Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Madly Method
 

Actually...the Smart Ones pasta meals are YUMMY. I love the spaghetti marinara, ziti and cheese and the cheese filled ravioli. The slimfast ones just look nasty.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Madly Method
 

I take it back because you're right! They have a shrimp marinara one that's good.

I draw the line at mac and cheese though. It would be a blasphemy to eat some foods from a frozen box.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Madly Method
 

I am a total Weight Watchers SmartOnes fanatic. They were on sale over the weekend for 99 cents. No lie!! You know a sister racked up on some good grub. I have lunch for the next month. LOL

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Madly Method
 

They were 99 cents in NJ last week. :D

Re: Re: Re: Re: The Madly Method
 

I tried yoga once, and I didn't think it really helped me/relaxed me the way people said it did - until I sat on the couch afterward and promptly fell asleep for the next two and a half hours afterward. :D

I'm thinking of giving it or pilates a try in the spring. I'm getting a lot stronger, but I could use a bit more flexibility.

:D :D :D

Or washing my face and holding my arms a certain way so that my delts pop. Or only wearing v-necked or scoop necked shirts so that people can see how defined my collarbones are.

Ooh, don't let me start lovin' myself...

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Madly Method
 

Go 'head! We won't tell anybody! ;)

Nice to know I'm not the only one playing the vanity game, lol.


Posters: Do you have a fitness role model? A person in your life, or a celebrity, or whoever, who you use as if not inspiration, then as a definite guideline?

Ex: Ashanti has my approximate body shape- thick legs, breasts, slim throughout the abs. She took an okay figure and made it POP by losing some body fat.

Now I am not there yet, but looking at where she was and where she is now I definitely see what is possible!

Anybody else have a similar figure?

Serena Williams. I know - some people think she looks too masculine, but those ARMS are to die for!

Mocha Lee - http://www.ateamxtreme.com/mocha02cover.jpg and http://www.tampaxtotalyoutour.com/im.../new_mocha.jpg

ShaNay Norvell - http://www.shanaynorvell.com/

I'd also like Beyonce's legs, but I think -- no, I know my calves aren't that slender and they never will be.

Don't underestimate the effects of the right pair of shoes! The right amount of lift can do wonders.

ETA: I just looked at the pics in your links and that woman is in amaaaaazing shape!

I don't want to have quite as little body fat as her (at least not on the cover of oxygen- that is kinda scary! the picture where she is standing with her arms crossed looks perfect though), but I think that she wears it really well.

Lovelyivy, you've just given me a reason to go out and buy a pair of Jimmy Choos.

Oh, like I really needed an excuse. :D

Would it be bad to spend tuition money on a fierce pair of shoes? (j/k).

Yes (talking to myself) it would be VERY VERY bad!

Of course I am spending student loan repayment money but that's a different story.....

on the topic- my old bellydace instructor is starting a new class in November! I am sooo excited by this, lol.

Pilates does not indeed develop lean muscle. It mostly stablizes the core and lengthens the muscles you do have, especially adbominals.

In my ideal world, I usually:
M-S: Fast walk the dog in the neighborhood (hills and flatlands, so essentially interval cardio) for 30-45 minutes (Sunday is generally my free day)

Every other day: use the excercise ball for abs, obliques, lunges, squats and free weight work

Twice weekly: Pilates

Since I've been really off my program for three weeks (the aftermath of a huge media event), I'm trying to get workouts during the day when I can: walking up and down stairs instead of elevators, jumping jacks throught the day, morning ab work, tricep, glut and calf work at my desk, etc. I have not slacked off my eating program, which is saving me right now.

I promise, I'm getting fully back to my program next week! :D

There is nothing short of surgery that can cause muscle to be lengthened. Pilates=really complicated crunches basically, lol.

I probably should have said "give the apperance" of a more slender body shape, because that's essentially what it does, rather than to imply it physically lengthens muscles. I can usually tell when a person has been practicing Pilates because they tend to walk taller with a more elongated look to the body. I think it helps if your body type lends itself to that look anyway.

On the other question, body type models, I haven't really thought about it. I tend to be appear taller and leaner than I am, with a classic ruler shape: thin arms and legs with no waist definition.

Hi Ladies..

Is there a post that lists the protein shakes? I heard RTD is good, but have not tried it yet

No that was in an IM conversation that we had. I have read a number of studies that show that whey protein shakes (not the Met-Rx RTD brand that I thin k you are referring to- those are made of casein protein, not whey) are most effective when taken 30 minutes after a workout. You have just caused minute tears in your muscle tissue, and the increased amino acid concentration in your blood stream is used at that time to build bigger better ones.

I use them to supplement my diet and get more protein (I go for 120-130g of protein per day and really, I can only eat so much chicken!).

When I get home I will post a great article I found online about different kinds of protein and how your body uses them.

Thanks lovelyivy!

TTT

Okay, lemme chime in with my routine...

Sunday-5 minute walk from church parking lot to sanctuary, 5 minute walk back fromt he sanctuary to the parking lot.

Monday- Saturday- Rest




No seriously, I broke out the Tae Bo tapes yesterday. I also got the weights and the jump rope from under my bed. [sidebar]Do you know how many dust bunnies weights accumulate under a bed if left for months? I think the carpet was actually a shade lighter in the spot where they laid. LMAO[/sidebar] My mom gave me a stairclimber for Christmas, so that is in the guest bedroom, I have yet to really use it. I have to do this. I always get motivated at this time of year, no matter if I feel off the wagon or not. I've modified my eating, with the exception of ready to bake cookies that have been the death of me, so adding some movement into the equation should produce some results.

Good Luck everyone!

Ready To Bake cookies at 3 am- the hotness!

You have a LOT of equipment there. Variety is good, but don't get so caught up in variety that you don't constantly advance your workouts and lose consistency. You should start scheduling exactly how you plan to use all of that. How many days cardio? How many days lifting? What kind of weight bearing exercise? How often? What kind of split?

Good luck!

I think that's the thing, I have no earthly idea of how much I should be doing of what, and where to start! I'm doing some research, but I really have no idea.

are you generally active, or a drive-everywhere type of girl? What is your level of activity?

If it's low, you might want to start out slow- fifteen to twenty minutes of exercise a couple of times a week. This is for the stepper and the jumprope. If you're doing tae bo, don't even attempt doing the full tape immediately, lol. Do it for short intervals for as long as you can- the main thing is to warm up and cool down when you do the tape. Fast forward through the workout if you need to, but cool down.

With weights you can start with a two or three day split. The about exercise forum that I talk about so very often has some great split workouts listed, to give you an idea of what kinds of home training you can do. Find a comfortable weight (low to start with) and do those exercises and you'll be off to a great start.

Thanks!

Well, I live in South Carolina, so it isn't really an option to walk from place to place, but I can't say that there aren't parks in proximity to where I live where I can go walk.

I can't say that I am a couch-potato, I don't mind taking the stairs and stuff, but I guess I haven't had any kind of structure in my workouts so I tire of them easily. I've tried the gym thing, but I always lose interest in the atmosphere, so I'd rather do stuff at home. I can actually make it all the way through the Tae Bo tapes (not the advanced, the basic one), of course I'm letting out sighs of pain 3/4 of the way through, but I can do it! :D I looked at the exercise.about.com briefly and it looks like there is a wealth of info on there. I'll check it out more while at work tonight, I gotta go to bed! Thanks again.

Favorite excersie machine??
 

Ok, so last night at the gym, I used a funky stairclimber. It had foot pads that slide up and down on a set of rails. It was hard to maintain my balance and today my knees are achy. My family has a history of arthritis, so I try to do low or no impact cardio to preserve my joints. I can walk on treadmill for hours and feel ok, but I don't want to do the same thing every day. Does anyone have any ideas on good cardio machines?????

I think the machine that you are referring to is the elliptical trainer. You might want to check out your form and the resistance you are using on the elliptical trainer because usually it is one of the better workouts for people with bad knees. These machines are considered low impact and I like to use them at the gym as I have had knee problems in the past.

Other than the elliptical trainer I think that your pickings are slim in most gyms. You can use the rower ot the treadmill with bad knees but that's about it. Swimming is a great exercise if you have access to a pool at your gym. Dance classes can be an option since most good instructors will show you how to modify a movement if you have bad knees.

I thought the ones w/ the arms were eliptical and this is some sort of revised stairmaster????

I'm not sure, I think next week I may meet with a trainer, so I can focus my workouts, and get the msot bang for the buck.

Do exercise bikes burn a fair amount of calories?

Thanks, 1SD. That was my newest motivation.