Help Needed

Hi. Could someone please give me any tips on how to lose weight/tone up bum/hips/stomach? What exercises do you recommend and for how long? Will they work? When should I expect to see results? I currently go on the cross trainer for 30 minutes 5 days a week.

To tone up, would I have to do circuit training or weightlifting? I'm not really into that and hate the thought of going to the gym. Is is possible to just do cardio i.e. cross training/walking and a few other exercises such as squats etc to lose weight?

I need to lose at least 50lbs before Christmas. How can I achieve this? Could someone please pm me or reply with a workout/diet programme which they use and which has been effective for them? I would be most grateful. Thank you x
 
depending on your weight and height id say 50lbs might be a lil too much .. to loose by xmas.. but not sure..

i do cardio.... and lots of it .. maybe justin is the best person to answer this as he knows what hes talking about more x
 
Woah, yes. 50lbs by Christmas is far too aggressive - so much so that it's likely unachieveable, let alone dangerous.

To tone those areas without going to the gym I'd suggest you get an exercise ball - sometimes sold as pilates balls, wellness balls, etc. Ensure that you get one which can take your weight - the last thing you want to do is end up on your face because the plug's popped out :)

Most such balls come with a small leaflet or booklet of exercises you can use them for. If yours doesn't, check Amazon, YouTube (there are lots of handy YouTube videos of ball exercises) or Google. Here's one that a quick search picked up which looks quite good: Core Exercises on the Ball - Use an exercise ball for core strength

Squats are great for building and toning leg muscles, especially if you're a little large to begin with (saves on buying additional weights - I can leg press over 20st! :D), but they're hardly the best exercise for shedding weight. For that you might want to start building your daily crosstraining up to an hour a day, or increase the level at which you work. If your heartrate is below 110 or above 130 bpm then you aren't doing the right amount of work to lose weight. Below 110 is great for building stamina, and above 130 is good for building muscle strength and speed, but that 110-130 is the sweet spot for burning calories. If you can't measure your heartrate at present, get yourself a heartrate monitor. You might find you've been working at the wrong pace.

Best of luck!
 
If your heartrate is below 110 or above 130 bpm then you aren't doing the right amount of work to lose weight. Below 110 is great for building stamina, and above 130 is good for building muscle strength and speed, but that 110-130 is the sweet spot for burning calories


The 'Fat Burning Zone' is a misguided approach to weight loss that is simply untrue. It is not the most effective method of burning fat. Its true that a higher percentage of fat calories will be burned over carbohydrate or protein calories, but far, far less calories will be burned overall compared to exercising at a higher heart rate.

CrazyBrit, I'd recommend you read some of the posts I've written regarding fat loss and exercise, as I am personal trainer who specializes in this area.
 
I've helped Clairelouise in a more recent post, where I also advised her to read up on some of the posts I wrote which cover a lot of the info you need to burn the most fat in the quickest time.


Any exercise or movement will burn calories, even sitting down on the sofa, so if you advised people to do that you'd still be 'half-right' by that definition lol.


The advice I give is mainly focused at those who want to lose the most amount of fat safely, in the quickest time possible through exercise. Like i said the Fat Burning Zone, as well as probably 90% of what most people have been led to believe about the best ways of burning fat are outdated, or simply just myths.

However, the posts Ive written here for you should give you all the information you need to get started on a very efficeient fat-burning program.
 
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