Exercises

Hello, everyone. I've been lurking a while and find this group to be
very active and helpful. You are especially inventive when it comes to
recipes! What form of exercises does everyone prefer? I'm looking for
upper and lower abdominal exercises that don't bulk up the muscles.
Maybe something like Pilates, which is supposed to elongate the muscles
instead? Thanks for your help.

Marsha/Ohio
LC since August 2003?
240/221/140

"MAS" wrote in message
...
Hello, everyone. I've been lurking a while and find this group to be
very active and helpful. You are especially inventive when it comes to
recipes! What form of exercises does everyone prefer? I'm looking for
upper and lower abdominal exercises that don't bulk up the muscles.
Maybe something like Pilates, which is supposed to elongate the muscles
instead? Thanks for your help.

Marsha/Ohio
LC since August 2003?
240/221/140


Marsha,

Very few women will "bulk up" from exercise. Yes your muscles can get
slightly bigger through weight training, but it is a myth that you'll end up
looking like the women bodybuilders you see on TV or in the magazines. I
would recommend you read this website:
http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html. This is about the best women's
weightlifting site I have seen.

I would make a recommendation for you though, spot training really doesn't
work. Yes it will build or tone the muscles, but you'll get so much more
benefit from a complete workout. The weight will come off faster and it will
be more likely to stay off. One thing to remember is that muscle burns
calories, even at rest, so a few more pounds of muscle are a blessing to
most of us.

Chris

In article , MAS
wrote:

Hello, everyone. I've been lurking a while and find this group to be
very active and helpful. You are especially inventive when it comes to
recipes! What form of exercises does everyone prefer? I'm looking for
upper and lower abdominal exercises that don't bulk up the muscles.
Maybe something like Pilates, which is supposed to elongate the muscles
instead? Thanks for your help.

Marsha/Ohio
LC since August 2003?
240/221/140


Don't worry about "bulking up" this is _very_ hard for women to do anyway.
I believe a combination of weight training and aerobics is best, aerobics
gets your heartrate up and weight training puts on muscle which is not only
denser than fat but also, the more muscle you have the more fat your body
burns even when you're at rest. The best kinds of exercise are whatever
kinds you will stick with. I've been working out at Curves since April,
for instance, but it may not be every woman's cuppa.

--
-Michelle Levin (Luna)
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick
http://www.mindspring.com/~designbyluna

From: MAS

What form of exercises does everyone prefer? I'm looking for
upper and lower abdominal exercises that don't bulk up the muscles.

I'm doing yoga & it's total body work, spot training doesn't work. It's gentle
but challenging & very beneficial. Not dissing aerobics, used to be an
instructor. I'm just so out of condition that the yoga "fixes" me so that i
can do aerobics later if I want. And it's a great stress buster.

Trish
LC since 5/27/03
166/139/125

c wrote:

Marsha,

Very few women will "bulk up" from exercise. Yes your muscles can get
slightly bigger through weight training, but it is a myth that you'll end up
looking like the women bodybuilders you see on TV or in the magazines. I
would recommend you read this website:
http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html. This is about the best women's
weightlifting site I have seen.

I would make a recommendation for you though, spot training really doesn't
work. Yes it will build or tone the muscles, but you'll get so much more
benefit from a complete workout. The weight will come off faster and it will
be more likely to stay off. One thing to remember is that muscle burns
calories, even at rest, so a few more pounds of muscle are a blessing to
most of us.

Chris


Great website. Thanks, Chris. Thanks also, Trish and Luna. I was
concerned about my abdomen getting any bigger - that's where most of the
extra weight is right now. Having lost 19 lbs, I now look only 8 months
pregnant instead of 9. What a feeling!

Marsha/Ohio