Please could some knowledgable fitness people devise a weekly exercise regime for me?

[notnowbernard]

School starts next week and I will have more time on my hands, hurrah

I want to lose about 7-10lbs, but more importantly I want to look toned and healthy.

I've done the Shred before and got right into it, not sure I can face the whole every day thing again though

I've worked out I'll have about 2-3 days 'free' to fit in some exercise. What will get me the best results?

Tia!

[pootlebug]

What do you like doing? You're more likely to stick to something if you enjoy it I think.
Do you like the idea of competing?

[notnowbernard]

Thanks for reply!

Definitely not competitive! Tbh have never been 'sporty' so this is a new thing for me

Have never tried running (the idea fills me with horror ), I like swimming a lot (but is once or twice a week enough to achieve my goal?)
I have a couple of non-Shred but Jillian DVDs, would consider going to an exercise class in my time off, but which type?

Clueless!

[pootlebug]

Even if you only do the Shred 3-4 times a week you'll still see results from it, so if you enjoy it it might be worth doing that + something else?

You'll probably get more toning from weight-bearing exercise than cardio stuff. I am much more toned than I used to be from cardio, but I mix swimming, biking and running and do a fair bit of them….it would be harder in fewer sessions and you'd see faster results from weights stuff. Classes like Body Pump can be a good and with a couple of sessions a week + a couple of shred sessions in-between you'd see results fairly quickly. For weight loss, adjusting food intake is easier than exercise, unless you do a lot of cardio.

Have a look what classes there are near you that offer a free trial session or the ability to just turn up on the day to one class and give some things a go. I think it's easier to commit to doing something if there's a regular class.

Benefits of swimming vary depending on how hard you swim….if you do a few lazy slow lengths with lots of breaks, not so much, if you swim pretty hard for good distances it will have plenty of benefits, but not the level of toning benefit of something like Body Pump. But if you enjoy it it's probably still very worth doing. Do you have any local social swimming groups you could join?

[notnowbernard]

I do really enjoy swimming - I'm not a racer by any stretch but I can do about 15-20 lengths before stopping for a breather, but I take your point about it not being as effective as something weighty

I looked at my local gym, they do boxercise and body sculpt. Would one of those a week, a swim a week and 2-3 level 3 shreds do it?

Or I have a couple of 45min Jillian DVDs - one is cardio based, one more circuit with weights

[pootlebug]

1 x Body Sculpt, 1 x swim, 2-3 x Shred sounds like it should work well and fit in to your timetable - do the Body Sculpt and swim the days you have more time and fit in the Shred sessions when you can. If you find you want to push the cardio more, either add in an extra swim or a Cardio Jillian DVD.

[notnowbernard]

Brilliant, schedule worked out!
Now just have to DO it

Thanks for your help

[pootlebug]

No problem :)

It might be worth planning ahead which days you do what - it's easier to stick to if you know that Wednesday = swim, Friday = shred etc than if you can always put stuff off until tomorrow.

I'd schedule a rest day after your Body Sculpt as that will likely be the one that you find hardest to start with.