True, but most women aren't going to bulk up all that much, although personally I'd be thrilled to have a body like Serena Williams, LOL.

And DA, I'm hoping RC will be my knight in shining armor who does all the home improvement work while I sip wine like a delicate flower and read Cosmo.

This is generally true, but both contribute to overall increase in metabolism and advancement in lean muscle tissue over fat - so really, unless you're in great shape already, both will help.

I guess the way to look at it is, "if you're trying to lose weight, just f-ing go, don't worry about the semantics or specifics so much as being in the gym 5 days a week"

Yeah, I agree, I'm just saying that if you are overweight, I wouldn't start out with heavy lifting....unless you want to look like Nate Newton.

This is the best comparison ever - nicely done

This is what I have started doing and man it is a good work out! I have a trainer that comes to my house 1 to 2 times per week and then I run 5 miles 3times a week. You can do weights at home, my trainer has shown me all sorts of exercises using your own body weight. I also have barbells. I cancelled my gym membership though will likely join again as it will be 100 degrees outside soon enough and I almost heatstroked twice last summer running. Plus, I like the pilates classes that are available.

I compete in Figure, have had some level of success with it and these are the magic 3:

1) Resistance Training: don't be afraid to lift heavy. If you are a woman, you will NOT bulk up. If anything, you will get smokin' hot toned bodyparts.

2) Cardio

And MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL:
3) Eat Clean - the nutrition that you eat is 80% responsible for your body's appearance. (the other being 10% genetics and 10% training).

If you don't know what clean eating is, "Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno is pretty good for learning what it's all about.

does anyone have any tips for getting over a plateu? I knew the last 15 pounds or so would be the hardest but eessh..

Seriously, what should I change in routine? Go more? go harder?

In gym: 5 days-one hour cardio, 3 days - weight training
In dojo: 5-6 times per week, various activties, including about 500 jumping jacks or more depending. Endless sit ups, I seriously loose track of those, however many push ups, until my arms fall off and reattach themselves then one more set.

and I want to loose another 15-20 pounds, i've lost like 55 pounds so far, this is the worst plateau ever.

I saw that you had 3 days of weights, so here is my suggestion.
Try 4 days of weight training with these splits:
Monday: shoulders and triceps
Tuesday: back
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: Leg Day (no skipping this one!!)
Friday: chest and biceps
Throw some abs in there (though not everyday).

To avoid plateau'ing, have a training buddy so you can lift heavy and have someone to spot you to give the full contraction. Also, make sure that you mix up your workouts...don't do the exact same chest and bicep exercises every single week.

And: eat clean. If you clean up your diet, the weight comes off very quickly. Buy yourself a lunch cooler, tupperwares and tote your pre-made homemade meals around. If you don't know what I mean by eating clean, befriend a bodybuilder.

RU OX, what kind of cardio are you doing and how hard are you working when you're doing cardio?

ZTAngel advice:

I hear women say all the time, "I don't work out my chest because I don't want to lose my boobies!!!!!!"

Guess what breast tissue is made out of? Fat. Guess what you lose when you do cardio? Fat. If you're working out regularly, you will lose fat and, yes, you may lose your breasts as well. The good thing about working out your chest is that it builds up your pectoral muscles which is what your breasts sit on. Working out your chest muscles will make your breasts perkier and will make them appear bigger.

I had to make this post because I just overheard two of my female co-workers discussing how they don't work out their chest muscles because they don't want to lose a cup size. :rolleyes:

If you want a free resource to help you track your calorie intake for the day:


www.fitday.com


If you enter what you eat it will track your calories for you.

I do step mill, it is a cross between stair master and a down esclator I do that on level 10 or 11 for 30-40min. Then I do row machine for about 10-15 mins. Then cool down with remaining time on the elpitical. I also take between 7 and 9 martial arts classes a week that vary in intesity.

And then weird stuff happens, like okay, I weighed myself like two days after xmas. I was 190lbs. My watch I just got did not fit, and I was going to have to have some links put in (came with watch). I never got around to doing that, I droped down to like 185 and then the week after that I was at199 and it took like a week and a half to get back down to 190, now I'm stuck there, and the watch spins around on my wrist. WTF? Did I loose fat and then gain some muscle? Can you have 15 pounds of water weight? Is it possible to be over-hydrated? I ask b/c I have to increase my intake because of Lithium.

Thanks Valk:)

I'm a big fan of fitday. Tracking what you eat and your exercise is key.