workout questions

[curvygirly]

I have 4 workout questions, I hope someone can help me with. I apologize there are so many questions, but I have been dying to know and figured might as well ask now.

When I workout, I am paranoid that my feet are not pointing straight. Ie- when I do lunges, I worry if one of my feet might be pointing on an angle compared to the other. Or when I kickbox I worry whenfeet aren't facing in the same direction together, straight on. I think it's poor form and can cause injury. I have no idea if this is paranoia or legit? Does this matter?

I know that it's best to give your muscles one day to rest. So I do days of squats and tricep extentions, alternating with days of lunges and bicep curls. I recently added crunches, wall pushups, super mans and donkey kicks. (basically floor mat exercises to work out the abs and legs). Do these also need to have a rest day in between, or can I do them daily?

Sometimes i am running late and I don't have time to cool down. I might just stop kickboxing , or stop working out after walking briskly 3mph on the treadmill. Go upstairs to have a post workout snack or shower. Is this bad? What's the minimum cool down, if necessary that I should ensure I do?

Also, I have lost only 3 lbs in the last 5 months however lost 2 inches off chest, waist,hips, thighs,arms. People can see a difference and so can I . I'm just wondering, wouldn't the lb loss be more then? If it's because I'm turning fat into muscle now, how am I losing inches? :oops: I know this is probably a dummy question, but I'm just confused.

Reads and replies are greatly appreciated :)

[Guest tparker]

I'll just answer the losing inches versus weight.

Muscle mass is more dense. You probably are adding a good portion to it into thighs and what not, specially with the kick boxing, squats and lunges. While you may lose a little inch wise there, you will be gaining weight there as well. Weight is NOT everything.

As for foot placement, proper placement is good most of the time it is an issue of flexibility. Just stretch more when you can, and you'll be able to bring form back into better shape.

Cooldown, there is no set, this is the way to do it, or time. You just need a gradual return to normal heart rate, whatever that may be.

As for resting days, there are so many different schools of thought that I'm not even going to go into that.

[Jess7286]

When I workout, I am paranoid that my feet are not pointing straight. Ie- when I do lunges, I worry if one of my feet might be pointing on an angle compared to the other. Or when I kickbox I worry whenfeet aren't facing in the same direction together, straight on. I think it's poor form and can cause injury. I have no idea if this is paranoia or legit? Does this matter?

I don't think your feet need to be facing in the EXACT same direction in kickboxing. You do need to hold your core in and control your kicks, but the exact angle for feet placement in kickboxing isn't that crucial. As for lunges, yes, your feet do need to be pointing roughly straight forward, but it's basically like taking a giant stride and finding your balance. The most important part of your body you need to worry about in terms of injury prevention is your lower back, and usually that can be solved by not rounding your back.

I know that it's best to give your muscles one day to rest. So I do days of squats and tricep extentions, alternating with days of lunges and bicep curls. I recently added crunches, wall pushups, super mans and donkey kicks. (basically floor mat exercises to work out the abs and legs). Do these also need to have a rest day in between, or can I do them daily?

The one day rest refers to muscle groups. If you're doing squats and lunges on alternating days, that means you're doing legs every day. I'd lump squats and lunges to one day, with triceps and biceps the next. But you should add in more chest/back work. As for abs, yes those need rest too. You can actually intensify your ab workouts by just holding in your core and tightening your abs when you lift.

Sometimes i am running late and I don't have time to cool down. I might just stop kickboxing , or stop working out after walking briskly 3mph on the treadmill. Go upstairs to have a post workout snack or shower. Is this bad? What's the minimum cool down, if necessary that I should ensure I do?

I think STRETCHING is a must, if that's what you mean by cool down. I'd rather ditch 5 minutes of lifting/running/cardio/whatever to stretch. There's no "minimum" cool down necessarily, but you should stretch your entire body and all your muscles. The length of time to stretch is also debatable but I usually stick with around 12-17 seconds.

Also, I have lost only 3 lbs in the last 5 months however lost 2 inches off chest, waist,hips, thighs,arms. People can see a difference and so can I . I'm just wondering, wouldn't the lb loss be more then? If it's because I'm turning fat into muscle now, how am I losing inches? :oops: I know this is probably a dummy question, but I'm just confused.

You can't have dummy questions, so no worries on that. As for only losing 3 pounds, I don't know how much you have to lose but typically the closer you get to goal, the slower you lose just because your body wants to hang on to the weight plus it's become super efficient at what it's doing. Losing inches is great. Muscle weighs more than fat, and the scale can't tell you your actual composition (unless you have a super cool awesome scale that tells you BF% and even then, they are usually rough guidelines).

Don't define yourself and your progress by the number on the scale. Your scale can't tell you all the good work you've been putting in. It can't tell you that you can now squat 20 pounds more than when you started. It can't tell you that you can now run farther/longer than you could 5 months ago. It's a guideline. That's all.

[curvygirly]

Thank you , you two for your awesome help and input:) mucho appreciated:)

I will def add in some stretching. however, I don't think I could do squats and lunges on the same day, I would collapse mid way :S do i just build up on this?

I have about 50 lbs to go, so i'm annoyed that the weight loss is so slow. but to be honest, at one point I wasn't eating nearly enough according to my calorie requirements, so that might have to do with it

[adam]

slow and steady wins the race... if you're still losing any weight (and that's what you want to do), you're on the right track. if you drop 30 lbs in one month the odds you'll keep it off are pretty low... be the tortoise, not the hare!

in terms of the squats/lunges thing, if you can't do both on one day, do one on your leg day, but i agree you shouldn't be doing legs every day, you should just being doing legs harder on the days you do it, then recovery, then back again.

if you have a m/w/f workout schedule, e.g.:

mon squats / tri

wed lunges / bi

fri squats / tri

next mon lunges / bi

wed squats / tri

fri lunges / bi

you could throw in ab stuff on the other days, especially if all you need is a mat to do them, and as previously mentioned squats, lunges and standing presses can work you core quite well if you're fully engaged.

and for unsolicited advice... try some deadlifts!

[67alecto]

I think you need to change your workout routine. Looking through your challenge journal, I see every workout doing the same exercises for the same reps at the same weight:

-50 lunges

-50 wall pushups

-50 crunches

-50 side way crunches

-50 leg raises

-50 donkey kicks

etc

You can probably do this workout in your sleep. I think you should set goals that will allow you to see progress. You can do 50 wall pushups. Ok, now try them on a bench. Then on the first stair. Then get to where you can do them on your knees. Then regular pushups. If you can do 50 tricep extensions with a 10lb weight, change it to 20lb and see how many you can do.

If you do the same workout each time, you're just maintaining and not improving.

[curvygirly]

You both are so right. I'm not setting goals to achieve, merely stationary tasks that won't allow me to progress. I'm going to figure out mini goals to set each week to try to achieve.

[Jess7286]

As a GIRL (so you don't think it's just a guys only thing), I completely love deadlifts. That stuff is intense and works your legs and glutes like no other.

You can try jumping lunges as well as jump squats, as well as doing lat raises coupled with your squats or even wall balls. There's many different combo exercises you can do that will be more effective.

Also, just because your limbs FEEL like they're going to fall off doesn't mean they actually will Your body is a lot tougher than you think it is. You can push yourself to do squats and lunges on the same day. In the beginning it'll be hard, but the only thing stopping you is your mind.