Alin75's advice column

Hi, I'm a 23 year old female and I'm hoping for some advice from people who have experience on this -- the internet can have some very contradictory information when it comes to fitness.

I've recently lost a good amount of weight (down from 180 lb to 150 lb) and I think I'd like to lose about 15 lb more to hit my goal. But I'm not looking to be "skinny fat" -- eventually I think I'd like to try out fitness modelling.

My workouts consist of biking, kayaking, hiking, lifting weights/bodyweight exercises, doing CrossFit about 2x/week, and occasionally going for a Bikram yoga class.

My problem is that I don't really have a good structure to these things; I like exercising but I sort of just do whatever I feel like in the moment, and don't focus too much on specific goals. How should I organize/focus my workouts throughout the week to achieve my goals of losing the last 15 lbs while gaining muscle and strength? How much rest is necessary and when would be the optimum time to place it?

Oh, also, I've got my diet under control - I eat meats and fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, with some dairy and no grains or legumes.

Thanks to anyone who can help me out with this!

There is no one single way to structure a workout. I read the answer below and while it is not wrong as such, I do not agree with it either.

First, you may or may not benefit from splitting up your weight training. For some people who use weight training as a supplement, a full body routine run 2 or 3 times a week is great. Personally I am into powerlifting, and for me the best split is push (i.e. chest-shoulders-triceps), pull (back & biceps), and legs (squats etc.).

As far as I understand your goals, I would suggest the following:

Design two full body weight training routines and alternate between them. Use big compound, free-weight exercises and use different exercises on each day (I will provide a sample below). Free-weight compound exercises yield far better results and they also give you functional strength since they train all the stabiliser muscles. Just focus on getting the form right.

You can run your weight routine Mon-Wed-Fri or just Mon-Fri depending upon your own recovery rate.

Then, you can use interval training (as suggested below) once or twice per week. Interval training sessions do not need to be long since they are very intense, 30 mins max. On top of this add cardiovascular work with sessions that are at least 30 mins long. How many should depend on your specific ability and goals.

In terms of structure, if you do weights and something else on the same day, do the weights first and take a protein shake afterwards. Cardiovascular work can be done almost daily, while interval training and weights require one or more days break. Always leave (at least) one complete rest day per week. I would place it after your most intense day.

Also, pay attention to signs that you may be over-training. If you start to feel excessively tired or even a bit sick, lower the intensity (particularly of things like interval training).

Your best goal is to lose the excess weight first. During this period, weight training will serve not as a means of gaining muscle, but more as a means of retaining the muscle you have and thereby protection your metabolism during the weight loss period.

Then, once you have lost the weight, you can increase your calories (keeping your diet clean of course) and look to gain the strength that you want.

Here is a sample full body weight training routine. I designed this for a beginner not long ago, and it emphasises training the core. It is based on big compound lifts like the squat, deadlift, etc. Dont be afraid of these exercises by the way (women often are for some reason :P) they are the most effective things you can do at the gym by a long shot.

Do 2-3 sets of each exercise. Rep ranges are indicated for all exercises except those training the lower back and abs. There one would typically do higher rep ranges, perhaps 20-30, but it depends a lot on personal ability. Always focus on getting your form perfect, and never train to failure (meaning that your last rep should be completed with good form).

Day 1
- Squats 8-12
- Romanian deadlift 8-12
- Flat bench DB press on stability ball 8-12
- Standing DB shoulder press 8-12
- Pull downs / Pull ups (wide grip) 8-12
- Hammer curls 8-12
- Crunches (weighted if necessary)
- DB side bend
- Hyperextensions

Day 2
- Deadlift 8-12
- Pushups (depending on ability, if too easy substitute with bench press) 8-12
- DB lateral raise 8-12
- Pull downs / Pull ups (narrow grip) 8-12
- Dips (triceps version) (if too hard then substitute with another triceps exercise) 8-12
- Superman
- Cross body crunch
- Leg raises

You can find an excellent collection of exercises outlining the correct form and so on here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/

Good luck :)

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(Rating: 5) Thanks! This is really great advice, exactly what I was looking for, and I love the Bodybuilding site. I tried your samples (2 of day 1 and 1 of day 2) and substituted the bench press for pushups, and I'm already noticing an increase in strength, particularly in my arms.

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