strength training
 

Hi,
I just joined today and have been reading some posts. I live wayyyyyy out in the country and so I am very limited in travel. I started last week jog/walk my driveway which is 1/4 mile long each way, and today I started jump rope. My question is does anyone have any ideas what I can do to help strength train? My starting weight is 178 and I am 5'5 and would like to end up at 145 by the end of October. I don't eat alot so I am very frustrated as to why I am so heavy.......... Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Have you considered putting in a rock garden? Another thought might be some workout DVD's like the 30-Day Shred or yoga. Good old calisthenics are also a great way to build muscle, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks etc etc. I have a pair of ankle/wrist weights and I put them on while I do housework.

not trying to sound stupid but how will putting in a rock garden help me?

You may want to try doing some research to develop your own program. Check out freetrainers.com, exrx.net, or bodybuilders.com, for example, and pick the exercises that make sense. I pulled mine from different programs and put them in a spreadsheet and keep blank ones in a binder, and just note what I do on what days, and how heavy the weights were.

Rocks are really heavy, especially the prettiest ones. And well you need a lot more rocks then you realize to make the garden look just right, then you have to put in plants and a water feature and pavers, then haul in lots of wood chips and spread them around just right. And then after all that back breaking work you have to go out and pull the weeds. Believe me it's a workout and then some, but it's very satisfying and adds curb appeal to the house and then it all looks so good you get more ideas for the rest of the yard...

A friend of mine has this great body, she's almost 60 and is absolutely cut head to toe, she has landscaped most of her 20 acre parcel, it's gorgeous and so is she. Last summer I did some landscaping and skipped the gym for about 3 months.

wonderful ideas! I have ten acres and am outside all the time tending to plants and my veggie garden. Did not even cross my mind that I could use that to my advantage for working out. This has been the first time I have ever made myself accountable for what I ate and how much. Oh wow it's so easy to think you didn't eat much but in fact consumed a crap load of calories. Love being able to now have some control.

I like the idea about the rock garden... working out in the yard for the day makes me more sore than most of my workouts! ;)

I agree with the suggestion of using DVDs. When I started strength training, I didn't really know what I was doing, so I'd worry I wasn't getting a complete workout if I did calisthenics on my own. I love The Firm (especially Boot Camp) and 30 Day Shred. Both incorporate a lot of calisthenics and plyometrics and kick my butt. I couldn't do push ups, planks or much of anything with my upper body and core when I started working out a couple years ago, so I really started from square one. I still use them frequently as a substitute for the gym, and the best part is that you get your cardio and strength training done in an hour!:D

snyder1973: i totally know what you mean....I love the idea of strength training and when I do I usually see the effects in my upper body better than I do in my lower body. I seem to have the body type that puts on mass quickly. For instance I have been doing Jillian michael's no more trouble zones or something like that for approx 2-3 weeks and the clothes that fit before are not working out right now. I've heard from many fitness professionals all the rationale that would cause this outcome...eating too much (which I maintain a 1500-1600 calorie diet), not getting rest in between sessions (I train 2x a week Tues/Thur), No doing enough cardio...I play sports and workout at the gym doing cardio...the point is I really believe that some people have a greater abundance of fast twitch fibers (like myself...I was a sprinter so fast twitch fibers were awesome to have for success) which makes me think that is why I build mass so quickly. my solution? well I've still experimenting....I noticed that i have had success when I did plyometrics (jumping jacks, knee highs,) for my lower body and doing light weights for my upper body. Although this doesn't use weights, it is very much of a weight bearing with the proper reps. So I'll either go back to that or try doing strength training lower body once a week; I don't know! but my advice to you is to try different ideas from the posting on here and share your progress!