Need some advice on working out

[neospir]

I know I'm out of shape but I need some help on what types of excercises I should do. I just bought a weight machine with different workouts for your arms n legs. I'm not trying to be the next Arnold Swarzenagar but I'm just trying to look better, nothin wrong with that right? I do smoke so running is pretty much out of the question. I'm 6'4 and about 200lbs. Another question is how much will my moobs stick out if I start working on my pecs, I know the moobs arnt that big but still I want to get rid of them. I'm trying to tone up my chest n abs area, so be honest how bad do I look?

[tplyons]

Work towards quitting smoking. You'll save plenty of money in addition to helping you lose weight.

As far as actual weight loss advice, I couldn't tell ya. It doesn't seem to be working for me either

[jmattbassplaya]

First thing you have to do is quit smoking. You won`t be able to get that great of results if you`re having breathing problems while working out and have to stop every 5 minutes to catch your breath. It just won`t happen.

Anyways, you need to do at least 20 minutes of cardio everyday. You can do this by going on brisk hikes, swimming laps, jogging, running, bike riding, jumping rope, jumping jacks... basically anything that`ll raise your heart rate up and keep it there. With this in mind, I do mean 20 consecutive minutes of exercise. You can`t run for 2 minutes, take a 10 minute breather, do another 4, pick flowers, etc... and expect to get great results. Now remember, I said at least 20 minutes. I highly recommend getting more around 40-60 minutes, and others would agree too.

This alone will help trim off some fat but it typically will be a much slower process than it needs to be. Another thing to do to help trim off pounds is to reevaluate your eating habits. Do you drink lots of soft drinks? Do you have seconds or even thirds for dinner even though you feel full enough after one helping? Do you order an appetizer only to be filled up before your actual meal, and then eat your meal anyways? Do you always make room for dessert? For a quick snack do you always reach for a bag of chips? Here`s some homework for you - over the next 2 weeks record EVERYTHING you eat and drink and keep track the calories, fat%, sodium, and protein count. Make notes of when you ate too much and had stomach cramps as well. After two weeks go back and read through everything you`ve recorded. If it`s high in fat throw it out the window. If it`s high in empty calories (like beer) then it`s gone. If it`s high in protein KEEP IT! but make sure it`s not high in fat as well.

Now this also leads into eating proper meals. Now this varies depending on what you`re weight loss goals are. Are you trying to bulk up? Trim down? Both? etc... but there are some general rules of thumb people should try and follow. Instead of eating 3 big meals a day, it`s much healthier to eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day. Seems crazy? Well it might be, but if you`re keeping the meals low in fat then you`re on the right track. Your meals should be comprised of veggies (they should also come first because they`ll fill you up the fastest), a low fat protein, a whole grain carb, some sort of fruit, and only something healthy to drink like water, certain teas, etc... (no soft drinks!). Again, I have to stress the importance of keeping track of what you`re putting into your body. Keeping the fat count low is very important. Also, when it comes to protein you need to get as much as you can if you`re hoping on bulking up any and it`s an absolute must that it`s with every meal. Just remember that protein isn`t just in meats, but beans, nuts, fish, etc... Also remember these 5-6 meals aren`t suppose to be big, rather just big enough to hold you off until the next one. I know making time for that many meals seems impossible, but you can do it if you try.

Now on to actual exercises. You seem more interested in trimming down more than bulking up so I`ll go over some tips for that. First thing again is cardio. You have to make time everyday to do it. Even if you only have half an hour to work out and aren`t sure whether to lift or do cardio, you have to do the cardio. Period. The next point I`d want to make is when doing exercises you absolutely MUST use proper form. Not using proper form won`t give you results and can lead to injury which will only further ****** your progress. Proper form, however, will address all muscles groups you`re trying to work on, it will make it easier on your body, and it will give you the best results. My next point is changing up your routine. Our muscles are smart little buggers and will quickly adapt to certain exercises so you have to keep them on their toes by changing up your work outs and exercises. My last point since you seem more interested in trimming down is less weights but more reps. If you want to bulk up then do more weights (which should lead to less reps). Now I can`t tell you how heavy or light you should be starting out, but a general rule of thumb is start out with whatever weight you can do 8-12 reps with WHILE USING PROPER FORM. I can`t stress that enough. You also said you bought a workout machine. Personally I`m against machines (lol). I think they force you to use a form that often isn`t right for the person and I think they limit the amount of exercises you can do. If I were you I`d search craigslist for a used dumbbell set with weights ranging from 10-60lbs, and a bar with weights ranging from 80-200lbs. Buying this new is expensive as hell, but it`s dirt cheap used... Just make sure to clean the stuff before you use it With these few things, you can really do A LOT of exercises.

Now on to how often should you exercise. Again, at least 20 minutes of cardio a day is needed. I often tell people who are first getting into body building/exercising to try and workout every day so long as they remember to give whatever body group they worked out at least a days rest afterwards. So if you were to do your shoulders on Monday, don`t work on them Tuesday, and come back to them Wednesday. This way your muscles have time to heal and actually grow. Once you progress more and more (and this is a bit down the line) I tell people to start using single days to address a single body group (arms, legs, chest, etc...) and then take a week off from that group. Again, this is down the line and should only be done by an advanced body builder so you should probably just ignore it

Now on to results and what to expect. If you`re hoping to have washboard abs, ripping biceps, and a tush that just won`t quit within a week you are soooooooo mistaken. Working out and trimming down/bulking up is a long process. Although I felt so much better physically after a month of working out, I really never got that great of physical results until after about 6 months of going to the gym 4-5 times a week for about an hour and a half a day, and even then it wasn`t anything massive. This isn`t meant to give you a negative outlook on trying to improve your shape, but rather just give you the truth. Commercials for products saying you`ll have a 6 pack within 2 weeks is BS. Nothing can help you more than hard work, proper form, proper nutrition, and a strong mental attitude.

OK, so you might be thinking "WOW, THIS IS GREAT!", start working out, and then quit after 4 days and wonder why you have no motivation to keep doing it. I find that it`s very important to have positive reinforcement behind your actions. Do you have kids? Workout so you can keep up with them while playing with them more. Do you have a wife/gf? Do it to look better for her and even try and get her to workout with you! Does your family have a history of heat disease? Do it for yourself to hopefully prevent anything like that from happening to you. I`ll be honest, doing the work is the easiest part of working out. The biggest problem for most people is keeping the motivation to actually go out and do. You can`t get in the mindset that "I`m too busy" "This is too hard" " I`ll do it later". Let me tell you, later never comes. Take steps to do it and commit to it as best you can. It`s OK if you have a few set backs. Believe me, it happens to everyone. What makes the difference between people who are in shape vs. everyone else is that the people in shape have kept at it, haven`t let setbacks stop them, and they have never made excuses for why they couldn`t workout. One small idea I like to float towards people to help keep them motivated is find someone of the same sex who had a body you wish you had. Find a picture of them where you can see there body, and then cut out a picture of your head and tape it onto the body. Once you`ve done this, put this picture somewhere where you`ll always see it (bathroom mirror, night stand, etc...) that way you`ll always have a reminded of what you could have if you keep at it.

Anyways, I think that about wraps it up. Any questions, feel free to ask em here or PM me. I haven`t had a chance to read through all of this so edits will definitely be coming sometime soon

Best of luck!

[Armueller2001]

Not sure if it's been said already, but focus on BODYFAT % and how you look rather than the number on the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat, the amount that you weigh means just about nothing.

[ekb16b]

Cut down on junk such as soft drinks and fast food. Try and consume low GI carbs such as sweet potato instead of normal potato etc. Eat a lot of high protein foods (red meat, fish, legumes such as chickpeas and beans) vege and fruit, typical rule of thumb is for protein is 1-2grams per kilo of body weight. Eat less but more often, even if it means buying protein powder as it can be taken as a meal replacement (don't be cheap, rather use extra money to get a better brand considering its a supplement you're putting into your body)

When it comes to actually working out, start with squats, bench and dead lifts. But if you dont have any weights even just doing pullups and dips are quite good compounds too. Those exercises are great in building up overall strength provided you use good form. Personally i think machines are a waste of time, and you are kind of limited in getting stronger/bigger/fitter if you are serious about it. Just remember if you're working out go hard or go home and you grow outside the gym not in it.

cardio- as stated 20minutes sounds good, do complexes (http://www.wannabebig.com/training/c...-for-fat-loss/) and/or HIIT

[Let It Fall]

-Do build muscle [your body will burn more calories]
-Do cardio 30 mins a day, try a bike if you absolutely hate running like me.
-QUIT SMOKING
-Drink water and only water
-Eat better foods for you,

but remember you need protein to build muscle, and eat alot more calories to put on more muscle. So you usually need to focus on one or the other. Lifting is still good as it can slowly build muscle and burn calories

[Let It Fall]

AND THUMBS UP FOR REPING THE HAIRY CHEST

We should start a club

[6jase5]

Cardio, cardio, cardio. You should look at the amount of time you have each week to devote to working out and at least 60% of it should be cardio. You can work out with weights and make it a cardio workout as well by reducing or eliminating resting periods, jumping rope between sets or doing un-weighted squats or lunges.

Diet, not smoking, all a necessity of a healthy life.

For the record, I have tons of friends that run. None of them like it, they like how they look and feel because they run. I'm 6'5, 220lbs and 34" waist. I've been 260 with the same waist and 200lbs as well. Think body fat, not scale.

[Jay Ralston]

Jogging is good but really, you don't even need weights to get in shape. Push ups, sit ups and burpies are great all around exercises that will get you in great shape. I am a corrections officer and most inmates at our facility just do those exercises alone for strength and conditioning and many of them can scrap like no other. Our facility does not have free weights so that is why a lot of those guys do just those exercises alone and they still stay in great shape. Enough to make me make sure I stay in great shape!

[MJ5150]

Dang, take down those pictures.

-Mike

[karrot-x]

CrossFit, everything you need nothing you don't.

[ekb16b]

Originally Posted by Let It Fall

but remember you need protein to build muscle, and eat alot more calories to put on more muscle.

umm what? protein helps with muscle recovery and build up, theres no such thing as eating calories to 'put' on more muscle..
If your calorie intake is greater than the calories you burn that just becomes fat.

Given his height and weight and based on his pictures he doesnt seem to be packing alot of body fat. Depending on his diet if he does 30minutes a day he could be in fact burning muscle if there isnt enough energy for the body to use.

to the OP: Working out enough will actually convert fat into muscle and your 'moobs' will eventually go away. In terms of abs, toning up the abs comes from diet and cardio, in my previous post i would really give complex's ago burning fat whilst retaining muscle would help you tone up.

[Simo98]

Originally Posted by ekb16b

umm what? protein helps with muscle recovery and build up, theres no such thing as eating calories to 'put' on more muscle.

Er.. even protein has calories in it

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by Simo98

Er.. even protein has calories in it

Although, if I remember rightly, you don't want to be burning it for energy if you can help it.

There's that whole rabbit starvation thing. You basically eat nothing but protein and then you die.

[L-A]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

Although, if I remember rightly, you don't want to be burning it for energy if you can help it.

There's that whole rabbit starvation thing. You basically eat nothing but protein and then you die.

Yes, put to the extreme, that would mean no sugar in your blood, so no fuel for the brain to start with.

[ekb16b]

Originally Posted by Simo98

Er.. even protein has calories in it

oh oops, what i meant was it was in reference to the other poster saying "eat alot more calories to put on muscle"
Im not saying calories is bad im just saying that if you eat more calories than you actually burn then its bad.

[maestrovert]

#1: Quit smoking ! until you do that, all other efforts are for naught.

Emphasize weight/resistance training, follow with 30 - 45 min of Aerobics/cardio 3 times a week....
Cardio before weight training is counterproductive, cardio all on it's own(without weight/resistance training) is vastly overrated. Period.

Use strict form when training with weights, it's imperative for your safety.
GET COMPETENT INSTRUCTION !!
Sign up for a gym membership, allow a certified trainer to "show you the ropes".

Eat whole foods, limit your "processed" food intake.
Dietary balance is of great importance, eating correctly is actually of more importance than weight training.

Also, understand that it's not only what you eat, it's also when you eat, which absolutely affects how/when your body stores fat.

Supplement your diet with 100% whey protein, the general rule of thumb is at least 1 gram per pound daily of your target weight.

Last but not least, get a subscription to Muscle & Fitness magazine.

[maestrovert]

Originally Posted by ekb16b

oh oops, what i meant was it was in reference to the other poster saying "eat alot more calories to put on muscle"
Im not saying calories is bad im just saying that if you eat more calories than you actually burn then its bad.

Not necessarily.

Turning "excess" calories into muscle is the goal, a goal easily accomplished with proper knowledge and dedicated effort.

iirc, Protein has 9 calories per gram....

[maestrovert]

Originally Posted by ekb16b

to the OP: Working out enough will actually convert fat into muscle and your 'moobs' will eventually go away.

The above is absolutely untrue, physiologically impossible. Period.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by maestrovert

iirc, Protein has 9 calories per gram....

The Whey Isolate that I have is 135 calories per 35g of protein, so 3.86 cal per gram. Eating well will do the most for your body. Cut all excess sugar from your diet and you will see huge results. I did and I dropped 4% of my body fat in 2 months, with no other changes to my diet or exercise.

lowsound