My story - Am I doing everything right? :)

[gYmgIrL]

Originally Posted by eqpfunk

I have to say you've definitely done your homework! That's quite a grueling workout, it'd give some guys I know a heart attack! Overall it looks quite good but I would tweek it in a few areas. Please see below...

hehe Thank you! i like working hard, expecially first thing in the morning, then you can go through your day knowing you achieved something! But yeah i spent a lot of time trying to work it all out, but the whether to eat lots or little thing still baffles me. But I'm happier when I've got a hint of abbage so I'll stick with little for a while i think!

***Since you're doing incline on your chest day, i'd say substitute dumbell military press for this incline press***

so is that just doing shoulder on the smith rack? or on the shoulder press? less stablizers and more weight?

*** I'm guessing these are like a tricep pushdown but you're on your back? It's kind of like a skullcrusher: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exer...+Triceps+Press
***

thats it exactly! what an awesome name!! haha

***Haha, nice. You incorporate a lot of thingies in your routine. Always a good call When you feel strong enough, try throwing in a set or 3 of Dips using your body weight***

i think thats what 'own body weight tricep thingies' are. I cant quite get to 12 after 12 of the other two things... but i at least get to 8! hehe. Triceps look awesome i love the little dent between your shoulder and your tricep! its the greatest thing ever

***leg press and squats both work quads (as well as your bootay). You should consider throwing in some deadlifts or leg curls so your hamstrings get a workout too!***

ahh! now thats the thing i forgot to mention! yeah i do a superset of hamstring curls and then.... are deadlifts the thing where you hold the weight and stretch your hamstrings? thats the thing Hamstrings are hawt! have to have them!

***Yeah the abductor/adductor machine ***

ahhhh, i did wonder what it was called

The only other change to your routine is you seem to do 2 days of upper body in a row. You should do shoulders/tri's after legs and abs day. Also don't starve yourself too much! That can severely impair your metabolism. You may want to consider a good low carb protein shake to have once or twice a day as a snack. Overall your plan looks quite solid and you should see gains for quite some time. If you have more ???'s don't hesitate to ask. Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Thats an awesome idea! i guess if i threw in more cardio then i could eat what i wanted and still lose fat. just have to get up a little earlier haha and then those protein shakes will fit right in there! I will! Thank you very much for your help i really really appreciate it! I'll just keep posting everything and hopefully you can help

[sucher67]

Originally Posted by gYmgIrL

but i have to lose more fat percentage before i can eat enough to put on any more muscle i think! although they seem to both be happening, but i heard that can happen when you're a beginner. Like this morning i had tricep pump, and my arms felt really tight in my work shirt, and i thought... yeah.... thats awesome :P

hehe

any advice / tips / miracle suggestion of love I will greatly hear!

GymgIrl, you are doing great. In reference to what you wrote above, just listen to your body. It may sound strange, but you have to eat in order to lose fat. There are two reasons:

1. You have to support the growth and maintenance of lean muscle mass. This will raise your metabolism, helping to keep you lean. However, you have to get enough nutrition to maintain the muscle. Without adequate nutrition, your body feels like it is starving and it won't hang on to the muscle, and you will struggle just to maintain the status quo.

2. If you get adequate nutrition, your body will have less need to hang onto extra fat. Eat frequently. Fat is the body's energy store for periods of famine, and you can "train" your body to let go of it if you get constant nutrition. (As proof, look at people who never eat breakfast-- they usually have a little paunch that won't go away, since their body is starved for half of every day).

You will find that your actual weight may not change much or it may even increase (depending on how much muscle you want to put on). That is absolutely ok! Too many women are obscessed with the scale! Important to note: what you are actually doing is changing your body composition. You are adding muscle and replacing fat.

I think you are doing great. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Don't be afraid to keep asking questions, and keep training hard!

[eqpfunk]

Hey gymgirl,
Regarding your questions:
Here is dumbell military press: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mraz4presses.jpg

And here's the article where i got those pics from:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mraz4.htm

Here's what a deadlift looks like:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/toddblue38.htm

These are Dips (a very good upper body exercise. If you can do 12 of these then you're quite strong. Did you do gymnastics before?)
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exer...riceps+Version

Glad I could Help! From your pics you definitely have potential in fitness and you have a good workout routine. If you need anymore help or suggestions as far as protein shakes just ask or shoot me a PM.
-e

[gYmgIrL]

Originally Posted by sucher67

GymgIrl, you are doing great. In reference to what you wrote above, just listen to your body. It may sound strange, but you have to eat in order to lose fat.

It doesnt sound strange... it sounds awesome!!! heheheheh

Alright! I will eat like a normal person, starting with a good brekky! and keep doing the cardio, and ill keep an eye on the body fat (and not the scales)

you're not wrong about those scales! Those scales are crazy! they go up and down and all over the place every day! yesterday it said I was 50 kilos, and today it says I'm almost at 51kgs again!

So I think I'll stick to my home clicky caliper thingies and the trusty ol' internet

Originally Posted by sucher67

I think you are doing great. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Don't be afraid to keep asking questions, and keep training hard!

Awesome I'm so glad. I always try and stay positive, it makes the whole world a nicer place! and having something to work towards every day just makes it better! So I'm glad its contagious! I will definately ask a lot of questions and dont worry! I'll keep training hard thats a promise!

[gYmgIrL]

[quote=eqpfunk]Hey gymgirl,
Regarding your questions:
Here is dumbell military press[quote]

ahhh yeah, thats what im doing, i dont know what i was talking about consider it done!!

Originally Posted by eqpfunk

And here's the article where i got those pics from:

she is AWESOME!!! look at her arms! sooo cool

Originally Posted by eqpfunk

Here's what a deadlift looks like:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/toddblue38.htm

ohh, its a back thing. I think i called that the T-bar something. Men seem to be able to lift crazy amounts on it! but my posture sucks and I'm too worried about hurting myself, I think I'll wait til my back gets stronger.

The thing i was talking about was, you knees arent locked but still straight and then you bend at the hips (keeping your back straight haha) and let the bar go down to your feet, and then push it about 30cms in front of you the bring it back and then straighten.) and you do that straight after hammy curls and they hurt good!

Originally Posted by eqpfunk

These are Dips (a very good upper body exercise. If you can do 12 of these then you're quite strong. Did you do gymnastics before?)

um no gymnastics! but i played the guitar and lifting the head and quad box might have helped besides triceps seem to get worked in just about everything you do! i had no idea!

Glad I could Help! From your pics you definitely have potential in fitness and you have a good workout routine. If you need anymore help or suggestions as far as protein shakes just ask or shoot me a PM.
-e

i do actually and I'll PM you about them now! Do you really think I have potential? That is so awesome!! Thank you very much!!

[eqpfunk]

You're very welcome! You definitely have the right attitude going into this plus you have the fact that your are lean and cute as well! Top that off with your workout and the skys the limit!

[gYmgIrL]

Ugh, now i have 50 billion more questions

About carbs and sugar and what-not. If you're eating under what you burn per day calories wise. Does is still matter what it is you eat? i mean, if I hate 900 calories of sugar, sure im going to feel crap and starving! hehe but i'd still lose weight is that right? So by eating protein and carbs but still being under calories burnt, i will lose fat but i wont lose muscle. but in order to put on muscle mass effectively i have to eat carbs and protein over the amount of calories i burn per day?

its that right? because thats my understanding but theres so much information its hard to work out exactly whats right!

at the moment i seem to be able to gain muscle and lose fat, but I also read that that is possible if you're a beginner like me. but i do feel like my quads are going away…

And how long are you a beginner for?

Also! Does going up in weight while doing weights necessarily mean that you must be bigger? Or are going to get bigger? Because I go up in weight every week you know? It might also be because I’m a beginner. But I always have the weights at a heaviness that I juuust fail on reaching the right amount of reps. That’s a good thing to do right?

hehe sorry for all the questions

Theres so much to take into account!

[gYmgIrL]

Originally Posted by eqpfunk

You're very welcome! You definitely have the right attitude going into this plus you have the fact that your are lean and cute as well! Top that off with your workout and the skys the limit!

Cute!! you are lovely Thank you very much!!

[sucher67]

You mention 2 things that I will address: calorie intake and nutritional quality of food.

1. Calorie intake:

You don't necessarily want to eat fewer calories than you are burning, if you are wanting to build your physique. Your body will not support muscle growth if you starve it. As I mentioned earlier, you are losing fat because your are changing your body composition. You can burn fat through the development of lean muscle mass. This does not mean that you necessarily have to take in fewer calories. I say "necessarily" because, not knowing your diet, I am assuming you are not eating a lot of junk.

If you consume too many calories, no matter how much your exercise, you will gain fat. What you want is to find an equilibrium. You want to eat enough energy to build and retain muscle growth. You body fat will go down as your muscle mass increases. But, as I wrote earlier, you have to eat to lose fat!

2. Nutritional quality of food

Additionally, you probably know that a calorie measures the energy value of food. That is all-- nothing more. A "calorie" does not measure nutritional value. Some foods are calorie dense-- such as sugar and fat. Others are not, such as broccolli. However, there is another side to the story. Let's compare a candy bar to a head of brocolli. Think of vitamins and minerals. Fruits and veggies are loaded with nutrition, but they are not calorie-dense.

Bear with me. Physiologically, our bodies are very efficient at dealing with starvation (think of how easily we can put on fat) but not very efficient at dealing with getting abundant calories (think ff all the "lifestyle" diseases resulting from too much fat and calories). Why? For the first time in relatively recent human history, we have more than enough food energy available. For most of human history, it has been difficult to get adequate energy. Things that were calorie dense, like fatty meats, had to be hunted. It took a lot of work to get food energy. So, we have a built in "calorie monster" that is willing to go to great lengths to consume calorie-dense foods. The problem is, with modern food manufacturing, you don't have to spend much energy hunting-- it is no longer difficult to get calore-dense foods. So, if we don't make intelligent choices, we end up overindulging in calorie-dense foods and overlook nutritionally rich foods (like brocolli).

It is not difficult to consume the amount of calories you need in a day. Obviously, you are concerned about eating too many calories. I suggets that you also watch your nutrition. 900 calories of sugar has no nutrition. A few pieces of fruit, however, has a lot of nutrition and can also satisfy a sweet craving. What would you choose?

Bottom line: you can choose foods that have just calories or you can choose foods that benefit you in 2 ways: thay have a lower energy value and lots of nutrition. Whole grains, fresh vegetables, fruits, and lean protein (like fish and chicken). You don't have to be a math professor and constantly calculate calorie values if you eat a basic healthy, natural diet. Avoid processed and calorie-dense foods, and you cut out a lot of needless food energy that might be displacing nutrient-rich food in your diet.

I know I haven't been eating sound diet when I crave junk. I crave junk food much less when I am eating a complete and healthy diet, along with frequent meals, because my body is getting everything that itt needs. Take care of your nutrition first and calorie-counting becomes a lot smaller issue! (Stick with a good "brekky"!)

[Italianangel]

Originally Posted by gYmgIrL

No! hehe i dont think I'll be contest worthy for at least a few years yet! (you are the lovliest!)

My diet plan at the moment consists of eating not much (600-800) cals a day until i get down to 16% body fat and then I was going to eat lots of carbs and protein so i could get bigger until my body fat got too high again and then eat really little again.

My workout plan though!

Day 1: Back and calves
Day 2: Chest and Biceps (and abs)
Day 3: Shoulders and Tris
Day 4: Legs and abs
and sometimes i have a day of just abs and cardio (a six pack was my original goal )

and while I'm on the low cal thing I'm doing 30-60 minutes 5-6 days a week of cardio

(my how i hate cardio :P)

hehehe

nah its not too bad, its lots less torture than it used to be. hehe, but those rowwy machines kill me!

but losing a little weight gave me a glimpse of abs! like the top two and the obliques!! WOO! hehe, cant wait to see what happens when more comes off! It also helps make looking in the mirror easier.

Oh my lord, no you have to eat more calories, your body is going to salvage things and slow metabolism........you need to slowly increase your calories to at least 1200 if not 1800 per day or it will stay in starvation mode! You will get much better gains and fat loss results believe it or not.
Its not about being light on the scale or thinness, and you do need good fats like omegas through olives, avacados, nuts and seed but also fish.
HOW DO YOU FUNCTION???????
Yikes, sweety, please impress me, lets slowly get your calories, even if you take some protein shakes to start so that you don't overwhelm your tummy etc.
What do you say???
Linda

[Italianangel]

Originally Posted by gYmgIrL

wow! what an awesome compliment! thank you so very much!!!

well i do sorta similar things, i mean i do barbel squats already, and i do similar things for chest.

here i'll write it out you can tell me what you think i should change! (everything is 3-4 sets and 8-12 reps and im at the gym for 1hr-1.5hr)


Day 1: Back and calves
lat pulldowns
one arm rows
seated row/rope row superset
close pulldowns

standing calf thingy/sitting calf thingy superset

Day 2: Chest and Biceps (and abs)

incline bench smith rack of pain
dumbell press
flies/chest press superset

cable bar pull thingies
z-bar curls/hammer curls superset

Day 3: Shoulders and Tris

incline bench dumbels
lat raise drop sets the most incredibly painful thing on the planet
cable bar pull up thingies (thingies describe lots of things)

ok i have no idea what its called but you have a Z bar and you lie on your back and bring it over your head from behind your head and then you put it over your waist and push it up for 12 reps... im sure it has a name :P

super dooper set of tricep machiney pulldowns/rope tricep pully thingies/ own body weight tricep thingies.

Day 4: Legs and abs
warm up on leg extention
45 degree leg press of doom
barbell squats
that machine that you do inside leg muscle and then change it and do outside and then you face away from it and do bum.
grr theres something else but i cant remember.

Abs i do the hanging from hangy things and pull yourself ups
and then i lie on a bench and do 20 leg lifts, 40 reverse crunch thingies with a medicine ball, then elbow to oposite knee with the med. ball between your knees followed by little pulse sit up things with it still there, and then the funny riding a bike thingy and then 20 more leg lifts.

oh the pain the glorious glorious pain.


but i have to lose more fat percentage before i can eat enough to put on any more muscle i think! although they seem to both be happening, but i heard that can happen when you're a beginner. Like this morning i had tricep pump, and my arms felt really tight in my work shirt, and i thought... yeah.... thats awesome :P

hehe

any advice / tips / miracle suggestion of love I will greatly hear!

You could be getting even better results with lean muscle mass and leaning out by optimizing your diet to higher cals, eating every 2-3 hours.........

[eqpfunk]

Originally Posted by Italianangel

You could be getting even better results with lean muscle mass and leaning out by optimizing your diet to higher cals, eating every 2-3 hours.........

Definitely true. Check this article in the BBing section regarding nutrition and calories:
http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/t44274.html

Also Here is a sample diet from a pro fitness competitor:
http://www.piamarlen.com/index.php?c...2_articleid=44

[Italianangel]

Originally Posted by eqpfunk

Definitely true. Check this article in the BBing section regarding nutrition and calories:
http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/t44274.html

Also Here is a sample diet from a pro fitness competitor:
http://www.piamarlen.com/index.php?c...2_articleid=44

Yeah I see the competitor page but is she natural......diet is normal for most competitors, just like hers but to look like her may take more than diet......she seems enhanced.
This is what you need to keep in mind, don't aspire to look like a juicing competitor because chances are the diet and training alone will not get you there, make sure you are aspiring to look like a natural competitor and choose that as your goal unless you WANT to do some roids......then that is diff.

[eqpfunk]

Originally Posted by Italianangel

Yeah I see the competitor page but is she natural......diet is normal for most competitors, just like hers but to look like her may take more than diet......she seems enhanced.
This is what you need to keep in mind, don't aspire to look like a juicing competitor because chances are the diet and training alone will not get you there, make sure you are aspiring to look like a natural competitor and choose that as your goal unless you WANT to do some roids......then that is diff.

Hey ItalianAngel, It was really to give gymgirl an idea of a competitors diet when they are training. Also I don't think Pia's physique is by any means unnattainable without "enhancement". I think Pia is probably genetically gifted. I mean look at all the scandinavian power lifters.

[Italianangel]

Originally Posted by eqpfunk

Hey ItalianAngel, It was really to give gymgirl an idea of a competitors diet when they are training. Also I don't think Pia's physique is by any means unnattainable without "enhancement". I think Pia is probably genetically gifted. I mean look at all the scandinavian power lifters.

Oh no offense intended, I do realize your intentions were great so I did not mean to irk or anything but I do know many of these gals take leaners and enhancers which are illegal, I know this for a fact so I want to make sure to enhance to gymgirl that she should not focus on being too hard or anything but something attainable, mia looks like she could be on stuff....most pros in the non tested realms are on as mild as ephedrine crap or clen and as deep as winstrol or deca.......you would be suprised at the underground of fitness, sheesh even the fitness models dip......its sad.
I am natural and have been questioned as to my legitimacy but you are right, I do not know for a fact that mia is not natural, just my opinion.
Linda

[eqpfunk]

Right on! And no offense taken by the way

[Mr. Stone]

The only two things I see in your workout that, in my educated opinion, could use improvement.

1) Redundancy of exercises. One example was pointed out earlier concerning the using the military/shoulder press instead of the incline. Another I see is on back day. Why three different row excercises? I think Lat pulldowns, Closegrip pulldowns, cable rows (straight bar) would be sufficient. I also see nothing to strengthen your lower back.

Another question for you is how long have you been doing this workout? If the answer is "more than 6 weeks" you might want to change things up a bit. Increase or decrease reps. Change the order of days. Change something a keep your body adapting.

2) I personally feel you're doing too much cardio. I know that sounds crazy, but I think 4-5 days certainly enough for the time you put in.

That's my two cents. Excercise Physiology is my field of study for what it's worth. I just think you could be optimizing your time better in certain areas of your workout.

You are not going to get huge by lifting more weight. That's completely false. Having said that, some women's bodies respond to resistance training in such a manner, but they are not typical cases. (BTW, there is nothing wrong with a bit of muscle.)

Like most above have said already, you need to be eating more. I'm not even sure how you make it through the day, but 600-800 kcals is ridiculous. 1500-1800 would be a little more reasonable. You'll still shed weight and you'll feel better.

[gYmgIrL]

You guys are all absolute legends.

I thought I might have been wrong with eating that little, but i dont eat much anyway and so eating a little less although painful at time (and making me really tired) i thought might be the fastest way to lose the fat. Cause everything you read about says "choose either loosing fat or gaining muscle cause doing both at once will frustrate you til you give up" or something. So i thought I'd lose fat for a bit, gain muscle for a bit, and then lose fat again.. you know that kinda thing.

I didnt even think that gaining muscle would help you lose fat. But for the three weeks or so i was on crazy diet i lost lots of fat. and i had never felt so good about myself, being able to look in the mirror and post pics of myself on here and all.

But you look absolutely amazing Linda! I even have a picture of you printed and stuck on my workout book for inspiration! and if you say that eating more is better, I'll do it! (hell even if you said clapping three times and yelling rumplestiltstkin would work I'd probably do it! hehe)

haha oops! i forgot brekky was an Australianism! hahaha oops :P

I think i have been doing this routine for just over 6 weeks! and i think you're right, definately time for a change.

I do roman chair! and lots of it I throw it on the end of the other things but i do it more often than once a week, i kinda alternate roman chair and abs! i just forgot to mention it. Ah the glorious glorious pain

Thank you so much for helping me with the food thing. It's really hard because i just dont want to go backwards anymore! not that im in any hurry but wasting time sucks!

Mr. Stone. Too much cardio? You are the greatest :P

Thanks guys now i can eat a bit more without feeling bad!! Though the day my theighs and bum dont wobble and i have no tummy... i will be the happiest person in the world

heres a pic of my tummy atm, i have tiny hints of obleques and top abs, but too much tummy to see any of the rest of it. Ugh this is the picture i didnt want to post :P hehe, but i'd be so much happier if that was gone!

Will that still go away eating that much?

[gYmgIrL]

Thank you everyone so much for your advice! I really appreciate it so much!

[sucher67]

Hey gYmgIrL,

Your picture looks really good-- I think you have good abdominals. It is obvious you are putting some work in. I don't know who would say that you are not fit and trim.

Originally Posted by gYmgIrL

Will that still go away eating that much?

Yes, you can still reduce your body fat. I will say again that a good diet with resistance training will cause your body's fat/muscle ratio to change-- you are changing your body's composition. It takes a lot of energy for your body to manufacture muscle, and it takes a lot of energy to maintain it-- adding a couple of pounds of muscle causes you to burn more energy just to keep it, not to mention when you are using it. You want to make sure you are providing yourself with enough fuel.

However, I would like to suggest that you ask yourself: "how am I setting the standards for my physique?" Linda does indeed look awesome, and she has been doing this for a long time. She will tell you that the pictures you see of figure/fitness athletes in magazines do not depict the way these athletes look all the time. Their skin is died with a colorant to enhance muscle contrast, they observe pre-contest diets, etc. What are your expectations? A fitness model is exactly that: a model. Please keep that in mind when you are setting your personal standards.

I think you look good-- fit and healthy. While there is always work to do, concentrate on your health first, and then your appearance will follow suit. After all, our standards for physical attractiveness are derived from what is healthy, are they not?

The most important thing in all of this is really diet (brekky and all). You need high-quality nutrients as building blocks, and energy to fuel your workouts. If you focus on eating well in order to add some muscle, you will certainly get leaner. And, be sure you are not judging yourself by too harsh a standard. You already have a better physique than most, and it is obvious you are determined in the gym. You will do fine. Have fun with exercising, and enjoy the benefits of staying healthy!