Is this a good workout plan? will it have results?

Question

okay here is my workout plan for the next 5 weeks. Run/walking 30-45min 4 days a week and strength training on a bow-flex 3 times a week. do you think this workout will show any results during these 5 weeks? should i change anything?

and if you are wondering, yes im going to continue exercising after these 5 weeks, it will just be different cuz im gonna be at college. this workout i've planned is just for now, while im still home.

im not a heavy-set person. i am 5'6 and only weigh around 132 lbs. i just want to lose about 7 lbs before school starts and the rest of the weight loss and toning i will work on during the rest of the year.

Answer 1

Firstly, with your height and weight, I would not consider losing weight a priority, given your stats, maintaining total fitness or increasing your overall fitness is a better priority in your case. You are going to college so that means you are young person and by the sound of it above average in atleticism, which means that if anything your real Body Mass Index may be lower than your theoretical which is 21.3. Higher than 25 is considered overweight and higher than 30 is obese.

On to your exercise plan, glad to see you are combining strength training and aerobic training and that your strenth training is 3 times a week - don't exceed that.

Now on to the running and walking. I cannot comment on Run/Walking 30-45 mins because I don't know what you are doing to date and how long you have been running walking. Given you 3 days of strength training I would cut the run/walking down to 3 days so that your body has a rest for 1 day a week, helps with mental and physical recovery, although at these levels pysical burnout is not a risk but mental tiredness could be after time.

To avoid injury it's imperative that you get the right shoes for your running style i.e how the foot hits the ground most people are slightly pronators i.e the heel strikes the ground first and the foot rolls inwards to the ball of your foot, other people are supinators, which is a different roll, so basically you need to have shoes that are designed for the type of your foot roll the type of arch of your foot eg. are you flat footed, normal or high arch, if high arch you need good support and finally the type of running you do, is it cross country, concrete. So get shoes that are designed for you, not just good brands that are expensive, because you could get injured if they are not designed for your type of running or foot.

Finally, on the run/walking it is not good to do the same thing or just build up to longer and longer.

Alter your distances or in your case times have a short session a medium session and a long session say 1 at 50 mins, follow that one with say a 30 mins and then the other session a 40 mins and gradually increase them but don't increase the long session by more than 10% per week and adjust the other sessions as you feel as time goes on. Always try and follow your long run with the shortest of your sessions.

Hope that helps, good luck.

Answer 2

Yes, this plan will work wonderfully. Just one thing, when you do your bowflex training do different workouts on those three days.
I like to run it burns off alot of the unwanted weight. I am also 5'6. I started running about two years ago. I dropped 10 pounds in the first month & I was able to wear a size 4 again. The one thing to remember is this: When you start running that much every other day, you will notice yourself feeling hungrier than usual. Don't be afraid to eat a little more(healty stuff of course) your body knows what it needs and it will all burn off. There are a lot of websites out there to help, may I recommend RunnersWorld. It is a magazine and a website.
Good luck to you. (with your running workout and college)
~T

Answer 3

I think it could work.

I trained for an hour of cardio a day for 3 weeks once and had great results, but I had the benefit of a rower, treadmill, and cylce that I could use in rotation to prevent repetitive stress injury.

I think 30 minutes is pretty short for cardio. If you are very healthy and already fit, then your body can adjust quickly and you can get benefits from a short cardio session. However if you aren't fit already, it could take 10 or 15 minutes just to warm up properly, especially during the first few sessions. I'm not a big believer in really short sessions, but if you stick with it, its a good start.

When you do the bow flex training, I'd recommend taking it real easy the first couple times as your body isn't used to any of the lifts yet, and your muslces aren't prepared to work hard. You'll get really sore if you push it, causing unnecessary delay as you wait for healing. Also, I'd stick with lifts that use many muscles, and not bother with any isolating lifts.

Start the routine (after warm-up) with the hardest lifts first. To prevent injury you can start by doing light lifts of the type you will be doing next. I also warm up the muscles that stabilize any joints involved. It's important to do the heaviest lifts early in the program and not leaving them to the end, otherwise you'll tire small muscles that you need to help you do the heavy lifts safely. Also, try to avoid letting your heart-rate climb too high as that can put you in a mild form of shock. I wait until my breathing has settled back to normal to know its time to do the next set.

Personally I like to give muscles a lot of time to heal. I use a three day rotation so I can push muscles quite hard after a thurough warm-up. In your case I'm guessing you'll be trying to excercise every muscle 3 times a week. That's fine, just make sure you don't do too much.

The idea with wieght lifting ( or resistance training ) is to damage muscles in a controlled way. Then you add good nutrition, sleep and relaxation. Your muscles heal back stronger than they were. So make sure you don't just focus on the exercise. Learning about nutrition and making good food choices, and sleeping well are just as important.

Answer 4

You ask if you will see any results, Yes and no. First, I have been a personal trainer for over 18 years and I am going to give you the trade secret to weight loss. "eat less and move more" It is that simple. You can work out like crazy, but if your eating is not in tune, then you will most likely not achieve the results you are looking for. 80% of your success is from your eating. 10% workout and 10% sleeping and supplementation. Most importantly, you need to count calories. I know it sucks, but I have found that my clients who count calories are about 95% successful and those who don't are about 50% successful (yes, I actually researched this. My two rules for dieting for my clients are 1. if you don't know how many calories are in it...don't eat it. 2. Don't eat until you are full. I really like your workout and cardio idea. That it is simple and easy to follow will help you tremendously (again, it really is that simple to do...move more). But your diet plays the biggest part (eat less...in calories that is). I know my answer is not sexy and probably wouldn't sell any books or infomercials...but it is honest. Good luck!!!

Answer 5

I think that you will have some good results, but you have to make sure that you eat the correct food to burn as well. Make sure you do eat the foods that can give you real energy to burn while exercising. I think more running will do better than walking, but if you have to walk, then walg...(walk/jog). If you say that your not really overweight, and using a bowlfex will help you loose weight, but remember you will be gaining muscle as well, so just don't look at the scale, look at your body, is is leaner, stronger, your clothes fit better, and that your energy is up as well. The other thing is to be CONSTANT! No matter what you do. When you go back to school keep going even though it will be harder to do at school keep going do something.

Answer 6

You have a great start...here are my suggestions...

I would suggest that you set up training under the direction of a professional trainer, independent from an employee at your gym. You need to have someone who has studied the physics and physiology involved so that you do not overwork muscle groups unintentionally. There are also ways to build up in specific steps so that the maximum effects can be achieved. Stretching is also imperative to integrate into your routine, to avoid possible tearing of tissue or cartilage around the joints. A gentle, slow pace is more effective than a fast pace because with "quick" you can open yourself up to injury because your body mechanics may be off. By going very slowly with movements (such as with weight lifting), you can involve more of adjoining muscle groups and the ENTIRE muscle gets worked out, rather just at the beginning and the end (trying to bypass some of the discomfort...)of the tissue.

Answer 7

Here is what you need to do, if you are serious about losing weight and keeping it off. Eat 6 small meals a day about every 4 hours. Here what that will do for you, your metabolism will increase (i.e. Loose weight) and you will have more engry. If you go on a diet and eat less, your metabolism will slow down and store to fat. That is why diets dont work. Only the size of your fist, carbs (examples:baked potato, pasta, oatmeal, beans, corn, melon, apples, fat free yogurt, whole wheat breads)in one and protien (examples:chicken breast, swordfish, shrimp, turkey breast) in the other. You can also eat vegetables and salads with any meal, they dont have none or little fat). 30min cardo exercise every day. Any of these(examples: walking, jogging, swimming,running, biking, ect), Monday cardo, tues upper body (arms: curls, tricep extensions,pull ups, front press)(abdominals: leg pull crunch, leg raises), (chest: bench press, butterfly, pullover)(shoulders: front press, arm pullover, cross county skier machine)(back:seated row, lat pull downs, back extension)(YOU DONT HAVE TO DO IN ONE DAY, mix it up) wed cardo, thurs lower body (legs: leg pull,leg press, squats, lounges) fri cardo, sat upper. Sunday eat anything you want and dont exercising, you do this on sunday so your body doesnt go into starvation mode. YOU NEED TO TAKE SUNDAY OFF. If you stilck with this you will have a great body. also drink aleast 8oz of water daily! Stay away from Mcdonals, Wendys, ect because there is nothing good for you on the menu's even the salads are bad (beaon bits, cheeze, dressing, ect) Good Luck :)

Answer 8

It sounds like a winner. :). But remember to drink plenty of water and fewer cokes or other soft drinks. Consentrate on healthy food the same as you do a healthy exercise program.

And yes in 5 weeks you will feel better and should look better. (going out on a straw here as I don't know how you look) but all healthy work outs and diets plans improve your looks inside and out.

Answer 9

Ya that's sounds really good , Just don't forget to eat the right foods too and you should see results fast,good luck too you,

Answer 10

yes that's really good, but just make sure you are eating healty, and watching your calories..and make sure you drink lots of water! keep it up and you will see results