Health & Exercise Thread! 2.0

[x6Teen]

Hmm... Alright, so I'm just looking to some quick advice.

Over the past few months I've lost 30 pounds. I'm not really sure how. I guess I've just been eating less, and in turn, the weight has been consistently falling off. My BMI has gone from a solid 24 to a bit above 19. I'm 5 ft. 9 in., and 130 pounds, so I think I'm in a pretty good position... i.e. I'm not fat. So now I'm shifting my focus towards getting more toned, and getting some muscle. What would be the best way to go about this? Obviously I'm going to have to start exercising much more than I am, working my stomach, gluteus, etc.

But I've seen people in similar situations to me that either just end up gaining back all the weight, or end up working out quite a bit but end up having weird curves and look completely disproportionate. Like I said when I first wandered into this thread, my goal would be to end up with something similar to a Bradley Cooper physique... or something similar to that.

You need to give us more information than just your height and weight.

Do you have a gym membership/access to gym?
If you don't what type of equipment do you have access to?
How much free-time do you have? I.e not working, not studying, not sleeping.
Do you gain fat/weight easily? In other words is your metabolism fast or slow?
what is your short term (few months) and long term (1-2 years) goals?
on a scale 1-10, how dedicated/motivated are you?
how long do you think you will last eating, lifting and sleeping right before you start questioning yourself?


Here's some of the basics. BTW, those are pretty long but i know how you love reading
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=139968253
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=135706021
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=131171153

[Ixion]

You need to give us more information than just your height and weight.

Do you have a gym membership/access to gym?
If you don't what type of equipment do you have access to?
How much free-time do you have? I.e not working, not studying, not sleeping.
Do you gain fat/weight easily? In other words is your metabolism fast or slow?
what is your short term (few months) and long term (1-2 years) goals?
on a scale 1-10, how dedicated/motivated are you?
how long do you think you will last eating, lifting and sleeping right before you start questioning yourself?


Here's some of the basics. BTW, those are pretty long but i know how you love reading
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=139968253
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=135706021
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=131171153

Don't you charge people money for what you're doing?

[x6Teen]

Don't you charge people money for what you're doing?

helping people with their fitness and shit is one of my many ways of making money lol.

Free market/freelancing and no bank account FTW lol.

i just 'freelance' and make shit loads of money without having a degree or an official business. I give friends/family workout plans, diets, help neighbours with yard work, betting with friends, MMA competitions, help my dad in his office, sell ice-blocks in summer even did street magic when i was younger.

Trying to find some bouncing jobs now lol.

[Ixion]

helping people with their fitness and shit is one of my many ways of making money lol.

Free market/freelancing and no bank account FTW lol.

Get Schaff to send you $20 in the mail.

[SchaffinOSX]

You need to give us more information than just your height and weight.

Do you have a gym membership/access to gym?
If you don't what type of equipment do you have access to?
How much free-time do you have? I.e not working, not studying, not sleeping.
Do you gain fat/weight easily? In other words is your metabolism fast or slow?
what is your short term (few months) and long term (1-2 years) goals?
on a scale 1-10, how dedicated/motivated are you?
how long do you think you will last eating, lifting and sleeping right before you start questioning yourself?


Here's some of the basics. BTW, those are pretty long but i know how you love reading
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=139968253
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=135706021
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=131171153

I'm headed off to school in a moment so I'll try to get through all your questions quickly..

Yes, I have a gym membership. They have a track, plenty of cardio equipment, and then weight-lifting equipment. Shouldn't have a problem finding just about everything there.

I have quite a bit of free-time. I have school from 7:45 am to 2:30 pm, and homework / studying usually doesn't consume too much of my time. I usually get to sleep at around, eh, 9-11pm. I actually get some pretty good exercise after school most days with my girlfriend.. She really knows how to get me up and moving. I pick her up, chase her, all that good stuff.

My metabolism is pretty good, I'd say. Like I said, I've been losing weight rather quickly without much effort at this point, and have still been eating fast food here and there.

My goal, short term, is to have a flat stomach. I'm pretty close to be there, but not quite. I could use a little more abdominal work. Long term, like I said, would be a Bradley Cooper-esque physique.

In terms of dedication, I'd say I'm a 9. My motivation is way up now that I know I've made some significant progress. I'd really like to start working on the fitness side of things.

I think I can maintain healthy habits. I've maintained healthier eating habits for awhile now, so I'm confident I can keep improving without waning too much. I'm not very worried on that front.

And thanks for having my back Ix.

[spyrde]

Here's a good program for you to start out with. I tried this one once and it was great!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/begi...-12-weeks.html

The program keeps the basic compound movements along with a couple extras, and adds up the intensity after every 3 weeks by adding the number of splits by one.

[Inzane2050]

One time, I ran for 4 hours straight. It was not fun, lol.

[SchaffinOSX]

Here's a good program for you to start out with. I tried this one once and it was great!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/begi...-12-weeks.html

The program keeps the basic compound movements along with a couple extras, and adds up the intensity after every 3 weeks by adding the number of splits by one.

Hmm... Interesting. Might give that a try. I really don't think I'm at a stage to be doing barbells, though. Something I'll definitely consider.

[x6Teen]

blah blah

Now you don't have any excuses, you have a gym to go to, can maintain a strict diet and lots of motivation.


I, personally would go on a strength routine like Babylovers version of SS:

A
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Chins 15-20 total reps, add weight or use assisted.
Rows 3x5 SUPER STRICT.
Optional: Cable rows, 3x8 bicep work, 3x8 rear delt flyes, do this at your own discretion. If you don't feel like it, don't worry

B
Front squat 3x5
Overhead press 3x5
Deadlifts 1x5
Optional: 15-20 reps of dips, 3x8 tricep work

This guy, has been doing different strength programs (SS and Texas Method I think) for 2-3 year so just because your doing a strength program doesn't mean your going to be fat.




Or you can do a body-building split which works each of your major muscles twice a week, the splits that train our muscles onCEe a week, is IMO a waste of time as it doesn't take a week for a muscle to repair.

Monday: Chest/Tri Abs, Cardio

Tuesday: Back/Bis

Wenesday: Legs/Shoulders, Abs, Light cardio

Thursday: Chest/Tri

Friday: Back/ Bi, Abs, Cardio

[SchaffinOSX]

Everything there I'm fine with... except for the bench press / overhead press. I just can't see myself doing it. I'd have to have very little weight, and would feel like a complete fool.

[x6Teen]

Everything there I'm fine with... except for the bench press / overhead press. I just can't see myself doing it. I'd have to have very little weight, and would feel like a complete fool.

Why not? When this guy first went to the gym, he was struggling to bench 22lbs. Most people are too busy focusing on themselves at the gym so they won't even notice you and who cares if you're using low-weights? Are you going to let your confidence be an obstacle from reaching your goals?

[SchaffinOSX]

That's a good point, man. Time for me to start taking my own advice.

[spyrde]

Yeah man, you're there working out for yourself, not for the others. Everyone starts somewhere, and once you get your muscles activated and fully working you'll be making amazing progress. If you want, you could maybe measure your progress and post your gains over here for us to see!

[SchaffinOSX]

Yeah man, you're there working out for yourself, not for the others. Everyone starts somewhere, and once you get your muscles activated and fully working you'll be making amazing progress. If you want, you could maybe measure your progress and post your gains over here for us to see!

I'll definitely keep you guys in the loop. Thanks for the help.

[wesmore24]

i worked out for about a month, my routine was 100 push ups, 100, sit ups, and a hundred squats. Sometimes a would even do double or triple the sit-ups but eventually it started to hurt. Then all of a sudden i stopped working out about a week ago, but i started again last night.

[SchaffinOSX]

i worked out for about a month, my routine was 100 push ups, 100, sit ups, and a hundred squats. Sometimes a would even do double or triple the sit-ups but eventually it started to hurt. Then all of a sudden i stopped working out about a week ago, but i started again last night.

How did that routine work out for you?

[wesmore24]

Eh, not bad. I found it hard as heck though.

[SchaffinOSX]

Eh, not bad. I found it hard as heck though.

How beneficial would something like that be if I were to, say, spread it out throughout the day? For example... I could do 25 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and and 25 squats in the morning. Then 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 50 squats in the afternoon, and then 25 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 25 squats at night. That would come out to 100 push-ups, 150 sit-ups, and 100 squats a day.

But is there something special about doing it all at once?

[wesmore24]

Not exactly no, thats actually a pretty good idea. The only possible convenience of doing everything else at once is feeling...good. You know what I mean, the first time I did 100 push ups "at once" made me feel great. Then again splitting it up is more convenient.

[spyrde]

How beneficial would something like that be if I were to, say, spread it out throughout the day? For example... I could do 25 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and and 25 squats in the morning. Then 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 50 squats in the afternoon, and then 25 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 25 squats at night. That would come out to 100 push-ups, 150 sit-ups, and 100 squats a day.

But is there something special about doing it all at once?

Absolutely, It's more beneficial doing it all in about a one hour session, because this allows maximal muscle breakdown when your muscles have smaller rest periods between sets and you allow your muscles enough time to recover from the exercise (stretching the workout through the day will not give your muscles time to recover after the breakdown and it's very taxing for your body).

For example: If you can do 40 push-ups until failure, I suggest doing 3 sets of 30-40 push-ups and taking a 90 second break between sets.

Buuuuutttt, those moves are mostly for beginners, and since they're only bodyweight exercises you can manage so many reps of them that they don't really build muscle efficiently. I use them for warm-ups or for supersets (for example after benching I rip out as many push-ups as I can).

[Ixion]

Yeah, a routine like that will only improve muscle endurance. It won't do much for strength or size.

Since Wesmore plays basketball, that routine might be useful for him, but I'm not sure if you should do that Schaff.

[brebaz]

Buuuuutttt, those moves are mostly for beginners, and since they're only bodyweight exercises you can manage so many reps of them that they don't really build muscle efficiently. I use them for warm-ups or for supersets (for example after benching I rip out as many push-ups as I can).

I respectfully disagree. I do only body weight exercises, never lifted a weight before & i'm pretty sure I've attained a great body mass, efficient enough muscles to hold my own against people who only lift weights all their life!

I'd say the most important thing is the diet itself and how hard you can push yourself.

[spyrde]

I respectfully disagree. I do only body weight exercises, never lifted a weight before & i'm pretty sure I've attained a great body mass, efficient enough muscles to hold my own against people who only lift weights all their life!

I'd say the most important thing is the diet itself and how hard you can push yourself.

Well it is scientifically proven that high rep (20+) exercises build way less muscle and strength than lower rep exercises, so just because you think it so doesn't mean it is a universal fact. You might have good genetics or you've just worked out well, but I am sure you would be making even faster progress with weight training. I used to work out just like you with just bodyweight exercises + my soccer and judo training, and I was in great physical shape, BUT once I started weight training the changes were dramatic.

But you are right, 90 percent of a great physique comes from nutrition and the motivation that you have.

[x6Teen]

I agree with brebaz to some extent. You can build a relatively big body with a varied range of bw exercises depending on genetics, diet and the training itself.



But of course, the majority of people who do those sort of stuff are african and lets face it, they have superior genetics when it comes to fitness so I'm not sure if a normal person can build a body like Hannibal with that type of exercise but of course anybody can gain a decent amount of lean muscle mass doing that.

[brebaz]

@spyrde

I'm sure i can't be the only one!

@x6teen

Well you see I'm African! I'm from Egypt :P i got African blood running through my veins!!

for me it's only the diet and how hard i can keep on going that makes me stronger and bigger in a matter of a month or less.