my breath during the strength sessions.

Doing strength-training every other night should definitely be enough to produce results in a few weeks by the way (at the very least, exerting less effort into the same set of exercises because your muscles are stronger---and time to either do more reps or increase intensity.)

this is pretty much what i do...and even on weights days i run 1 mile before and after. i do this every other day (ish) and then the other days i run, and 1day off from everything.

awesome advice thanks everyone just the answers i was looking for great!- kim

Thanks for posting about that site, stumptous.com. That is one cool site!

Nothing more to add to all the great advice you've received. Just wanted to say that I'm very impressed with your plan and your motivation. Best of luck to you, it's sounds like you'll do it!!

I second the thanks for posting the stumptuous address. What an amazing site!

Chickadee

Hey you guys...if you check the sticky threads at the top of both the Exercise and Ladies who Lift forums, you'll find a lot of useful links (including Krista Scott Dixon's Stumptous site) and info that will probably answer any questions you might have