That fooking ab cruncher

P90X is my workout routine. I started in January and have lost 13 real pounds and 3 inches in my waste. Damnit I have to buy new pants, they are falling off of me. Eight more pounds to go to be at my ideal weight and a new wardrobe

It's going to be nice to fit into my wetsuit again and actual go scuba diving again

P90X is my workout routine. I started in January and have lost 13 real pounds and 3 inches in my waste. Damnit I have to buy new pants, they are falling off of me. Eight more pounds to go to be at my ideal weight and a new wardrobe

It's going to be nice to fit into my wetsuit again and actual go scuba diving again Originally Posted by DFW5Traveler

I'm on my 3rd cycle (since September) - down 20 pounds - body fat % waayyy down - 4 inches of the waist - still have a little ways to go but I'm 52 years old and haven't felt this good in 20 years. Stick with it DFW5....it keeps getting better!!

I'm on my 3rd cycle (since September) - down 20 pounds - body fat % waayyy down - 4 inches of the waist - still have a little ways to go but I'm 52 years old and haven't felt this good in 20 years. Stick with it DFW5....it keeps getting better!! Originally Posted by Ed Highlight

I'm over 50 so I was wondering if it would work for me. Nice to know.

I'm over 50 so I was wondering if it would work for me. Nice to know. Originally Posted by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus, you have to be at least a little fit to do the standard workout. I had to work up to it....There are different levels of intensity and you have to start at your most comfortable level or you can hurt yourself...go to it!!

I'm on my 3rd cycle (since September) - down 20 pounds - body fat % waayyy down - 4 inches of the waist - still have a little ways to go but I'm 52 years old and haven't felt this good in 20 years. Stick with it DFW5....it keeps getting better!! Originally Posted by Ed Highlight

I'm 43 and when I hit 200+ with a 300+ Cholesteral level, I said enough is enough. I'm going all drill instructor on myself and pushing myself pretty darned hard.

I'm over 50 so I was wondering if it would work for me. Nice to know. Originally Posted by Marcus Aurelius

It works, If you do it, just start at your own pace Changing your diet helps a ton. I do not eat restaurant sized portions any longer and I snack on fruits and fiber bars. Although the 6 to 8 oz steaks looked small at first, but they definately fill me up now that my stomach has shrunk some.

If you like a lot of cardio and core work the Insanity dvd series is very good. (but fairly intense) I was just trying to tone and still lost weight and a couple inches off my waist. It will get your obliques in shape. Did the entire scheduled progam last year....started again this week. Getting ready for the weekend

Camille, this will be an unusual answer for a guy, but I struggle most with bench and shoulder press movements; the problem is a sticking point in my range of motion for those particular exercises. You didn't specifically ask for it, but I will offer the following thoughts with respect to weight training:

(1) London is absolutely correct with respect to using squats and lunges as the foundation for working your glutes. Find someone who can teach you how to perform a straight-legged deadlift (also known, with slight variation, as a Romanian deadlift) and that will further help to shape and firm your derriere, as well as your hamstrings and lower back, which, collectively, comprise the all important "posterior chain."

(2) If you have't been weight training for long, don't lament the amount of weight you can handle per se. Use a weight for which you can perform the desired number of repetitions but one which you can truly feel in the targeted muscle groups.

(3) If I understand you correctly, you were a former competitive athlete, so you will be far less prone to do this, but don't succumb to the "I'll get too muscular if I lift heavy" train of thought adopted by so many women. Barring pharmaceutical assistance, you probably don't have the hormonal profile to do so without years of hard, consistant training. Muscle adds shape and functional capability to the human body and, in my humble opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than an athletic female physique.

(4) For the purposes of avoiding strength imbalances and reducing injury risk, think of muscles as working together as antagonistic pairs. For example, the biceps functions to bend the elbow while the triceps elongates; the triceps straightens the elbow as the biceps relaxes.

(5) With respect to ab training, one movement that I particularly love is called a cable or pulley crunch. Ask one of the trainers at your gym to show you how to do this one. Since the lower back muscles (spinal erectors) work in opposition to the rectus abdominus (the proverbial six-pack), I would highly recommend an exercise commonly called "hyperextensions" for the lower back. Again, ask one of the trainers at your gym to show you how to do this one.

(6) If you truly want to get the best "bang for your buck," whether it be for the purposes of building muscle, burning fat or both, emphasize the heavy multi-joint exercises such as bench and shoulder presses, rowing movements, chins/pullups and deadlifts for the back, and, as previously noted, squats or leg presses for the legs.

I hope that this has been of some help. My undergraduate degree was in wellness & fitness, so I always enjoy discussing exercise protocols. Originally Posted by BreastLuvr

What a great post!! I have always done squats and lunges...though I will admit for other reasons. My right glut goes into spasm if it's not worked regularly...and squats and lunges are great for that.
The issue with my arms is a very limited range of motion. I can pull inwards..pushing outwards is a problem because I cannot get my arms to the starting point. Rowing crew required a very specific range of motion that I could manage...but I really am limited with other rotations.

The most important part of any exercise is strengthening your core. Any fitness pro will tell you that..and its true. Pilates and yoga are supposed to be brill for that...but bikram doesnt appeal to me because of the heat. I fancy a go at yoga..just not bikram lol. Don't you ever get dizzy/faint/light headed Olivia?

I agree about not worrying about building muscle. Keep your metabolism high (via diet and cardio) and its not that difficult to retain a lean look. I like a bit of definition...but it's actually pretty hard to build a muscular look by accident...it takes a lot of work.

I LOVE the rowing machines because it's cardio workout plus abs, gluts, triceps, biceps, quads and core strengthening in one. It makes me cringe when people don't use them correctly because you can cause some serious damage to your back/neck if you do not pull into your core correctly. My gym has every piece of cardio under the sun...except the rower.Grrrrrrr!!

Naomi..I'm impressed you like the ab circle pro. I hated the damn thing lol. Even with the pads it hurt my knees like HELL...and I further padded it too. I could not get into a comfortable position on that thing at all..regardless of the adjustments I made.

WTF...'aint no price tag on that here..because it's not for sale lol. Just doesn't work for me...

Thanks everyone for your feedback

Me xxxx

Getting ready for the weekend Originally Posted by Logan135

You don't say lol. Mwah!!

What a great post!! I have always done squats and lunges...though I will admit for other reasons. My right glut goes into spasm if it's not worked regularly...and squats and lunges are great for that.
The issue with my arms is a very limited range of motion. I can pull inwards..pushing outwards is a problem because I cannot get my arms to the starting point. Rowing crew required a very specific range of motion that I could manage...but I really am limited with other rotations.

The most important part of any exercise is strengthening your core. Any fitness pro will tell you that..and its true. Pilates and yoga are supposed to be brill for that...but bikram doesnt appeal to me because of the heat. I fancy a go at yoga..just not bikram lol. Don't you ever get dizzy/faint/light headed Olivia?

I agree about not worrying about building muscle. Keep your metabolism high (via diet and cardio) and its not that difficult to retain a lean look. I like a bit of definition...but it's actually pretty hard to build a muscular look by accident...it takes a lot of work.

I LOVE the rowing machines because it's cardio workout plus abs, gluts, triceps, biceps, quads and core strengthening in one. It makes me cringe when people don't use them correctly because you can cause some serious damage to your back/neck if you do not pull into your core correctly. My gym has every piece of cardio under the sun...except the rower.Grrrrrrr!!

Naomi..I'm impressed you like the ab circle pro. I hated the damn thing lol. Even with the pads it hurt my knees like HELL...and I further padded it too. I could not get into a comfortable position on that thing at all..regardless of the adjustments I made.

WTF...'aint no price tag on that here..because it's not for sale lol. Just doesn't work for me...

Thanks everyone for your feedback

Me xxxx Originally Posted by Camille

Camille, Having never met you and thus having not had the opportunity to evaluate your physique, I will go out on a limb with the sheerest of speculation and suggest, at least for your consideration, that your inability to "get my arms to the starting point" on pushing movements may reflect a reduced range of motion in the shoulder girdle and imbalances in strength between, respectively, the lats (back) and pectoral (chest) muscles, as well as the triceps and biceps.

This would not be, in the least bit, unusual for someone who emphasized rowing, an exercise that, depending on the specific hand placement with which it is performed, strongly emphasizes the lats and biceps. If that is the case, you might want, in the short term, to emphasize more direct triceps and chest work. Flyes, performed either with dumbbells or a pec deck, certainly will force your shoulders to work through a greater range of motion, by virtue of the deep stretch which it provides at the starting point of the movement. Don't induce an acutely painful stretch but, rather, simply allow the resistance felt, in this position, to slowly, over time, expand your range of motion.

Dumbbell presses can function similarly to increase flexibility of the shoulder girdle if you use a full range of motion, due to the deep stretch at the bottom/starting position. This is particularly true in comparison to fixed barbells or machines for performing equivalent movements. Another huge advantage of incorporating dumbbell exercises into your regimen is the fact that they will force you to improve unilateral strength imbalances, where the dominant limb is clearly stronger and/or more highly developed than the nondominant limb.

Directly training the pecs will strengthen and firm the muscles directly underlying the breasts. And anything that will make a woman's breasts ride higher on the chest wall is a beautiful thing, particularly from the perspective of a BreastLuvr.

Camille, Having never met you and thus having not had the opportunity to evaluate your physique, Originally Posted by BreastLuvr

I happen to think Camille looks just dandy. What do you think BL?
http://www.introducingcamille.com/24901.html

If you like a lot of cardio and core work the Insanity dvd series is very good. (but fairly intense) I was just trying to tone and still lost weight and a couple inches off my waist. It will get your obliques in shape. Did the entire scheduled progam last year....started again this week. Getting ready for the weekend Originally Posted by Logan135

And did it ever work for you!! OMG!!!!

I bought the eliptical for home use however I prefer the treadmill
For abs I have that damn ball but it works

I happen to think Camille looks just dandy. What do you think BL?
http://www.introducingcamille.com/24901.html
Originally Posted by SR Only

Thanks for the link. I agree. With her long, lean lines, Camille would be a beautiful runway model, if she doesn't already have those credentials on her resume.

Aww...sweet SR and BL but that was my mum and youngest sister's gig for a brief time. Until about 18 months ago I was very fortunate to remain lean without doing much at all..and without having to give two hoots about diet, but that's thanks to mum's genes, not hard work or dedication on my part. I think rowing crew competively (no-one does it for fun do they?) keeps you streamlined too for quite a while after the fact because your muscles have some degree of "memory" and whilst they may not be working at optimum level, as long as they are being worked to some reasonable degree the definition declines very slowly. Now I have to work..and work hard. I actually enjoy it though...not the exercise per se...but the feeling of muscles being stretched out and worked fully afterwards.
BL, me and dumbells are a joke. I am not kidding when I say I am the entertainment back home at Christmas when some fool drags them out and says, "Come on Camille, show us what you can't do with those arms," lol. I have a couple of sets here and one of those shakerweights. The shaker weight btw is suprisingly good..and it packs easily so I can take it when I travel. Dynamic inertia and all that jazz....
BL, I might kidnap you as my personal trainer. You know, someone to beat me, whip me and make me write bad checks when I'm slacking off...hahahaha.

Thanks again everyone for your input. I'm going to look at some of the stuff you have all suggested and mix it up a bit!!

C xxxx

Agreed. Camille you look tiny as hell, but as we age the old metabolism slows down....I am starting to see that now lol. I put on 15 lbs. since high school but my boobs grew 2 cup sizes and so did my butt lol. My problem is that I am so short that five lbs. looks like 20 on me! I HATE dieting! I prefer getting laser lipo and taking the easy way out, so I can still eat!! Atkins is killing me!

Camille does have a hot bod.