How many times do I workout my arms in a week?

[Juliann]

I'm going by usual schedule...


Mon- Tread, belly, arms
Tues- Tread, belly butt
Wed - Tread, belly, thighs


and take the remaining 4 days of the week off to relax the muscles...then I repeat the same workout the next week, but I change the workouts a bit but target the same spots basically

so my question is, is it good to only workout the arms once a week or should I do it all 3 days of the week? Like I said before I'm only looking to lose the fat and tone my arms

[Lee J B]

Not to question your ability but I don't think that routines going to get you anywhere in the long run....as far as I can see it's not targetting any goal, it's not targetting muscle building because of the cardio before hand and the simplicity that most body parts aren't hit in the workouts. And it's not targetting fat loss because your bound to go into a state of catabolism with that and so it will be (for the most part) your muscle which is being burnt up.

P.S, don't work arms three times a week.

[Juliann]

is it the treadmill? Today all I did was work my belly and butt by doing pilates, 10 minutes for both....good?

[Lady C]

Your goal is to lose fat, therefore, some stretching, abs and tredmill is not enough. You need to increase your calories and add strength training to your routine. Here is a sample routine (borrowed from Laura).

Monday
[ Chest & Biceps ]
65 lbs -- Flat DB Press -- 1 x 8
70 lbs -- Flat DB Press -- 3 x 5-6
60 lbs -- Incline DB Press -- 1 x 7
65 lbs -- Incline DB Press -- 2 x 4
50 lbs -- Cable Crossover -- 1 x 8
60 lbs -- Cable Crossover -- 2 x 6
40 lbs -- BB Curls -- 1 x 8
45 lbs -- BB Curls -- 2 x 5
30 lbs -- DB Alternating Curls -- 1 x 8
35 lbs -- DB Alternating Curls -- 2 x 5
17.5 lbs -- DB Concentrating Curls -- 3 x 5-7

Diet summary
88p 166c 13f 29fiber = 1284 calories

Tuesday
[ Cardio ]
20 mins Interval Training


Wednesday
[ Quads, Hamstrings & Calves ]
100 lbs -- Leg Extension -- 1 x 8
105 lbs -- Leg Extension -- 3 x 5-6
145 lbs -- Smith Squats -- 1 x 8
155 lbs -- Smith Squats -- 1 x 8
175 lbs -- Smith Squats -- 1 x 8
185 lbs -- Smith Squats -- 1 x 5
65 lbs -- Barbell Lunges -- 1 x 8
85 lbs -- Barbell Lunges -- 1 x 8
95 lbs -- Barbell Lunges -- 1 x 5
85 lbs -- Barbell Straight Leg -- 1 x 8
105 lbs -- Barbell Straight Leg -- 1 x 7
115 lbs -- Barbell Straight Leg -- 1 x 4
260 lbs -- Donkey Calf -- 1 x 9
280 lbs -- Donkey Calf -- 1 x 8
300 lbs -- Donkey Calf -- 2 x 6-7
220 lbs -- Rotary Calf -- 1 x 8
225 lbs -- Rotary Calf -- 2 x 5-6

Diet summary
88p 174c 18f 28fiber = 1317 calories

Thursday
[ Cardio ]
20 mins Interval Training


Friday
[ Shoulders & Traps ]
55 lbs -- Military Press -- 1 x 8
60 lbs -- Military Press -- 2 x 5
25 lbs -- DB Forward Laterals -- 1 x 8
30 lbs -- DB Forward Laterals -- 3 x 6-7
35 lbs -- DB Rear Laterals -- 1 x 8
40 lbs -- DB Rear Laterals -- 3 x 5-7
50 lbs -- Barbell Upright Row -- 1 x 7
55 lbs -- Barbell Upright Row -- 3 x 4-5
[ Abs ]
Roman Chair Oblique Raises -- 3 x 15 Rep
Roman Chair Leg Raises -- 3 x 10 Rep
Ball Crunches -- 3 x 15 Rep
Bicycles -- 3 x 15 Rep

Diet summary
88p 174c 18f 28fiber = 1317 calories

Saturday
[ Cardio ]
20 mins Interval Training

[Juliann]

laura uses dumbbells & barbells and such...I don't have that kind of equipment nor the money to go to the gym (obviously) all I have are 10pound weights and a resistance band. And Pilates is much more than just stretching, just thought I'd slip that in.


But I guess I'll have to keep doing what I do and see if it works for me....thanks guys :thumbup:

[CJNY]

Originally Posted by Juliann

laura uses dumbbells & barbells and such...I don't have that kind of equipment nor the money to go to the gym (obviously) all I have are 10pound weights and a resistance band. And Pilates is much more than just stretching, just thought I'd slip that in.
:

You may not have other equipment but you can still do pushups and two-legged or one-legged squats. Got two sturdy chairs? You can do dips. Got something like a strong broom handle? You can do inclined pullups. These exercises, when done properly, will make a huge difference in your toning efforts. Once you see the results I'll bet you find a way to get access to some weights and then you'll really be flying.

Pilates is a decent abdominal workout and OK for some other aspects, but it is lacking in many areas.

[Juliann]

so considering what I have, and that I only have Mon, Tue & Wed to do the workouts, what would you recommend? Give me an example for let's say a Monday workout for me to achieve the best possible workout..be my guidance for now (hehe) Mondays are usually when I workout my arms

[gettnlnr]

Juliann,
If you were my client.
Assuming your goal is to lose fat and "tone up" a little, and addressing the fact that you are limited by equipment, and that Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are the only days you have available for workouts.
I'd have you do on Monday and Wednesday about a five minute warm up on the treadmill and then jump into a full body strength workout. When you finish your strength work then you go back to the treadmill for another 20-60 minutes in your target heart range. When you finish your cardio work then you do some slight stretching to finish things off.
On Tuesday you can just do your cardio on the treadmill for 20-60 minutes in your target heart range, followed by a little stretching to just polish the day off.
If you can get anything else in throughout the week, great, but if not don't sweat it. But be patient, it will come.
With a total body workout you get general conditioning, along with the fact that if you have a troubled area, you can concentrate on it a little more, and not spend a whole lot of extra time.
I'll check back in to see if you have any other questions, or if you are in need of specific exercises.
best wishes,
shane

[Juliann]

isn't strength training, weight lifting, running etc. etc? Because I'm not too sure what strength training is per se

[CJNY]

Strength training makes you stronger, as in being able to lift and carry heavy things easily. It will help you keep the muscle that is responsible for the toned look you seek while you lose the fat that is currently hiding that muscle. Otherwise you lose both fat and muscle and your arms look like toothpicks. No doubt you have seen people like this - thin, but in a sickly kind of way and not particularly attractive.

Running is a different kind of exercise entirely. It, too, will help you lose the fat, but it doesn't do much to preserve muscle and is not a substitute for strength training.

gettnlnr's plan is about as good as you can manage given your schedule limitations and should work great for you.

A simple full body strength workout without weights might include push-ups, pull-ups, dips, and some kind of squat or lunge. The most common varieties of some of these exercises may be too difficult at first but all of then can be modified to make them manageable for just about anybody.

Most everybody knows what a push up looks like. You can make them easier by putting your hands on the back of a chair instead of the floor. The lower you place your hands the harder they get. You want to make them hard enough so you can do 8-12 pushups in a row without stopping. When you get to 12 make it harder so you can only do 8.

Follow the same schedule for the other exercises. Pull-ups (also called chin-ups) can be made easier by doing something like what's shown on this page:

http://www.strend.com/description.html

Dips can be done like this:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...tBenchDip.html

or, if that's too hard, like this:
http://www.easychinupbar.com/examples_001.lasso

The last page also shows you other exercises as well. There are lots of other effective exercises you can do with or without weights but this should get you started.

[gettnlnr]

Juliann,
You may be more familar with "aerobic" training, not in the specific type that people visualize of the aerobics instructor jumping around a shouting for everyone to follow what He/she does. Running, walking, rowing, swimming, etc. is what I refer to as aerobic training. Anything that gets you breathing a little harder is for cardiovascular conditioning and fat burning purposes. These forms of exercise are typically longer in duration than a strength workout, and these types of training should by no means be neglected on your way to physical fitness.
For simplicity purposes, strength training is any type of training that a person may do to help build muscle or otherwise "tone" a person up.
CJNY has given you some excellent tips as to how to perform a strength workout with very little equipment.
You also may be able to find a recreation center or a school in your area that has a gym open for you to use, I know there are several in my area of Az. that are open after school hours.
I'll check in later to see if I can be of further assistance.
shane