good workouts for losing weight

[ribbit_zap]

After I stopped rowing I packed on a few pounds that I desperately want to get rid of. Are there any specific bike workouts that work especially well for losing weight? Unfortunantely I will probably be on the trainer for at least the next couple of weeks. I live in California where we get really whimpy winters compared to other parts of the country, but I have asthma that is REALLY sensitive to the cold and wind (and that is what we are getting...well cold for California :rolleyes: )

Any good suggestions for good trainer workouts for losing weight? Thanks!

[han-grrl]

For good lasting weight loss you need to combine good eating as well as exercise including cardio and possibly weights, depending on what you are training for. moving is better than not moving in the grand scheme of things, but how much you move really depends on your fitness level.

what are you doing right now?

you also need to think about your eating and drinking habits. you can exercise all you want but if you are eating cr@p you will just end up sabotaging your weight loss.

Smile

Han

[KSH]

For good lasting weight loss you need to combine good eating as well as exercise including cardio and possibly weights, depending on what you are training for. moving is better than not moving in the grand scheme of things, but how much you move really depends on your fitness level.

what are you doing right now?

you also need to think about your eating and drinking habits. you can exercise all you want but if you are eating cr@p you will just end up sabotaging your weight loss.

Smile

Han

I would like to "ditto" what she said!

During the summer I was riding an average of 100-130 miles a week. After I would ride my 40-60 miles on a Saturday, I was starving, so I would stop by Taco Bueno and load up on crap.

I was also swimming, along with the cycling.

I figured I was doing enough cardio to allow me to eat out at lunch during the week (only 2 days a week), and to eat out all weekend long.

WRONG!

I gained 10 pounds over the summer. Even with all of that exercise.

Now, I follow a diet of 1800-2200 calories a day and I eat every 2-3 hours.

I run 8-10 miles a week, swim 2500 yards a week (one workout), go to spin classes, and get on my bike on the weekend. I eat out only a couple of times of week, and that's it.

Doing this has helped me maintain my weight loss. To lose weight, I had to eat 1600-1800 calories a day.

It's all about what you are eating... and drinking. Exercise will allow you to eat and drink more, but that alone won't help you lose weight.

Good luck!

[Bad JuJu]

It's all about what you are eating... and drinking. Exercise will allow you to eat and drink more, but that alone won't help you lose weight.
Good luck!
Rats! I was afraid of that. I was wondering why my weekly mileage of 50-60 miles wasn't making any difference in my weight. Guess I've gotta start eating right too--double rats. :mad: :mad: *sigh*

[Offthegrid]

I'll second the weights. I've lost 35 lbs. since Oct. 1, and I always notice the weight is hesitant to come off until after a good weight lifting session. Of course, this is based on absolutely nothing scientific.

But in any case, as others cautioned, don't be lulled into thinking that because you worked out a lot, that you can eat what you want. People vastly overestimate the calories they burn during exercise.

[RedCanny]

I'll chime in here on the eating-right thread. I lost 20 lbs last year, and one of the keys to it was decreasing my caloric intake- and to do that I recorded all my calories eaten and burned. My gross caloric intake was similar to KSH's: around 1600 to lose weight, and now around 2000 to maintain it. I learned a lot about portions and the nutritional values of different foods, by doing this.

The other key was to keep my cardio work long and easy. i.e. I kept my heart rate around 125 or so, for at least 45 minutes, 6 days a week. This was hard to get used to, as I really enjoy hard cardio work. And I'm still stunned that I lost weight doing it.

Good luck!

[Eden]

To address your original question - I understand the best exercise for weight loss is actually fairly moderate, but steady exercise. Did you use heart rate zones for rowing? I'm not sure how different your cycling zones would be, but zone 2 is supposed to be good for weight loss - the thing is that at high levels of exercise you burn lots of carbs and less fats, at the slower, steady levels you burn more fats, resulting in more weight loss. The caveat - we are all very different with different metabolisms, so this is really really ballpark unless you go and have some sophisticated metabolic testing done.

[equus123]

After I stopped rowing I packed on a few pounds that I desperately want to get rid of. Are there any specific bike workouts that work especially well for losing weight? Unfortunantely I will probably be on the trainer for at least the next couple of weeks. I live in California where we get really whimpy winters compared to other parts of the country, but I have asthma that is REALLY sensitive to the cold and wind (and that is what we are getting...well cold for California :rolleyes: )

Any good suggestions for good trainer workouts for losing weight? Thanks!

To add to what's already been mentioned - If you're trying to lose weight, I assume you mean lose body fat. Is this correct? (hope so :p ) Okay...when getting a VO2max text done, one of the graphs that prints out after the test is the measure of your heart rate plotted against energy stores (i.e. fat and carbohydrate stores in your body and muscles).

Switching gears. You hear everywhere that the "best cardio exercises" (i.e. running, spinning, stairmaster, etc.) are done at low to moderate intensities. Why? Because on a scale of low to maximum intensity efforts, the body uses fat as the primary energy source at lower intensities. High intensity efforts use primarily carbohydrates as the energy source. So it makes sense that a low to moderate effort is the best "fat burning" exercise program to use to "lose weight" and drop body fat. As an example, my max HR is 202 bpm. On the graph printout from my VO2max test, it showed that 153 bpm is the heart rate at which my body burns the highest amount of fat, right before it starts switching over to carbohydrates. 153 bpm is considered a 'Zone 3' (or 'Tempo') effort. Does this make sense?

That's the technical understanding behind *how* to lose the most body fat/weight. I find that without understanding a concept, its impossible to implement it the correct way. Now for you - do whatever the heck you want and as long as you can get your heart rate to average a Zone 3 effort or to keep your heart rate in this range then you'll be burning the most amount of fat per intensity. I know that people also suggest spinning at a higher cadence (90-100 rpms) when you ride. This may mean that you use easier gearing but that's okay because instead of relying more on your muscles to produce power, you rely on your aerobic system to spin the pedals.

Hope this helps.

[han-grrl]

All three energy systems "happen" when you are doing exercise, that is fat burning, carb burning both aerobic and anaerobic. Which is doing "more" at any given time depends on intensity.

One of the reason the low intensity workouts or "fat burning" zones is actually useful for me and my clients, because it keeps then from feeling like failures. most studies have pretty much shown that if you have a short time to workout and do race pace type intensities, you can burn as many calories or even more than the lower intensities. BUT most people don't have the fitness for those hard workouts. So they might try on, and puke or feel horrible, and then quit. So thats when you introduce periodization, and working up to those types of workouts.

Don't worry about the number of calories from the total activity. the right workout is the one you will do. whether its running, or biking or a cardio class. the right time of day, again is the one that suits you. if you prefer mornings, great, afternoons are good too. no point in forcing yourself to do a workout and hate it. which will actually release more stress hormones and actualy prevent weight loss. your exercise shouldn't be work at all. it should be PLAY :)

Smile

han

[LBTC]

Thank you, Han! I love your response

The other girls have been dead on right about eating the right foods, but the cardio facts they cite have not worked that well for me.

In my various stages of fitness and activity over the years, I found that I had the best fat loss, the kind of fat loss that allows those pretty and strong muscles to show more easily on my frame, and the best loss of belly fat, from doing as many high intensity exercises as possible. At my fittest this was 2-3 one hour kickboxing classes a week, plus several mountain bike rides (if you only road cycle, think of mtb rides as being somewhat equivalent to doing high intensity intervals with unpredictable recovery times), plus walking to work and back about 1/2 hour every day, plus one lower intensity longer ride....it was a lot to fit in, but if I dropped anything because of time it was always the lower intensity workouts. If I weren't doing kickboxing, which has a high strength component, I would do a weight workout. Pushing your muscles does keep your metabolism high, your energy high, and burns more of those calories you eat.

Spinning on the trainer, I'd recommend working up to doing serious interval training. If you have limited time, this is also the best bang for your time....

As Han-girl said, though, if you don't love it - you won't do it. For instance, the only way that I really enjoy weights, is to use free weights, to multiple exercises at one time (i.e. walking lunges while doing shoulder raises), and changing it all the time. If it isn't complicated, I probably won't do it.... And I do hate sitting on the bike and spinning, but these days I have limited time and I'm trying to take a correspondence course. If I sit down to read the text, I fall asleep in 10 minutes, so, instead, I read while spinning. Not as intense as I like, but I do this on the recovery days from the new kickboxing classes. Works for me, because it gives me the time to do both things at once, and I don't fall asleep!!

Everyone is different. Go with what works best for you. Use the ideas we give you at your own discretion. And most of all have fun!!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[han-grrl]

Hi T

I always read while spinning too, it definitely makes the time go a little faster when i am scheduled to do a steady ride.

[annie]

Hi T

I always read while spinning too, it definitely makes the time go a little faster when i am scheduled to do a steady ride.


Do you have some sort of a stand to hold your book when you read?

annie

[han-grrl]

i just hold the book in my hands and lean on the handle bar or occasionally sit up

[ribbit_zap]

Wow ladies! Thank you so much for all your imput. I do lift weights, only problem is that I am used to lifting lots of weights...I put on bulk muscle really easily so I have to watch how much I use. All of your comments make sense and I really appreciate you all responding. I will definitely use all of your suggestions. To answer some of the questions...we never used heart rates in rowing because our coach thought that too much emphasis on heart rates was a bad thing when rowing. I am not sure what my fat burning heart rate is, but I will look into it. I have found in the past that lifting weights does help the weight come off (especially if you are sore) because you continue to burn calories as your muscles repair. Do you guys generally lift lighter weights for more reps or something to that effect? This transition from rowing to cycling is a little tough for me because of different target muscles and workout styles. Thank you so much for all your responses and all your help!!! It is greatly appreciated!!! :)

[LBTC]

Annie, usually I hold the book and sit upright. The Law text book is pretty heavy so it's kind of an upper body workout too. :) I did find that my yoga mat laid across the handlebar is a great bookstand, too.

As for the weight lifting questions, I'm certainly not trained in weight lifting, or anything, really, but I've tried lots of things over the years, so I'll still comment.

The general rule of thumb that I've learned is that light weight with lots of reps works on endurance and lean muscle, that medium weight and medium reps works on strength, and very high weights and very few reps works on power. I've done workouts that are pyramids - one set of each with each exercise, workouts that combine weights and cardio - ride the bike between exercises, etc, workouts with lots of reps and lowish weights. The most interesting thing from all of those different things is that I think my muscles learned from each experience and, even without continuing the same routine, my muscles seem to remember. The power workout was most interesting - I did it for only a few months in an effort to increase my explosive power on the bike. It did not lean me out at all but did improve my mtb climbing tremendously. When I switched out my routine to less weights, and sometimes no weights (I go through lazy and busy phases like everyone else), that power for climbing is still there, and the bulk I seemed had gained at the time did go away with other routines.

For best calorie burn, I've read that working out the biggest muscles groups - your legs and butt - is the trick. Lunges, walking lunges, all the different squats, one legged squats, sissy squats, etc. I always prefer upper body workout because I see the results so quickly, but I remind myself of the whole butt and hips thing and try to include it....

Anyway, hangirl is trained in this stuff, so I think she can probably tell you way more.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[han-grrl]

in general, yes higher reps lighter weight works on endurance, but too many ladies seem pre-occupied with that rep range. its very importants, especially was we get older to work the heavier weights and few reps (like 10-12 reps). this WILL NOT bulk you up, but will work on some muscle mass. there are different types of muscle fibers and each one needs to get a chance to do some work. this has helped with injury prevention in the long term.

i have heard from women that they feel they bulk up, from what i have seen, most of the time it has to do with eating. ie, they aren't exactly bulking muscle, but fat. or alternatively building muscle before the fat comes off, but the fat WILL come off. you can't control how your body responds.

smile

Han

[Bad JuJu]

its very importants, especially was we get older to work the heavier weights and few reps (like 10-12 reps).
I've read somewhere that it's using the heavier weights that really helps prevent osteoporosis. Anybody know anything about that?

[equus123]

could be because lower reps = heavier weight = increased muscle mass.

increased muscle mass = increased bone growth and regeneration.

increased bone regeneration = reduced risks of osteroporosis?

Well that's MY logic :cool: :D

[GLC1968]

I've read somewhere that it's using the heavier weights that really helps prevent osteoporosis. Anybody know anything about that?

Any weight-bearing activity will improve bone density...improved bone density means greater risk prevention from osteoporosis. Lifting heavy, hiking/backpacking, running, tennis, boxing, etc... would all qualify.

Unfortunately, cycling and swimming don't count as 'weight-bearing'! ;)

[li10up]

Good thread.

Higher intensity workouts are better than low for weight loss - unless you are unable to maintain a high intensity work out for very long. Here is a great article explaining this:
http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s1-4-88-278-4219-1,00.html
The gist of this article is: "It's true that the body burns a higher percentage of calories from fat during more mellow exercise like walking and easy cycling. But, when you pick up the pace for a higher-intensity cardio workout, you burn a greater number of overall calories (which should be your focus for weight loss) and subsequently just as much total fat."

Also, building muscle allows the body to burn more calories, even at rest. When lifting weights you should "max out" the muscle. That means using a weight that you can only lift for 8-15 reps before the muscle is fatigued. This is what breaks down the muscle. Resting is how it repairs itself and therefore gets stronger. So it is very important not to lift on consecutive days. This will also allow you to spend less time in the gym - no more doing endless reps that really aren't doing much other than increasing muscle endurance....unless that is your goal. If weight loss is the goal then more weight, less reps. LBTC is correct - the larger the muscle group being used the more calories being burned. Be careful though...you don't want to start out lifting more than your connective tissue can handle. This could result in injury.

[Bad JuJu]

Definitely an informative thread!

Here's another question, since Li10up brought up not lifting on consecutive days. I've often heard that this rule doesn't apply to abs, but if not, why not? I mean, they're also muscles--don't they need the same kind of time to recuperate and strengthen?

[IFjane]

Definitely an informative thread!

Here's another question, since Li10up brought up not lifting on consecutive days. I've often heard that this rule doesn't apply to abs, but if not, why not? I mean, they're also muscles--don't they need the same kind of time to recuperate and strengthen?


I have heard the same thing - is it because they are "core" muscles and therefore better able to recover? Or is it a myth that they can be worked on consecutive days?

[Veronica]

I'd like to be disciplined enough to work Core every day. But my two or three times a week leaves me too sore to do it every day!

V.

[GLC1968]

Definitely an informative thread!

Here's another question, since Li10up brought up not lifting on consecutive days. I've often heard that this rule doesn't apply to abs, but if not, why not? I mean, they're also muscles--don't they need the same kind of time to recuperate and strengthen?

I think the theory is that the muscles are relatively small and not normally worked with weights, so daily is ok. It's a bit dependent on the person and the workout. If you do heavy-duty 45 minute core busting workouts, then no, you shouldn't do them every day. But if you do a few lower core exercises one day, and then mid-core the next and then upper on day three...that's fine. Rest days are necessary because your muscles need time to rebuild and recover. Since no one wants to gain size in their core (or most people, anyway) then you don't need quite the length of recovery periods recommended for other muscle groups.

[han-grrl]

Depending on what core workouts you are doing, i dont recommend doing abs every day. If you are doing some basic things like kegel, or standing on one leg and some other very light postural work, those can be done daily, because you are trying to get muscles to fire. but stuff like pilates and tougher ball work should be done every other day as those will definitely challenge your muscles much more.

having had all my abs now cut through from my surgery, and as i am sure anyone here who has a c-section can also agree, abs are incredibly important from simple movements like bicep curls to big movements like squats. if your abs are too fatigued from a hard workout, they can't engage properly and you can injure yourself when doing something non ab related.

[Tuckervill]

Timely thread. I'm attending a lifetime fitness class through the community college. The orientation given by the instructor was definitely NOT tailored to the 45 and over set. So I found his encouragement to do 3 sets of 25 reps on an inclined sit up board a little over the top.

But this is what I did. I did two sets of 12 repetitions on all the muscles that I know need work (I didn't do any quads, for instance, because I know my quads are strong and my hams are weak). I used the weight I thought I could lift for all the reps, and I was able to lift it and I didn't get to muscle failure. I was not sore at all the next day.

So the next work out 48 hours later, I decided to see what my threshold is for soreness, and I upped all the weights just by one increment. Did the same muscles, same sets same reps. I didn't reach muscle failure, but had trouble completing the sets on SOME muscles.

I am sore as hell in my upper body, shoulders, biceps. I go again in the morning.

If I'm going to lift more weight, to really tax my muscles, I'm going to need more than 48 hours to recover in between! Or should I just go back down so I won't be sore?

My goal for fitness is to never do anything so intense that I'm hurt or hate it, so I will never have a reason to skip it. But why bother if too little weight is not helping?

Any advice?

Karen

[LBTC]

Tuckervill

Some post workout strategies to reduce your muscle soreness:

drink tons of water

take calcium/magnesium/zinc (up to 1000mg) the night after the workout

after the workout stretch stretch stretch. stretch the muscles you worked the hardest, and make the stretches very gentle, but hold them from 30 seconds up to several minutes. the bigger and the more you've worked the muscle, the longer you should go

eat an excellent recovery food - potato with veggies, and some protein worked best for me. I found I need quick carbs, but needed some protein at the same time.



From my experience, a very strenuous workout (back to back glute focussed kickboxing classes is my experience that comes to mind), will really really hurt the muscle groups on day 2 after the workout. My best muscle recovery was doing a very long, not intense road ride the day after the heavy work. Lots of spin and keep the muscles moving. I think it may be because the exercise promotes so much blood flow, while not straining the muscles further.

I bet the other girls have some great ideas for recovery, too!

Now, if you need 2 recovery days anyway, even with good recovery strategies, you should take them. Your body needs to be your guide, and you need to respect its need for rest and recovery as much as its need for exercise and food!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[GLC1968]

LBTC's recovery advice is good! I agree that after a TOUGH workout, the soreness doesn't strike me until the second day after as well. This means that you were hit with your soreness from the first workout right about the time your muscles are trying to recover from the second one! I found that as my body got accustomed to weight training (after long periods off), that the soreness hit sooner (and therefore also went away sooner).

It won't be long before 48 hours is plenty of recovery time (assuming you are fueling correctly). The first few workouts are always the hardest to recover from!! Hang in there!

[han-grrl]

DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness is usually at its peak almost 48 hours after a tough workout. rest is needed when you are sore because you are causing micro-tears in the muscle during weight lifting. without rest the muscles can't heal. a kind of gross way of thinking about it is think about a scab, if you keep picking, what happens, it bleeds and never heals. During the healing process, the muscles thinks "hmm, she really put some good stress on me, i will make myself more efficient so i am ready for her next time"...so maybe in a few more workouts, the weight will seem easier, thats when progressive over load kicks in, you need to keep challenging the muscles so that they continually improve. during the active season, you might maintain the same weight to keep what you have, you don't want to be too sore to ride...

rest or active recovery, meaning light exercise such as yoga, or walking, can help with soreness. also stretching post exercise (not before) will help with maintaining mobility.

Some recommendations for very heavy lifting would be 3-4 days rest.

icing can also help reduce inflammation, no ice directly on skin, wrap in towel, watch for giving your self frost bite. this would be done within 24 hours of the workout, after 48 hours, icing can't do much.

and as i can attest to...WATCH OUR FOR IBUPROFEN!!! DO NOT rely on that stuff...you can read my other post on my ulcer on that one.

and as you can see, i am still stuck at home and babbling away :)

Smile!

Han

[Tuckervill]

Hey, thanks for the advice!

I worked out today, and went back to the original weight that I started with. I'm still feeling sore, but it's getting better. I have been doing PT exercises for my shoulder (car accident), but the gym didn't have any weights smaller than 5 lbs, so I used those. That could be the contributing problem, too. Today I did not use any weights for those exercises. I also think at least one machine is slightly too big for me (I'm 5'4"), and it is causing poor form. I will find an alternative to that machine.

It did occur to me today that the soreness might have been from the first work-out, but I really did not feel bad after it, and I didn't FEEL like I worked too hard.

I may not be eating well enough, because I do feel more hungry more often now. I am trying to cut calories. Although the diet plan I am on suggests 1200-1500, I already knew that would be too low, so I'm aiming for the 1700 range and give myself all the way to 2000 on some days, just to make sure I'm building good habits. Maybe I should allow more calories on work out days. Today I did 45 minutes on the treadmill rather than 30, and I am always hungry afterwards, even though I ate breakfast about an hour before!

So thanks! I will continue to study this.

Karen

[equus123]

:) :)

[han-grrl]

I hear a lot of clients complain that they eat breakfast and find themselves still hungry soon after.

usually its because there wasn't enough breakfast, personally i aim to have a little carb, a little protein and a little fat with each meal including breakfast. this made a huge difference in my hunger, because i was balancing things out with the macro-nutrients.

Nancy clark in her book recommends 500 calorie breakfasts. i think this might depend on the person.

[Veronica]

I eat about a 500 calorie breakfast - yogurt and cereal. My favorite yogurt company went to smaller packaging - used to be 8 ounces and now it's 6. I tried that one day this week. I was starving when school started. Fortunately I came prepared with two snacks instead of one. I get grumpy when I'm hungry. My students don't need me grumpy.

Now I eat 1 and a half yogurts.

Still I'm hungry about every three hours.

I don't know how you ladies eating less than 1500 caloriues do it. I'd be gnawing my fingernails. Metabolism, I guess. I am not a little person, with a fair amount of muscle so maybe I just need more. BTW my weight is stable and I like where it's it for the most part. Less is always good for climbing... but whatever. :D

V.

[Tuckervill]

I only get hungry after breakfast if I was on the treadmill immediately after.

I usually eat a healthy breakfast--oatmeal with walnuts (omega-3) and raisins (iron). It lasts me a few good hours, and I always have a snack (fruit or something) mid-morning so I won't be ravenous at lunch.

Today, I left for the gym early because we are expecting a snow storm, so I went through McD's and got an egg mcmuffin without the egg. (Hate "formed" eggs. eww.) I was ravenous after the treadmill, but worked through it on the machines. Got home about 10:30. Ate a Nature Valley bar and an orange, and by noon I was ravenous again. Not getting enough calories, I think. After a ham and cheese, I felt much better.

I'm hungry after the treadmill with my oatmeal breakfast, too. But I can ride 10-15 miles after oatmeal with no ill effects. I think it's the weight lifting that's wearing me out. I've been in bed all afternoon. May be a cold coming on, too.

Should be a restful weekend, if the predicted snow materializes! :)

Karen

[LBTC]

Tuck, my initial thought is you're not getting protein each time you eat....protein helps your full feeling last longer.

Sometimes I keep boiled eggs handy in the fridge. Straight protein, good with some fresh veggies for a snack. (well, okay, that was before Crohn's One day I'll know what I can and can not eat again!)

Good luck, girl. You've got to make sure you aren't too hungry so that you can keep going!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[kelownagirl]

I've been eating more protein and feeling fuller. Most days I have 1/2 cup cottage cheese as a mid-morning snack. Or plain non fat yogurt with 1/2 cup blueberries. I'm not as hungry now.

[CommuterChick]

I know eating the same thing all the time isn't wise, but this is what works for me -- a 1 egg + 2 egg whites scrambled, then something on the side, like tomato slices, or apple wedges and a T of peanut butter. I'll separate the eggs the night before (I'm messy), put all 3 in a plastic container with a lid, then in the morning just shake et voila! scrambled eggs, ready to pour in the pan. I may not eat lunch til 1 or 2, so I'm usually armed with a bag of plain almonds and a cheese stick for the mid-morning grumps. Granted, my commute is just a 7 mile ride, but my 3-eggs-light plus a side has always carried me through.

Waiting for the snow to melt from the bike lanes in Colorado.......