New to the boards for a little over a month. Posted progress in the women's section, but thought I would get more help in this thread.

I'm to be 46 next month. Last December clean eating, gave up soda and caffeine. My workout routine was six days of cardio (30 min on treadmill/elliptical/or combo of jogging/walking outdoors). Did lighter weights (8-12 dumbells) alternating days upper and lower body after the 30 min cardio. I have a small frame anyway, but dropped about 10 lbs going from 113 to 103 on a 5' 2" frame.

My goal is to get more arm/shoulder definition and as much of a washboard stomach as a mid forties woman with two daughters (16 & 21) can get. Pretty happy with my legs, as they are the strongest body part by far (I think).

I have changed my routine to heaveir weights with barbells and dumbells with a full body workout for 60 min. 3 x's week. I do 30-35 min of cardio on the other 3 days, one full day off a week. I try to lift the max I can do in 8 reps/set. I am trying to keep my protein to about 100-110 grams/day. I have included my typical daily diet and weight routine for pointers ( am I doing too much???), cause it is strictly a guessing game on my part. I have current pics of where I am right now in the female fitness forum under the fit women over 42 thread. (stupidly I deleted off the pics from my computer to be able to add here)

Breakfast: Oatmeal/ 1/2 c skim milk
Morning snack: 1/2 c cottage cheese with 1 Tbl apple butter
Lunch: Plain canned tuna in water, ray edamame w/vinegar, raw carrot sticks
Mid afternoon: fresh fruit (either cantaloupe, watermelon, banana, pear, strawberries, or whatever)
After workout: protein shake w/ skim m ilk
Dinner: Grilled chicken or beef, sauteed in Pam veggies, usually two different kinds, or leafy salad with homemade vinagarette.

Weight workout:

Legs:

Barbell full squats: 120lbs 3 x 8
dumbell lunges: 20lbs each hand 3 x 8 each leg
dumbell step ups: 25 lbs each hand 3 x 8 each leg

Abs: assorted ab work with stability ball 8 x 20

Upper body:

Full body push ups: (I have to do on fists as it hurts my wrists) 3 x 8

concentration curls: 15 lbs 3 x 8
barbell bench press: 50 lb 3 x 8
bent over one arm lat rows: 25 lbs 3 x 8
side lateral raises: 12 lbs 3 x 8
bench dip, straight legs, two benches: 3 x 8
upright barbell row: 45 lbs 3 x 8
lying dumbell flyes: 20 lbs 3 x 8

Any input would be appreciated. Sorry so long.

To me, it looks like you are doing really good in every area, to be honest. I would just say keep doing what you are doing, as I've seen your progress photos, and what you're doing is working well!

I know that as you get closer to your goals, progess will seem agonizingly slow, but it's still there. Just keep going!

Pretty good, here's a few recommendations that may help you break a rut:

increase cardio to 45 minutes
exchange concentration curls for standing military presses
exchange upright barbell row for chinups or pullups


And to clarify, are you doing the above workout the same every day? If so, we can tweak it to make it more interesting and still hit all the muscle groups.

+1 - you've obviously put a good deal of effort so far and have seen the benefits!

I do roughly the same with the weights so far every other day (3 days a week). Been doing it with the heavier weight for about 5 weeks. Never used a barbell before then, had used leg weight machines at the gym and lighter dumbells at home, but felt I would get more bang for the buck using body weight and barbells for squats and legs. I already had a fair amount of weights at home with benches, etc that my husband got.

Don't have a chin up bar...any suggestions or should I buy one. If so, then any recommendations or would a basic chin up bar do. Granted I'm not that heavy at 103.

Another question, as I progress to higher weights (over 20 lbs each), a 5 lb jump is pretty significant for me for dumbells. Any suggestions there?

I want to make sure I am inline with the amount of weight I am doing. My husband thinks I might be overtraining, but when I look at what others are doing on the boards, I don't think I am.

Don't measure your program weights by looking at what others do. The important question is "are you feeling challenged by the weights you currently are lifting, and are you seeing results that make you happy?". I would look at programs others are doing, then adapt them to your specific needs and current strength limits.

Chin ups are a great exercise. Pushups as well. Also don't fret about a 5 lb increment - simply start at 5 reps x 5 sets (or similar) instead of 3 sets of 8-12 reps. You'll feel the difference, and your strength will increase faster with lower reps at a higher weight.

I just checked out your photos - you look great.