Ok. When I first started Atkins in January I told myself I was going to start going to the gym, and I did... for two weeks. I would walk the track, ride the bikes, and do other exercises that involved my legs. First question - will it be hard to loose the fat on my lower half by building muscle while exercising? Also, I need some tips on how to loose some off the middle, if you know what I mean. I cannot do sit ups, I end up giving up after about twenty... what can anyone recommend? Thanks a lot!

Toni Marie.

Hello Toni, just seen your pic and got here from there. Welcome, you are so in the right place. For me I had a hard time with exercise too, but no matter how much I didn't want to be there, I made myself stay. Just gave myself little pep talks like: Who cares if you don't wanna be here, your here, so just do it and get it over with. I would look at others that are a lot more heavier than me and would tell myself what a whimp I am, if that person that is 200 lbs more than me can do this, you can do this too.

It should not stop the fat from going as you build muscle. It is said that for so much muscle, you lose so much fat. Not an expert here, but things I have been told through the years.

I found that swimming is the key to keeping me going. I really like it and look forward to going now. I take 3 classes now and they work on our abs in all 3. I find that much easier to do the crunches in the water than on land.

I would say, if you can only do 20, then do 20. Its better than doing none. After a while you will be able to get more than 20. You just have to keep doing it.

Good Luck, hope to see some great updates from you soon.

Starting an exercise program is tough... they say that for it to become a habit you need to set a consisten exercise program and stick with it for three weeks (minimum) for it to become a habit. I've never been a big fan of working out but since I started my BFL program I've become addicted to working out and when I don't I actually miss it!

Sis is right about the fat/muscle thing. Muscles burn more caloires than fat so when you start building up muscle the body will start to burn off some of those excess calories (fat) that are stored in your body. Don't forget that muscle also takes up less space than fat - one pound of muscle is a half to two-thirds the size of one pound of fat. So that workout that is building muscle can make you look lean and mean...

The bad news... unfortunately you cannot spot reduce fat from a specific area. The good news... that fat will come off all over and if you are working on building muscle in a specific area that you will begin to see the muscle tone when the fat begins to roll off. (I didn't beleive this myself until I saw it on my own body!)

If you want to tone your middle the best thing to do is sit-ups, crunches and oblique exercises to get those muscles in tone. I couldn't do more than 20 when I started either. Start small and work your way up.

Good luck - I'm sure you'll succeed!
Kiks

Thanks so much for the advice! I definitely need to set some times aside where I can work out, that would help out a lot. I enjoy going to the gym at my college, but would rather work out with someone else.

Thanks for the tips and hopefully I'll be working out constantly in no time!

Toni

FOCUS on your lifting!!! It really pays!

And I carried all my weight in my legs - still fighting the good fight there, but it's going.

Don't be afraid to work your legs HARD. I only got any kind of results when I did this. Leg press, squats, lunges, leg extensions, sissy squats. Volume volume volume! This doen't mean "light" - it means "less heavy, because you are going to work them to death". You should feel your leg workouts for days.

The more you build up your quads and hams, the more your legs will look "deep" instead of "wide", creating the illusion of slimmer legs.

Upper body - the opposite. Shorter, heavier sets, mass building stuff. Helps balance out your body.

Here's a great site for info:http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

it has little movies that show the exercises being performed, and what muscles they target.

Lift weights for no more than an hour, 3 or 4 times a week. Toss on a little bit of cardio and you'll be rocking!

I carry all of my weight in my upper half, should I still work my legs hard or should I focus more on sit ups, push ups, crunches, etc?

BUILD UP YOUR LEGS! Not only will you look more balanced, but it will help raise your metabolic rate.

Since you are top heavy, rather than bottom heavy, concentrate on shorter, heavier sets for your legs, and (I hesitate to say lighter) less-heavy, but longer sets for upper. This does NOT mean light. It means that instead of picking a weight that you could do three sets of 8 with, and barely get through them, pick a weight you could do 4 sets of 12 with, and barely get through them.

And don't be afraid to switch this up from time to time. You may well find that higher volume workouts work better for your legs than you think. I do TONS of volume work with my legs.

Have fun, and I look forward to seeing how you do.

Cheers

I love to work on my legs! Whenever I go to the gym that's mostly what I do. When I was younger I played sports and that's where I got the strength in my legs from... they are so powerful, but yet my arms are my weakness.. that and trying to do crunches.

toni marie-
Don't worry if you can only do twenty crunches. That's a good start. Do twenty, rest a minute, do twenty more, rest, ect. Do three or four sets even if you decrease the number a bit with each set. Several sets of an excercise can bring great results.

"Bicycle" excercises are great for the abs. That's where you lay on your back and alternate bringing one knee into your chest and straightening it while you bring the other in. At the same time, with hands behind head you lift your upper body like a crunch and twist opposite shoulder toward whcih ever knee is bent. They work both obliques and abs together.

One thing I did which really worked for me. Because I HATE to do sit-up/ab stuff, I played a song that inspired me and would do leg lifts during the verse (for lower abs) and "bicycles" during the faster chorus. I couldn't believe the difference in just a week or two. If your interested, I'll tell you some more abs stuff. I just didn't want to go on and on.

Stick with it. There's nothing like excercise to make you feel and look great. It speeds the weight loss, makes you look healthier, fights the aging, etc. Your stats already look great. I hope your are very proud of all you've accomplished!!!

Great post phat

And I'll add an expression:

"Abs are made in the kitchen".

Keep doing your ab work. As you bodyfat drops, they will emerge. You can't spot reduce, but make those abs strong, and your stomach will be hard and flat once the fluff is gone.

I am happy you are posting here, some good advice will generate great results for some

Thank you! What a nice thing to say!

Cheers!