Am I working hard enough?? - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

Angelene · 08-06-2006, 06:27 PM

I'm female, 5'4", and currently weigh 142-ish. I've been exercising regularly for about 7 months, doing cardio about 3-4 times a week along with adjusting my diet. I've so far lost about 28 lbs since last Janary, but I'm still looking to lose more weight. I have hit a wall, and I just wanted to see if anyone can offer some help.

How many calories should I burn during a cardio workout? What is considered "good"? Normally I burn 350-400 calories per session and then I do 10-15 minutes of free weights. I do this about 4 times a week like I said. Is this sufficient to lose weight or should I truly be doing more? I suppose, yes, it has worked so far, but maybe this isn't good enough anymore and I'm not losing, but I honestly don't think I can work much harder...

My ultimate goal is to weigh between 125-128. As you can see I've still got quite a ways to go. I'm not ready to give up yet.

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks guys.

chopsky · 08-06-2006, 06:46 PM

Good job on losing the 28lb.

Firstly, do your free weights before the cardio. Never do cardio before weights as youre just tiring your muscles out before you lift.

What does your diet look like? Are you eating 6 small meals instead of 3 big ones?

With regards to your cardio sessions, are you progressing/increasing the intensitiy each time you train. If youre doing the same thing every time you go in, youre going to hit a plateau in your gains (or losses rather). You should look into a form of cardio called HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). It's GREAT for fat-burning and only takes 5-10minutes (depending on what level you are). Search google and you'll find plenty of results.
Simply put, you choose an exercise i.e. running, cycling, elliptical etc. Then if lets say you decide you enjoy running, an example of an HIIT workout will look like this: 30 second walk, 30 second sprint, 30 second walk, 30 second sprint ...
That will last for around 4 minutes at first (if youre not very fit) and over time you'll be able to do it for longer obviously.

If youre still not losing weight, you just need to drop the calories. That's all. Your cardio is ample.

G'luck

Angelene · 08-06-2006, 06:56 PM

Awesome, thanks for the reply.

I'll definitely look into that sort of training. You're right, I'm doing the same thing almost every time I go to the gym. That could be the problem.

My diet? Very simple, very much the same things all the time. I have a protein shake for breakfast, either a Lean Cuisine or salad bar for lunch. Dinner could be homemade bean tacos, some pasta, nothing outrageous. Veggie burgers on the grill, that sort of thing. I will admit I don't get a lot of variety, but what I do eat is pretty decent.

I think my issues are with the cardio. I use the elliptical machine more than I use the treadmill, and I usually last longer and burn more calories on the elliptical. Running just tires me out (I've gone from a 14 min to a 10:30 min mile) and I usually don't stay on longer than 30 minutes.

Thanks for the help, I'll let you know how it turns out!

chopsky · 08-07-2006, 08:12 AM

Try eating 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 square meals. It'll boost your metabolism bigtime. It's also for better for your blood-sugar levels. Even though youre eating very little at the moment, a boost in metabolism might help you shed the weight faster and easier. Also, try add some free weight training to your regime. You'll feel great with a firmer, stronger figure. Weight/strength training is also great for increasing the metabolism. There are endless benefits to the world of strength training. So if you can find the time, try do half an hour to an hour of weights before your cardio. Read up on which exercises will help the most and how to perform them