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Author: Stacy 185-176-130
Date: 04-12-03 13:29
I'm curious to know if I am "working out" enough. I mean, do I have to have a workout routine? I know this sounds like a silly question....but when it's nice outside, I can't stand to be couped up in the house working out! I play softball once a week, volleyball once a week, and I really enjoy walking, riding my bike, and rollerblading. I am doing at least one of these things on a daily basis. Can't these things be my cardio??? And I only spend about 20 minutes lifting weights 3 times a week. Is that enough time for toning?
Thanks for any comments or advice.
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Author: Kaitlyn
Date: 04-12-03 20:23
I think that the best kind of excersize is variety. When you mix it up- thats what really works. You're doing great. Keep going. But don't stop in the winter just because it isn't nice out anymore. Excersize inside. As long as you are active, you'll do great!
Good luck, great question.
~Kaitlyn
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Author: Stacy 185-176-130
Date: 04-12-03 21:08
Thanks for the pep talk...makes me feel a lot better! (my youngest daughters name is Caitlyn.) Winter is when I slack too....Spring is just starting and I'm already scared of winter!!
Thanks again!
Stacy
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Author: GymMachine
Date: 04-13-03 03:22
your active enough...u can still lose weight even if you were sedentary its all to do with cals in vs cals expended.
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Author: Stacy 185-176-130
Date: 04-13-03 09:29
I'm trying to watch what I eat... I only got serious about this around 2 1/2 weeks ago. I've found many good tips here, and am trying to incorporate what I can.
Thanks for the info!
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Author: Andrea
Date: 04-13-03 11:34
I think it depends on your goals. GymMachine is right. If you take in fewer calories than you expend, you lose weight. You COULD BE completely sedentary.
But there would be problems with that strategy. It would make me crazy in a heartbeat, because it would be so depriving in terms of food, but that might not be true for everyone. Another reason to work out, though, is to train your heart to be a healthier, more efficient muscle, and that requires cardiovascular exercise. A sedentary lifestyle, even if you are at a perfectly healthy weight, is not a healthy lifestyle.
Of course, your lifestyle is not sedentary. You've done an amazing job of incorporating activity into your week. The only comment/question/concern that I would have is are you sustaining cardiovascular activity for 20-30-45 minutes at a time in the activities you've chosen? Trust me on this point. The way I play softball is to sit on the bench. I'm so bad that my primary activity in the game is spent walking to the outfield -so far away that by the time I get there it's time to turn around and come back ;)
Your other activities -swimming, rollerblading....- probably allow you to get your heart rate up enough to train the muscle. There's some new-ish research that target heart rates are over-rated as accurate indicators of intensity, so I wouldn't obsess about that. You know when you're working hard enough, probably.
And as for the weight training (my personal nemesis), if you're lifting heavy enough or with high enough repetitions, 20 minutes is perfectly fine for toning.
It sounds like you should be our website mascot!
Andrea
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Author: Stacy 185-176-130
Date: 04-13-03 17:27
Thanks for the vote of confidence!!
I'm not sure about softball being a great cardio workout for me either. I play only so-so, most of the work is done at bat & running, trying to get a triple. (the men throw hard and fast!) For the rest of it, I bought this heart rate monitor, it not only keeps track of my heart rate, but tells me how long I worked out, and how much of that time was spent in my target heart rate zone, and cals burned. I really like it, especially 'cause it makes me work harder when I want to slow down....and I have to admitt that it makes me go longer...usually to 30 minutes. And the weight training is just a bear, I'm never sure how much weight, or how many reps I should do....I actually have videos that I follow. Just trying to make it simple.
Well, thanks again!!!!
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