Originally Posted by BabyYoYo

Arrrgh! I'm one behind you!!!

Sorry, so anyway about my training; 3-4 times a week. Normally Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Start off each session with a 1000m warm up row followed by warm up stretches.

I always do cardio first which on any given day will normally consist of a 45 min combination of either:

Treadmill & Bike
Cross Trainer & Stepper
Cross Trainer & Bike

(A cartilidge problem in my knee doesnt allow too much high impact exercise)

I then take to the mats and do 180 crunches and 50 back raises from the floor to strengthen lower back and abs.

After this comes the resistance.

Arms:
Lat pulldowns: 3 sets @ 28/35 kg 10 reps
1 Arm rows: 3 sets 8kg 10 reps
Chest press using free weights: 3 sets 16 kg 16reps
Shoulder press using free weights: 3 sets 12 kg 10 reps

Legs:
Dumbell Squats: 3 sets with 16kg 15 reps
Lunges with dumbells: 3 sets with 16 kg 15 reps
Leg extension 3 sets of each 10 reps @ 28/35 kg
Leg Curls 3 sets of 10 reps @ 28 kg
Cool down stretches

(At home I do 30 mins of Skipping combined with crunches and press ups on days I can't get to the gym and on Wednesdays I also do a 45 minute spinning class!!!!)

In reply to Hilly, I think my maintenance cals should be around 1400. Which is pretty much what I average, I'm quite careful with portion sizing and calorie control so thats not the issue. At the end of last year I was about 11st am now 10st through exercise and reduced calorie intake however, I cannot get below 10st. Even when I did an 8 day detox consisting of apple juice, bulk fibre and water! The weight is not the primary reason I'm here. The intention is a very lean, but not muscly figure with minimal fat!!

p.s I haven't tried the stack yet, after consideration it was my second choice but who knows, I'm here for advice and I'll take it all on board!
Kate x

Originally Posted by PIERCEDNIP

re your training - do you do the abovementioned session 3 times a week after 45 mins cardio?

Originally Posted by Bigger&Stronger

Hey,

Your training looks good (certainly better than most female athletes I've dealt with!) but could definitely use a few changes:

Have you used the same program for a while?

Do you change the rep ranges, sets, exercises often?

Are your weights progressing?

It's personal preference as to whether you do cardiovascular training before or after your resistance training but are you trying to improve your aerobic fitness as well? If so it might be more efficient to move it to a separate session or another time of the day so you can focus on getting the most out of your resistance training sessions.

Definitely heed Pscarb's advice, he's written some very informative articles on this site and from what I've seen posted seems very knowledgeable.

In my own experience definitely start logging your food intake (you can use a dieting website such as fitday to make things simple in planning your meals) it's the only real way (in my opinion - others may disagree) of seeing what aspects of your diet are halting your progress and you can make specific alterations much more easily.

Good luck with your training, I'm new as well, seems like a great community we've got here!

Originally Posted by Big_Dan

post a few pics up soo we know where u are , then we would have a better idea on what advice to give

and welcome to the board !

Originally Posted by Bigger&Stronger

Definitely heed Pscarb's advice, he's written some very informative articles on this site and from what I've seen posted seems very knowledgeable.

Originally Posted by BabyYoYo

Hi Bigger&Stronger!

Thanks for your advice, in answer to your questions, weights slowly progressing, but I have only recently been seriously incorporating them into my routine. Plus, the gym I go to is normally rammed with polish meatheads so its difficult to get in and use the machines or free weights :-( My program is structured loosely around the one I listed, but I vary the cardio aspect from day to day and don't always do the resistance training if I'm in the gym two days running. An I already complete a food diary! Helps me regulate my calorie intake!!

The intention is to separate the cardio and resistance workouts rather than doing them together, time is sometime an issue though!!!

Thanks for your advice, much appreciated!!

Kate x

Originally Posted by kboy

Hi, and welcome to the board...
Some sound advice given, agree about adding more protein to your diet, for example, maybe a skinless turkey breast and wholewheat pasta in place of cheese on toast..
Also, maybe you could try resistance training first, hit it hard, then do cardio after, you should burn a few more calories this way...
Peanut butter is great for bodybuilders when more calories are needed in the diet, I love it in a protein shake or on ot's own, but 50% is fat, albeit good fat from nuts, but if your goal is to loose weight you may be better with a good quality protein shake with water...
Good Luck!