Hi everyone,

I am currently going to curves for women. I own a treadmill that is used very often. However it would be ideally convenient for me to not have to leave home to go to a gym in the morning as my time is precious.

So what all do I need to get started. A book or video??? My 17 yr old son owns a weider unit as well as a weight bench. However I don't know where to begin!

Thanks all for the great information!

Jeanner, HI and welcome

You definitely need to get the book and read it cover to cover. A treadmill, your son's weight bench and some free weights are all you really need to get started. Your level of strength and history of lifting will determine the lightness of your weights. There's a thread in this forum by Teridoodle about weights that you should have a look at, also the sticky at the top "BFL with a LC slant" you should read through.

BFL can be done at home - you get a great workout and it is convenient, I love not having to leave my warm house at 5:30 am

If you have any more questions please ask away!
Nat

Hi Nat

I hope the invitation to "ask away" is open to everyone. You seem to be the resident expert on BFL and since I am still on the waiting list for the book at the library I have a couple of questions.

I know that its best to do cardio workout on an empty stomach. Does that also ring true for weights? I go to a great gym and want to do my weights there but I cannot get there in the morning.

Glutamine... how much do you take each day and is it the pill form or powder? The guy at the store said the powder was best, but it was $45!!
Before this WOL I used to gripe at paying $7.99 for multivitamins....

I am looking forward to working with weights after 20 years of aerobics, step and running my heart out. I have an appointment on Thursday at the gym to go through all the working of the weight training equipment.

How does this sound for my cardio workout?
10 min warm up - on treadmill
10 min uphill 3.2MPH - on treadmill
10 min 157 heart beat - on cross trainer

Sign me: Still trying to get this right

HI,

HI,

tHANKS FOR THE QUICK RESPONSE NAT! OOps caps key stuck...er anyway I ordered my copy of the book and am excited it's on the way. I dabble with free weights a little, pretty limited and mostly used the weider machine.

However I am finding the curves for women leaves me a bit sore. So I would guess that I should not do this every day as it works all muscle groups? Maybe 4X weekly and then 2 to 3x weekly treadmill til I get started on BFL? Doe this make sense.

Ditto to the questions AKI asked.

Thanks in advance Nat!

I'll save you some keystrokes, Nat.

Akiwican, if you don't have access to the BFL book, the next best thing would be to explore the website for more information about the workout theory and routine. It's very specific. The BFL link is: www.bodyforlife.com

There you will find that the cardio workout is based on an "interval" system and that during each interval your workout should range like this in intensity:

Your first interval should be 2 mins. at a level 5 intensity (based on your own physical condition)
Minute #3 should be at level 6
Minute #4 at level 7
Minute #5 at levl 8
Minute #6 at level 9 (at this point you should be breathing very heavy, barely able to hold a conversation)
Minute #7 back down to level 6
Minute #8 up to 7
Minute #9 up to 8
Minute #10 up to 9
Minute #11 back down to 6
Minute #12 up to 7.... next minute up to 8, etc.

You get the picture?

And you do this for a total of 4 intervals (or cycles).... each time getting up to level 9.....AND THEN on the last (4th) interval, for your last minute, you push even harder, as hard as you can possibly go, to reach your level 10. Then take a 1-2 minute cooldown and you're done!! For a total of 20 minutes.

I use a stationary bike for my cardio. Some people walk/jog, stairmaster, elliptical trainer.... whatever you can use where you can vary the intensity this way.

Yes, Phillips recommends working out in the morning, on an empty stomach....but drink 16 oz. of water first!!

I believe Nat's research shows to take .3 gm of glutamine for every KILOGRAM of lean body mass. For me, I have 120 lbs. of lean body mass which is 55 KG....so 55 x .3 = 16 grams/day. Split out 3x per day. If you get the powder that will be one tsp. 3x/day. The clerk at GNC told me that would be a good dose for me also.

Jeanner, BFL workout frequencies look like this:
Day 1 = upper body workout
Day 2 - 20 min cardio
Day 3 - lower body workout + abs
Day 4 - 20 min cardio
Day 5 - upper body workout
Day 6 - 20 min cardio
Day 7 - REST/FREE DAY
2nd week, Day 1: = lower body workout + abs
day 2 - cardio
day 3 - upper body workout
day 4 - cardio
etc
etc.

You work out a muscle group to an intensity of 10 and then rest it for 4-5 days before working it again.

All of this will make MUCH more sense when you read the book. You probably shouldn't dive in with the weights until you've done so. The cardio workouts you could easily get started on now.

*lol* Thanks, Teri, that about covers it !

Just a few points: Working out on an empty stomach is great for fat burning - specially when talking cardio. If you cannot get to a gym first thing then look to workout 2 hours after your last meal. With respect to lifting - many people just do not like lifting first thing in the morning, or on an empty stomach. They find they are not as strong. It depends on your goals. At present I do it first thing, but once I get closer to my goal I will start doing it in the evenings when I am stronger.

I would definitely go with the powdered glutamine - if not you'll be popping pills 'til the cows come home. I realize it's expensive but it is the one supplement I think is worth it - and it lasts quite a while.

And something that can never be repeated enough: if your muscles are sore when time comes to workout, WAIT. Your goal is muscle growth to burn fat, muscles grow during the time inbetween when you work them. Working sore muscles doesnt let them grow or heal. You will notice they recover faster with the glutamine.

Nat

Thankyou so much Teri and Nat for all that information. I know... I know... I will still read the book.

That's enough to get me started though and define my cardio workouts as well.

Thankyou so much once again for all your effort on our questions!

Akiwican

Thank you both very much.

No kidding on the weaker in the AM thought. I may need to find time in the PM for my new BFL weight trainer. The AM will take some getting used to. Or I guess I can just realize that I'll be weaker and deal with it

Annie G.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ALL THE INFORMATION. HOPE I
CAN GET IT ALL STRAIGHT IN MY MIND. IAM DEFINITELY GOING
TO GIVE IT A SHOT. THANK YOU AGAIN

I do Cardio 5 days a week for 30 minutes a pop. I don't do the interval like BFL does, I start out at level 5 for 10, move to level 8 or 9 for ten, then drop back to 5 for another 5 minutes then blast up to level 10 for the last 5 minutes then cool down. I do this after I get out of trainin g class in the early afternoon, about 1230 or 1300, and at least 2 hours after I eat.

In the evening I foloow the BFL ubwo ro lbwo whatever the day is just like he recommends, but I do 15 reps instead of 12.

BFL is a good program but to follow it for the full 3 months is tough. I know people who have had dramatic changes in their bodies on it and IT WORKS if you follow the plan. The diet is very sensible though I think that you really need to be careful to get enough veggies. One can get in a track of eating protein and a carb and no veggies.

The other thing is make sure you get enough rest with this plan. It is relatively intense and if you don't get enough sleep you will likely be run down and not finish the program.

I convinced a very good friend of mine to do BFL and he stuck to it to the letter and would have been a finalist for sure if he entered the BFL Contest. The transformation was so profound that his wife called me up and said, "I don't know how you convinced him to do this but Thank you, I am now married to a man who has the body of a stud I always fantasized about!!"

It works and requires a big commitment, I have done it for 1.5 months and due to my job and inability to get the rest I needed always got a bad cold around that time. But the gains I have made in those 1.5 months (which I repeated 3 times) have stayed with me.