Hi! I'm new, need advice...

[Transforme]

Hello all! I was hoping someone can give me some advice on an exercise routine. I know there is some info that you will need:

I am 29 years old
I am 5'5
I weigh 138 lbs
I do not know how much body fat

What am I trying to accomplish?...

My main concern is my tush. I have a very flat butt. And I seem to be gaining fat around my belly. I did increase my calorie intake because I was very skinny and scrawny looking. But all the fat went to the wrong places. Above my hip bones, potbelly, I still have somewhat of a waist curve but from the back my rear looks square and flat. From the side it looks like there’s more of a curve on my belly than my butt!

My current training & cardio schedule:

I need one

My current meal plan:

Working on it with the links in this forum

About squats……(because I’m sure somebody will recommend them)

I read that squatting with heavy weight will over develop the "gluteus medius" (hope I got that right) and just make me look more square. And that it widens your lower back and waist!! Anybody care to give your thoughts on this? I really like the way Debbie Kruck looks, anybody seen her? I found a pic of her while looking for exercises for myself, and found this thing about the squats. Now, I haven’t seen what she looks like standing straight in front of the camera, but I’ve seen a lot of fitness models don’t have hips. That’s the only thing that I wouldn’t like, but It’s better than having a flat butt!

Any advice is much appreciated. To squat, or not to squat. And any other exercises that you think will help me out.

Thanks!

 

[Sassy69]

Hey T! Welcome to EF! Definitely if you can get your bodyfat measured at your gym or wherever.

Can you list what is your typical day's meal plan? Its even more useful if you can put it into a food counts program like www.fitday.com - even just once so you have an idea of where you are now -- the important details are the total calories as well as the ratios of protein , fats & carbs that you are eating.

As far as squatting or not squatting and all that - I think the important thing is first to just get a good basic diet & training program in place. Lots of people get really obsessed about only certain parts of their bodies and only want "what exercises to cut up my legs" or whatever -- its more important to have a good all-around program so you aren't overtraining one body part & neglecting others, and just the overall development & progress of your body. Also to get to those extremes "square ass" etc all requires heavy heavy heavy lifting over long periods of time. The point is to start w/ a good foundatiion program and adjust it as you go. If you've never lifted before, you certainly aren't going to get to those extremes. Just start lifting, work on tight, correct form, work on building your strength - you won't be starting heavy - start w/ what is appropriate for you. This also means don't start silly light either. But always make sure your form is tight & correct and then increase your weights at an appropriate rate as you can. With that and diet you will never need to worry about getting a shape you dont' want. That's why you always watch your progress and always change up your diet & trainign for what you want to do. Variety of exercises, appropriate recovery time, etc.

A final note about most competitors you see, especially pros, these are girls who have been lifting & dieting for years and also specifically dieting & training for a particular look for competition. The "competition look" is not something they maintain all year round -- there's always a rebound from the extreme nature of short-term competition prep and then "off season". And the reality is that most of the top level competitors that we all idolize are most likely not "natural" - they've used steroids and other compounds to help get to that "look".

I think a great program to start w/ is the Shadow Project - several of the girls have used it successfully to transform their bodies to their goals. There is a sticky for it at the top of the board and a lot more info in the sticky "Are you new to EF Women's Board - START HERE!"

 

[Transforme]

Hi, thanks for responding. I don't go to a gym, but can this be checked at the doc's office? (Bodyfat). As far as my typical day's meal, most morning's when I wake up the kid's at 6:30 a.m., I'll have a bowl of cereal with whole milk. Cereal's like fruit loops, toast crunch etc. Then about 8:30 a.m. I will eat again. Mostly something with eggs. (Potatoes & eggs, tortilla's & eggs, poached eggs), lunch is either: frito pie, spam w/macaroni, hamburger & fries, peanut butter & jelly sandwich, frozen pizzas. Then dinner is always a 3 course with poultry, or beef. At least one vegetable, usually canned corn. And rice, or beans. Beverages are either coke, or whole milk. I can never clean my plate, but I know the type of foods I'm eating might not be ideal, LOL! I don't know "squat" about meal planning...

I was really hoping to find a routine I could do at home. I need to know what type of weights to buy though. Machines/free weights/both. And how many reps/sets etc to start with. Also, what do you think is an appropriate recovery time? I've read one week. Then the same day on another website says to train every other day.

About the fitness models - I may have come across as rude regarding the way I described their look. Don't mean to be, and I certainly don't think they look bad. Being a square ass looks bad! Haha!

I will head on over to the Shadow Project, thanks!

 

[takniteasy]

Hi, thanks for responding. I don't go to a gym, but can this be checked at the doc's office? (Bodyfat). As far as my typical day's meal, most morning's when I wake up the kid's at 6:30 a.m., I'll have a bowl of cereal with whole milk. Cereal's like fruit loops, toast crunch etc. Then about 8:30 a.m. I will eat again. Mostly something with eggs. (Potatoes & eggs, tortilla's & eggs, poached eggs), lunch is either: frito pie, spam w/macaroni, hamburger & fries, peanut butter & jelly sandwich, frozen pizzas. Then dinner is always a 3 course with poultry, or beef. At least one vegetable, usually canned corn. And rice, or beans. Beverages are either coke, or whole milk. I can never clean my plate, but I know the type of foods I'm eating might not be ideal, LOL! I don't know "squat" about meal planning...

I was really hoping to find a routine I could do at home. I need to know what type of weights to buy though. Machines/free weights/both. And how many reps/sets etc to start with. Also, what do you think is an appropriate recovery time? I've read one week. Then the same day on another website says to train every other day.

About the fitness models - I may have come across as rude regarding the way I described their look. Don't mean to be, and I certainly don't think they look bad. Being a square ass looks bad! Haha!

I will head on over to the Shadow Project, thanks!

Oh, hun. Someone is going to jump on this one. But it won't be me. I will suggest along with Shadow's Project, take a peek at "Links to Top Threads". I think you will find the info on foods list and eating plans to be eye opening at the very least.

There is a website mentioned in one of the stickies that has ideas and suggestions for improvising workouts at home with everyday household items and your own bodyweight.

Welcome to EF!

 

[Sassy69]

Yep, definitely time to completely overhaul your diet. That's what is killing you right there. Nothing but sugar & preservatives. Honestly I'd suggest you expand any suggestions here to your whole family - I dont' know anythign about your kids but if I pictured them based on that diet I see sugar-loaded tubby kids w/ bad teeth. Please no offense - its just really time to clean it up.

I'm a really big fan of the BODY FOR LIFE book by Bill Philips -- its a fantastic intro to the fundamentals of nutrition & training and you might find it really helpful in just getting a good foundation of "how it all works" - its not really rocket science, but w/ the way we are presented w/ packaged fad diets, prepared foods, fast food and all the other shit available, the basics are just lost and replaced w/ myths about what is healthy & what isn't. Also w/ BODY FOR LIFE - they have a women's version out now too, but IMO either book is good. The women's one they just put a few spins on the original to target for women. Also the guy who wrote it owns EAS Nutrition - a supplement company - and he promotes the crap out of his products - the protein bars, etc. You don't need to use these in teh diet - the biggest thing I like is that it lays out "how" nutrition works, how your body works and then gives guidelines and lists of foods vs. just a static meal plan that you may or may not like. The whole point of a healthy diet is to make it not a "diet" that you "do" for a set period of time, but rather it becomes your lifestyle - you enjoy the foods, they aren't expensive or hard to get your kids or you to eat. Mostly you are just replacing all the processed, empty calorie food you listed w/ real stuff.

The value of this as a start - you will just feel better in general. When you throw all sorts of processed crap into your body, your body will not run efficiently - it is looking for the nutrients it needs to run, and you can literally nutritionally starve yourself even if you eat 5000 calories of shit / day. In the "Are you new to EF Women's Board - START HERE" sticky I have an analogy between your body & a high performance car that helps to illustrate that.

For home exercises -- check the Top Threads sticky for ideas. For starters you can probably do very well some basic eqpt:

- a fit ball
- resistance bands
- barbell - or just a broomstick -- this can be used w/the resistance bands for squats and stuff like that.
- dumbbells - 5 lb, 10 lb, 15 lb to start. You can also use the resistance bands with the DBs to increase the resistance above 15 lb. Then pick up more DBs as needed.

You can also do cardio, lunges, step ups and stuff like that. Plyometrics are great as well.

 

[jenscats5]

Yup - what Sassy said.........your workout you can do wherever.....but what you eat is 80% of your results.....it may be hard to stick with at times, but a clean natural way of eating is best for your body & health - LEAN proteins, whole grains & fresh fruits & veggies.....all that boxed stuff is literally CRAP - stop eating it!! And stop your family from eating it....