What kind of workout should I use?

[emmasmom2003]

Hi---I have done some light weight lifting about 10 years ago. Right now, I am only doing aerobic exercise such as walking and cycling. I just turned 40 and just moved to Florida. I want to get toned and lean. I weigh about 117, and want to lose only a couple of pounds. I am looking for something to do in my home gym. I am looking into these things, and I am hoping someone can give me some advice as to which are the best to try: total gym 1000, pilates reformer, free weights (3, 5, 7 lb), core secrets, malibu pilates, or fluidity. Any suggestions? I would greatly appreciate it!! Thanks-----

[vaberella]

Originally Posted by emmasmom2003

Hi---I have done some light weight lifting about 10 years ago. Right now, I am only doing aerobic exercise such as walking and cycling. I just turned 40 and just moved to Florida. I want to get toned and lean. I weigh about 117, and want to lose only a couple of pounds. I am looking for something to do in my home gym. I am looking into these things, and I am hoping someone can give me some advice as to which are the best to try: total gym 1000, pilates reformer, free weights (3, 5, 7 lb), core secrets, malibu pilates, or fluidity. Any suggestions? I would greatly appreciate it!! Thanks-----

You have all of that in your gym. Wow, great stuff. My recommendation, eat right is the first tip. You didn't give us numbers or what not for calorie intake or how much you work out but I normally say women shouldn't take anything below 1400-1500 cals (although some say 1200 or 1100). One of my failures as well is eating small portions, eating healthy, and eating several times.

However that has changed, mainly due to stress where just thinking eating a plate of food I used to eat normally makes me want to hurl. Surprisingly everyone has been saying I've been losing weight. Took a break from working out to get my health in gear. In any event, diet is the key to all successes really, no matter how much gym gear you have----since you don't need all that to lose weight, get toned or what not.

If you're looking for workouts, check out some magazines like Fitness Rx (my personal fave) and Oxygen. Great set of workouts to do with weights, or machine. I believe Oxygen gives you some pilates/yoga moves. They'll show you form and give you rep tips, you can't go wrong there. Plus their informative on diet and some great motivational stories. Also visit ExRx (Exercise Prescription) on the Net for some exercise tips. Again all you really need is some body weight training workouts and if you get weights some weights. You don't need a full gym at home to get a great workout. I focus a lot on bodyweight workouts such as burpees, crawls, squats, push-ups and the like.

To get the lean/tall ballerina look I think pilates and/or yoga are great. However, I don't recommend staying home to do it. It's better to get some professional classes under your belt and then have some Susan Ivanhoe tapes as back up to do more at home.