Just thought some might find this useful/helpful since I've seen some post about weight and what they could do... soooo
How to build muscle and lose fat
How to Build Muscle and Burn Fat
By Mary Christ
Get toned, drop a dress size, and bolster your bones in 20 minutes flat, without stepping foot in a gym. No sweat!
It's resolution season and the rustle of low-carb food wrappers is everywhere. But the must-have item -- the one that can help you look leaner and burn calories all day long -- isn't stocked in the supermarket. Like Dorothy and her ruby slippers, you've had it all along: muscle.
The more of it you build, the more you'll rev up your metabolism and burn calories. "People lose about one-fourth of a pound of muscle per year and replace it with at least that much fat," says Miriam Nelson, PhD, author of Strong Women Stay Slim (Bantam, 1999). And unlike muscle, fat doesn't do much in the way of calorie burning.
Trade fat for muscle, however, and the scenario changes. For each extra pound of muscle, you'll burn about 12,000 calories a year without lifting a finger, about what it takes to lose three pounds of fat. Nelson has found that women who strength train drop a dress size even without shedding any weight. That's because muscle takes up less space than fat.
Strength training is also like putting money in the bone bank. Researchers at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, found that the more total weight a woman lifted over a year, the more she increased bone density in her hips, key to guarding against later fractures. The results back up recent findings from the Nurses' Health Study that showed that women who walked at least four hours per week -- a great weight-bearing exercise, by the way -- lowered their risk of hip fractures by about 40 percent compared with their couch potato sisters.
Strength training doesn't mean you have to use the weight machines at the gym. Dumbbells and exercise bands -- even your own body weight, as in doing push-ups or squats -- count, too. The following full-body routine is a good way to get started:
For the following two upper-body exercises, start with five-pound dumbbells, increasing weight as you get stronger.
Biceps Curl: Holding a weight in each hand, stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Tighten your biceps and, with palms forward, curl arms up, keeping them close to your sides. Hold, squeeze your biceps and lower arms slowly. Do 12 times.
Triceps Kickback: Holding weight in right hand, put your left leg in front of you and bend both knees. Place left hand on a chair for support and lean forward from your hips. Bend your right arm to a 90-degree angle and lift it just above your back. Keep your palm facing in and upper arm close to your side, then extend your arm until it's straight. Hold, squeeze triceps, and slowly return to starting position. Do 12 times. Reverse sides.
For the following two lower-body exercises, stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width and place your hands on your waist.
Wide Squat: Turn your feet out slightly and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold, then squeeze glutes and inner thighs as you return to starting position. Do 10 to 15 times.
Drop Lunge: Raise your left heel and rotate your body to the right, so your left leg is behind you. Keeping left heel up, bend right leg until thigh is parallel to the floor. Push your right heel down as you come up. Do 10 to 15 times. Reverse sides.