My husband is offshore in Nigeria () until the end of march and since I am 'this close' to goal I plan on pounding it out at the gym so I can look fantastic when he comes home. To make it even sweeter, we are going home to MN for a visit when he gets home and only a couple people have seen me as the weight was coming off. It is going to be fun. Anyway, I am thinking about getting a trainer for a few sessions and setting up a 30 minute workout (not including warm up and cool down) that involves free weights and the bosu ball. I am doing a lower heart rate fat burning instead of cardio and yoga and pilates. I would LOVE to hear what everyone else is doing and what seems to be working for you.

I am excited to start my first circuit training class today. It is 30 minutes long and it is followed by a 15 minutes abs class and thena 15 minutes stretch class that I plan to stick around for as well. I amm shooting for 3 days a week of this then 2 days of a much more intense cardio as well as one day a week pilates. I figure this is my plan for the next 10 weeks, if I feel my interest is flagging I will switch out for a couple of yoga classes for a break or just suck it up and do it anyway :thumbdown:

i couldnt agree more with the interval training.

when i was really losing, that is primarily what i was doing... i'd be on a machine - treadmill, elliptical, bike, whatever - go at a good pace... to where i can talk for 2-3 minutes.. then for 45-60 seconds i would go HARD ... like really really REALLY hard... i might have been able to squeak a word or two out, but that's it...

this is what i plan on doing after i deliver my wonderful son soon...

I need to understand this better. So, does one need to push the cardio and get the heart rate up, then do a few sets of weight training, then back to cardio at high intensity, then back to weights. Is that what you mean?

I think this is basically what my trainer has been doing with me. However, she always asks me if I need a break or need to catch my breath after the short cardio burst.

Thanks

I need to understand this better. So, does one need to push the cardio and get the heart rate up, then do a few sets of weight training, then back to cardio at high intensity, then back to weights. Is that what you mean?

I think this is basically what my trainer has been doing with me. However, she always asks me if I need a break or need to catch my breath after the short cardio burst.

Thanks

i think a SHORT break (no mroe than a minute or so) is ok ... when im doing it just cardio though, no break... for instance, on the elliptical - i would go 4-5 min at level 4 120 RPM, then i would go level 6 135 RPM for 60-90 seconds...

(these numbers are guestimates... im 36 weeks pregnant and havent done intervals in ages)..

but that's the basic idea...

Yeah, that's how I do it.

initially I started doing that becuase basically I loathe standing around lifting weights. Its so boring. So I did it circuit style instead. Then I started googling it and really reading what circuit training can do for you.

I also resent any non aerobic time as my main focus is running and much as I appreicate how necessary strength training is, I felt it was taking me away from what I really needed - fat burning aerobic cardio. So this way keeps it aerobic (in fact VERY challenging) and builds the muscle I need too.

And it has improved my running a LOT.

I have to admit, stepping up workouts and adding circuits really helped me this week. I went from losing 1 pound a week on average for the previous few weeks to 2 pounds since I started this thread.

oh, and I have this nice long muscle starting to run down the front of my thighs that I am really happy about! I guess it is the little things, huh?

I joined the gyn and doing cardio dailey and circuit one day and weights the next day. I also just joined a boot camp 96 week program)that is 3 times a week for an hour. It is preety intense.

My gym has a bootcamp program too but it is at 5:30 in the morning. I dont think my 2 and 5 year old will want to get up that early (not to mention me!) LOL If they change the time to later I would go though

I have to admit, stepping up workouts and adding circuits really helped me this week. I went from losing 1 pound a week on average for the previous few weeks to 2 pounds since I started this thread.

thats GREAT!!!!

Thanks for the tips girls! I for one enjoy lifting weights, and really don't care much for cardio. I told my trainer I need the cardio because that is my weakness, and if she let me all I would do is weight training. But I KNOW I need to incorpoate cardio to lose weight. I told her my goal is lose inches, because we all know the scale can lie.

I have always wanted to be a runner, but I have never had the stamina. I gave my trainer the Couch to 5K program and told her I want to do that.

lucy