Friday, January 29, 2010

Cardio Princesses

The trainer at the fitness center (that lost 200 lbs) has a term for the women who go every day and do the elliptical or run for 1 hour. They are the cardio princesses. They would never step into the testosterone filled area of weights (unless they were hitting on the muscle men!). While these women may build endurance, they aren't really building muscle or transforming their bodies. I am not a cardio princess, but I DO enjoy spinning. It burns calories and can be a tough workout for my legs if I choose it to be. Today I did 22 minutes of Spin and burned over 200 calories. My little mermaid had swimming lessons so I couldn't do the entire class. Normally I take Body Flow on Fridays, but my arms/chest/shoulders were too sore from yesterday that I needed to do a legs only cardio today. I will say I don't like to go to the weight area for a few reasons

A) I don't like being one of the only women among a bunch of men. I feel embarrassed because I think. "These poor men..the only woman they have to look at in the area is me"

B) I don't really know what I'm doing. Sure I've seen it done and read about it, and I take Body Pump, but free weights are a whole different story. How many reps, how many sets,what weight? What is it supposed to feel like?

C) It's so SLOW. I don't like breaks. I know you are supposed to have rests in between sets, but that's so BORING. And I don't know if it's okay to do crunches while I'm supposed to be resting. Can I walk a lap, or is that too long of a rest. How long is too long?

I do plan soon on meeting with a trainer for a 1 hour session to learn these things. I know that strength training is vital to my efforts, and vital if I don't want to look like a blob of melted marshmallow when I lose the weight.

Weigh in 256.6!! YAY! This is the lowest I've been since 2004!

Here's a comparison from October to Now

OCTOBER 10, 2009 JANUARY 29, 2010
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10 comments:

  1. midlife_swimmerJanuary 29, 2010 at 7:29 PM

    congrats on your weigh in! I take a weight training class and it is coed so it's cool to be a chick using the free weights there especially because the teacher is female.

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  2. Lisa "One Mom's Weight Loss"January 29, 2010 at 9:40 PM

    You are so pretty and look like such a happy person :)

    Let me give you some of my weight opinions...
    A) You are a woman taking care of your body. You are beautiful TODAY and men don't really pay nearly as much attention to us in the weight area as we think.

    B)Meet with the trainer or look online for instructions on particular free weight exercises.

    C)The great thing I like about my weight routine is I do not take breaks at all. My trainer taught me how to fill the space, so that you work non stop for 30 minutes. It's high intensity and burns a ton.

    This is how it works....

    You may do a chest exercise, then you can work your shoulders right after...different muscle group. Then go right into ab work, followed by squats, then back to chest etc. So, yes you may do 3 sets of something but instead of sitting in between sets like most men do you work a different body part.

    OK...now that I've gabbed to much....

    Hope I offered a little bit of help.

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  3. BethanyJanuary 29, 2010 at 11:38 PM

    Yea on the weight loss, girl! That is terrific!
    Bethany

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  4. lyricgirlJanuary 30, 2010 at 12:03 AM

    You look awesome with a very pretty smile. I love spinning and it is har work.

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  5. ChristineJanuary 30, 2010 at 12:45 AM

    plbbbtttt.
    they can call me a cardio princess. But much like you I do NOT like hanging out in the weight area.
    Instead of doing weight training, I am doing pilates.
    I am building muscle using my own body weight. You could look that up, people do it all the time.
    I am burning fat like a mofo and looking good.
    Now I am starting to tone in a way i enjoy looking at.
    To each their own. You look great jodie.
    You can really see the difference.

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  6. LeslieJanuary 30, 2010 at 5:08 AM

    Hi Jodie,

    I keep saying how great you look when you post a pic, and here it is again! You do look happy and have an amazing warm smile, and the difference is quite evident. And congratulations on the weight loss! You're making steady progress.

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  7. HeatherJanuary 30, 2010 at 8:36 AM

    You look great. I love lifting weights but it can be intimidating in a gym if you aren't confident with what you are doing. Maybe get some weights for at home and do weight work there until you are more confident. I agree with the superset routine that Lisa recommended. I can't stand resting between sets either and that works well for me. Body For Life has a good weight lifting routine on their website.
    http://bodyforlife.com/exercise/weighttraining.asp
    They also have a video section on the sidebar that shows you how to do each exercise.

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  8. BarbaraJanuary 30, 2010 at 5:32 PM

    You look wonderful. Congrats on the weight loss. I also do as Lisa said and move from one exercise to the next to the next and then cycle back around. I workout at home instead of a gym so I don't know about any men in the weight area or anything like that. Maybe you could start with free weights at home, find what weight works for you and so when you go to do it at the gym you know what weights to use..Just a thought.

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2010 at 8:30 AM

    Guess you could call me a cardio princess too. I like the endorphin rush from doing cardio and how it greatly improves my mood. I do make myself do some strength training but in a class not on my own out in testosterone land. Want some tone and shaping but am not out for the chiseled muscular look.

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  10. LucyJanuary 31, 2010 at 7:51 PM

    You're looking great Jodi!

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