For those who like T-Mag have you checked out Muscle with Attitude - the sister site. It's for women specifically & they usually have some pretty good articles & I love the motivational quote they have each week.

Here is an article about fat loss I think is fairly on topic: http://www.musclewithattitude.com/re....do?id=1881918

Elissa- double cardio is really saved for getting under 14 % for most competitors. CLEAN EATING, heavy lifting and reasonable cardio will really make the difference for those of use who want some definition but not those unsustainable body fat numbers. No one stays at those single digits for longer than it takes to get there, get on stage, have a photo shoot, and then head for the buffet table and a week of painful bloating

Shoulders and slow cardio done this morning. I pulled an ab and back muscle and moving at all was pretty painful. A slow elliptical session and a hot shower helped me get mobile this morning.

Mel

What is 'double cardio'? Is that different to 'twice as much cardio'?

Point taken Mel. I should stop eating so much and start doing more exercise. <sighs> Why does it always, always, always come back to that? I don't know what I was thinking you might tell me, now that I think about it. FWIW, I don't want to look anything like a fitness competitor. I want to look like a lean and healthy girl who watches what she eats and exercises properly and regularly.

Lifeguard, tragically, I started lifting weights in earnest last June, so my body has already done the early fat loss and adaptation bit. I've also found that TN website to be helpful--there are lots of good articles on there. But does anyone other than me find the site just a wee bit misogynistic? Even the sister site is covered with pictures of highly objectified/sexualized women. The info is nice, but I could really live without the gratuitous cleavage shots...

Uhm. Yeah, I do. I feel so slimy after accessing one of these sites for information but in the interest of information I try to ignore it while i'm reading. However, I'm certainly not going to be accessing it while in my local coffeeshop.

Ya know, (here comes rant) it is difficult enough to encourage women to lift, to truly seek and embrace fitness beyond "toning" without having to sift through these kinds of images. I know, there are many other sites that offer great information that are much more respectable toward the human body, male and female, and I frequent them too. It just frustrates me because I am afraid that it perpetuates a stereotype of the reasons why people may lift. Trust me, I look nothing like these women but still have every right to a fit and healthy body/lifestyle.

Be that as it may, thanks Lifeguard for the link. I'm always interested in learning more where I can.

Lydia, I think the problem is that this is one of the few sites where you can get good, serious info about weight lifting (for women). But, they seem to assume that if you are serious about moving weight, you must also wish to be every-man's fantasy. I actually don't get it. Isn't lifting weights and being strong and being independent and tough the OPPOSITE of defining yourself in terms of male desire? Argh. I just don't like it, and I feel skeezy whenever I read an article on either of those sites. It just isn't right. Being a strong man doesn't mean being a misogynist. Being a strong woman isn't about conforming to male desire.

I'm soooo glad I'm not the only one. I try to ignore the pics & read the articles 'cause they really do have some valuable information. I have longed wondered why so many of the women who train so hard to have an awesome body & be strong & healthy feel compelled to have such sexual photos done. Have you ever checked out the websites of any fitness competitors? These are websites set up by these women (or someone they hire) themselves & still all boobs & butts & posed so sexually. I don't get it?!

Me too. Lifting heavy does not mean I want or have DD implants!!! But I read them anyway, ignore the tone and the fatburner/hardgainer suplement ads.

Baf- I really don't think you are beyond muscle building as a way of lowering your body fat. I've been lifting for....gee, on and off since I was 20 back in the Pleistocene. I can still manage it when I change my lifting technique. I'm just at the point where maintenance is good, and much heavier have real negative effects on my joints. You are tall and NOT heavy. My guess is that you have long, lean muscles unlike my short bunchy ones. Neither of us can change that, but for you, a lower rep scheme at heavier weight would make sense. Isn't that the phase of NROLW that you are in now?

Mel

I remember seeing a show that followed a female fitness competitor from England. She had/has such a website. The reason for these images was to make money to support her lifting at the competition level. Because all of her efforts were focused upon her conditioning I don't think that she had employment outside of the website/photos. This may not be the case in all who compete but in some cases it may help to pay the bills while still allowing them the necessary time in the gym.

I saw those sites and I just tried to ignore the pictures.

Last night I did workout 1B. I liked it. My abs were still sore from Monday and they are still sore. I used my kettlebells for the workout. I do like the pullovers but I really need to get my rack so I can do lat pull downs. I'm a bit sore which is always good.

Oh also last night, I ate a tofu frittata after my workout and I had enough points left for something else. The choice was frozen yogurt or a bean burrito. I decided to make the bean burrito instead and was glad I did

Oh and today I am wearing a size M top that I bought the other day at Lord & Taylor (for $10!) It is the first of what I hope are many size M tops

Nelie, i was just going to ask you, and you answered it yourself. Have you seen a clothing size change, or even diff in how they fit, now that you've been doing this kettlebell routine for - what 3 to 4 months. I would think with as much as you report doing that you are starting to see some awesome results. Sounds like it's true.

Congrats Nelie! That's great news.

Mel, the stage I'm on now is 3x6, but lots of the exercises have to be done on both sides (so the 1 arm OH squats are actually done 12 times, with 6 reps for each arm). I'm building muscle still, I'm sure, and I'm definitely making strength gains, I just want to lose some fat. But you're all very correct: I know what I have to do for that.

This morning will be NRLW3B. That means 1 legged squats and YTWLs. And also prone jackknifes (which I skipped in stage 1, so I'm doing them for the first time). Fun, fun!

Baffled - those jackknifes are killer

Fran - I have noticed a difference but my eating was off for a while and I was in hiatus from kettlebells after my trip and it took me a while to get back to them. Although my weight right now is what it was in December, I actually fit in things now that I didn't fit in then

Alright, just to prove that I am not all talk and no action, I did 30, rather than 15 mins of HIIT after my workout today. That's 10 min warm up run + 45 mins weights + 30 mins HIIT. But by the end I was exhausted and starving. I probably need to eat more beforehand if I want to do more cardio at the end, but don't you run into a sort of diminishing returns situation here? Rather than having a 300 calorie breakfast, suddenly I need 500-600 and I'm STILL hungry. Hmmm. Tricky.

Nelie, my problem with those jackknives is that they are incredibly awkward. I had one of the yoga instructors from the gym show me how to do them the other day, but I'm pretty sure I'm still not doing them exactly right. But I did feel some action in the 'core' so I guess it was good for something.

Also, I HATE those YWTLs. What is up with that exercise?? I had to do them with 5lb dumbbells and I can't say that I completed each rep perfectly. How do you do those with new clients, Mel/Meg? Thank god my gym doesn't have the pink weights or I'd have been completely humiliated. Ego crushers indeed.

Hmmm, thanks for the, um, encouragement about YWTLs, Baff. They look easy..... As for the jacknives, someone had a link to a YouTube video and it helped. I'm off to a meeting or I'd look for it. Can't help you on the eating....

Hi LWL! Can I ask you a question?

I want to lift, but I'm finding it hard to - just do it. Maybe I'm lacking motivation or something, because I'd be doing this alone and I can't afford a personal trainer. Also, school and work keep me pretty busy usually so I don't always have as much time as I'd like.
I've been reading a lot about lifting, but knowledge alone isn't enough if I don't start doing it.

So my question is: has any of you started training / lifting alone? How did you find the motivation? How did you choose which exercises to do, how many reps and how often weekly? Any BTDT advice?

I'll read and watch some videos when I have time, then I'll get motivated and I'll go to the gym and work out once, maybe twice, but then something always happens - life gets in the way, I guess - a couple days go by and I lose motivation.
I'm not too strong in the self-discipline department, it seems.