Want to slim down, tone up, or gain muscle? Ask me for advice on anything!

[EASYlivin]

Originally Posted by Craiggers

I could live a little healthier, so i might as well ask what you think.
I'm 23, 5'10'', 210 lbs.
I feel fat. i know im not "fat" fat but I could stand some slimming down. I smoke a few cigs and bowls every day(3-5 cigs, 1-2 bowls). I don't really drink much, and when I do its 1 or 2 drinks. In high school I lost 25lbs(down to 175) in 2.5 months when training for the tennis team, so i know what it feels like to not be overweight and I know what it takes. The problem now is I a)have no motivation to "train" b)no desire to diet. I'd like to start on a daily cardio routine but am afraid that it wont yield the results I desire (i'd like to get below 190lbs and lose about 2-4 inches of waist). Will a daily, hour long run on my eliptical do the trick? how long to you suposed that might take? should I suck up my pride and join a gym? Is there an easy way to diet without feeling like im either starving myself or only eatting crap for a long time? btw the reason i despise dieting is because when you stop the diet theres a high chance for a lot of weight gain.
I also work 9 hours a day doing tech work lifting and moving 10lb computers but really i do a lot of sitting and waiting. like 5 hours of sitting and waiting; i use that time to catch up on books.
Anyway, suggestions, thoughts, solutions, follow ups are all welcome. thanks.

Well you dont need to go to a gym for what you want. It would help speed up the process but!, When I was 17, I was 135lbs and 5'6". All I did was run 2 miles a day for 3 months, and I dropped to 115. I ate healthier too. If you drink soda, quit that. Switchover to water. And you really should just smoke weed over ciggs. Cigs will make it very difficult to run. If oyu run 1 hour a day liek you asked, that will be more than enough!, But You shouldnt go strait into an hour run a day after doing nothing.

Also, if you workout at the gym alot, then your body wants alot more food, which means that you will naturally lose weight. Your body will make alot of use of those foods. Try to start eating a little healthier. You dont have to only eat healthy stuff, but it couldnt hurt! ya know? Throw in a salad here and there. Look at the nutrition facts on the back of foods. If a snack is more than 6-7 grams of fat per serving.. thats not a good thing. And you want to stay farrr away from saturated and trans fat. they dont do anything but help gain fat.

YOu should ease into it that way you dont get sick of it immediately.

[Craiggers]

Originally Posted by EASYlivin

Well you dont need to go to a gym for what you want. It would help speed up the process but!, When I was 17, I was 135lbs and 5'6". All I did was run 2 miles a day for 3 months, and I dropped to 115. I ate healthier too. If you drink soda, quit that. Switchover to water. And you really should just smoke weed over ciggs. Cigs will make it very difficult to run. If oyu run 1 hour a day liek you asked, that will be more than enough!, But You shouldnt go strait into an hour run a day after doing nothing.

Also, if you workout at the gym alot, then your body wants alot more food, which means that you will naturally lose weight. Your body will make alot of use of those foods. Try to start eating a little healthier. You dont have to only eat healthy stuff, but it couldnt hurt! ya know? Throw in a salad here and there. Look at the nutrition facts on the back of foods. If a snack is more than 6-7 grams of fat per serving.. thats not a good thing. And you want to stay farrr away from saturated and trans fat. they dont do anything but help gain fat.

YOu should ease into it that way you dont get sick of it immediately.

I quit soda at some point and lost like 10 pounds in 2 weeks, so yeah i understand that soda is empty calories. help me ease into a workout cycle. i think i can cut down to 3 cigs a day, but i know its gonna hurt when i start running. should i start with 30 min and work up to an hour in a week or 2? or should i just run until i've hit the mile mark no matter how long it takes? how much good will 30 min of running really do?

[Brend]

Maybe I did come on a bit strong, but I stand by what I said. Just because people on this forum might be more willing to accept sub-par advice, it doesn't mean that you should give it out..?

And no, even with creatine or a protein supplement you cannot recover from a strength-building workout in under 24 hours. Skinny freshman aren't supposed to lift two days in a row, NFL lineman aren't supposed to lift two days in a row. That should be one of the first things you learn when you enter the weight room. How can you not understand that simple concept? You've been around fitness for years?

That's like a stoner not knowing that you have to light the weed on fire to smoke it!!

[EASYlivin]

Originally Posted by Brend

Maybe I did come on a bit strong, but I stand by what I said. Just because people on this forum might be more willing to accept sub-par advice, it doesn't mean that you should give it out..?

And no, even with creatine or a protein supplement you cannot recover from a strength-building workout in under 24 hours. Skinny freshman aren't supposed to lift two days in a row, NFL lineman aren't supposed to lift two days in a row. That should be one of the first things you learn when you enter the weight room. How can you not understand that simple concept? You've been around fitness for years?

That's like a stoner not knowing that you have to light the weed on fire to smoke it!!

Well youre misunderstanding my advice. I didnt say you can re-build muscles in 24 hours. I said 48. Hit the gym up everyday, but alternate working on different muscles that way it works out.

[tea.mochi]

I'm 5' 120lbs (last time I weighed was last week, I fluctuate between 118 and 125)
I'm a vegetarian (just for dietary info I guess).
I'm also riding my bike for at least a mile every day or so (the heat has made me not so dedicated, but I plan to bike more as it cools down.)

I started riding my bike two weeks ago and have noticed a huge change in my appetite (2 meals a day went to about 5) and my butt is already shrinking *YAY*. I'm wanting to go down to my old weight of 112 or even 90 (how much I weighed when in japan) but as long as I can tone up and maybe go down a size or something in pants I'm happy.

My question is this.
How can I make sure that my stomach and arms keep up? Theres a weighted hula hoop at work and I've considered using it but I don't know how much it would help since I can only spin it one direction and I don't know if it helps.
Also I can't do pushups because my left wrist can't bend back that far sometimes, so I'm not sure how to tone up my arms...

Any advice?

[blazers4005]

Originally Posted by Brend

Easy Livin, save your advice. I only read the first page, and I stopped when you told Peter Griffin to go to the gym every day. You are obviously not familiar with any kind of research that's been done within the last 20 years about muscle building. You've got people doing isolation bicep excersizes on machines to gain overall mass??!!

I frequent several powerlifting/weightlifting forums. One in particular, (wannabebigforums) is full of professional powerlifters/athletes. If you tried to give out this kind of advice on a serious fitness forum, you would get FLAMED. Don't give advice unless you actually know what you're talking about.

You may be able to point casual dieters in the right direction, but you clearly have very little relevant advice for people looking to put on muscle. Don't advertise yourself as somekind of a fitness guru, when you have such a limited understanding of the human body.

I am a seventeen year old varsity athlete, and I have competed in track, cross country, football, and rugby. I spend ALOT of my time researching excersize programs and concepts, and it's quite clear to me that you should do a bit more of that before you start doing this.

P.S. Peter Griffin, if you read this:

Work out three times a week maximum. Eat like a horse. Your bodyweight in protein everyday, as well as TONS of carbs, fats, veggies, etc. Whole Milk, Cottage Cheese, Sausage. Eat untill you feel sick, and then eat some more.

When you lift focus on heavy compound lifts, and keep the reps low, (under eight). You can do 20 million curls, and get some cute lines on your arms. OR you can 3 sets if squats, and completely fatigue your entire body.

Make sure you are lifting correctly. Good form is an ESSENTIAL, (especially since you're going to be using very heavy weight.) Progression is important. Try to add 5-10 pounds every couple weeks. If you can't do this, then you're not lifting hard enough/eating enough/sleeping enough.

ONLY do thes lifts:

Squats
Deadlift
Benchpress
Dips, (from the two parallel bars. Don't do tricep dips on a bench. Isolation excersizes will waste your energy, and mess with your recovery).
Pendlay Rows
Pullups, (wide-grip, lockout pullups. DON'T CHEAT)
Shoulder Press, (Not behind the head).

Do squats every day you lift, and do them HARD. These are the best lift for packing on muscle, and increasing whole-body strength. Do your squats to parallel at least, and make sure you learn to do them correctly.

Take your rest as seriously as you take your time in the gym. Make sure you get good long rest days and nights. Working out brakes your muscles down, it's what you do outside the gym that builds them back up. Working out every day is a terrible idea. You should be so taxed from your workouts that you NEED a day or two before you can lift heavy again.

And finally:
Check out Mark Rippetoes starting strength program. There are alot of beginners strength programs, but his is widely recognized as the best. I used it, and have had great results so far. Check out wannabebigforums.com for additional advice.

should of read the rules. 18 and up in here.

[EASYlivin]

Originally Posted by blazers4005

should of read the rules. 18 and up in here.

Oh damnnn. he got u

[EASYlivin]

Originally Posted by Craiggers

I quit soda at some point and lost like 10 pounds in 2 weeks, so yeah i understand that soda is empty calories. help me ease into a workout cycle. i think i can cut down to 3 cigs a day, but i know its gonna hurt when i start running. should i start with 30 min and work up to an hour in a week or 2? or should i just run until i've hit the mile mark no matter how long it takes? how much good will 30 min of running really do?

30 minutes of running a day is very good. Its good to get 30 minutes + of moderate exercise daily. Youll start dropping pounds pretty quickly if you run 30 min a day.

[blazers4005]

how come running before working out increases body fat?

[EASYlivin]

Originally Posted by blazers4005

how come running before working out increases body fat?

Honestly, I dont know why it would increase fat. I saw it on a whiteboard at my gym.

But there is also another disadvantage..

If you were to run before, you would enter weightlifting in a glycogen depleted state. Your muscles can't use fat stores for energy as effectivley and will therefore not allow you to lift as much as you could, rendering your post-cardio workout useless.

[SuburbSmoker420]

Originally Posted by EASYlivin

Well if you want to bulk up I dont suggest alot of running anyways, But im guessing you have some freeweights at your house or something? If you do, you can do pretty much everything. (heres a link that will help you out alot)

Google Image Result for http://content.revolutionhealth.com/contentimages/nr551594.jpg


For what you want to eat. Focus on high protein foods with low fat, so burgers, chicken fingers are high in protein but soo shitty for you. stay awayyy from fast food.

you want, chicken, turkey, steak, veggies, fruit, pasta etc, and ALOT OF IT!

Thanks alot man!

[Purged1234]

Okay.

I want to lose 35-40 lbs.


I'm 19 years old, 6 foot 1 and 205 lbs. I don't work out at all, I used to heavily during school (Weighed in at 175 with 225 bench max). i DO have a gym membership. Anytime fitness.

I drink a LOT of soda and eat ALOT of wendys. Or did. I haven't touched any of that in a week except sugar-free redbull to deal with caffeine deprivation headaches....

I don't know what to eat, when to do cardio, for how long, what type of cardio to do, if i should lift at all, etc.

I just want to lose 35 lbs and establish a new base fitness level.

Right now i've been eating a bowl of cereal every morning, then i pretty much just eat turkey sandwhiches and tuna. lol.

I also don't know how to deal with hunger, i fucking hate being hungry more than anything in the world, and being hungry causes me to binge eat really fast, and really bad foods. Just to get rid of the feeling.

I'm clueless. help!

[George]

Hey EASYlivin i'm wondering what advice you have for balancing out your body. I'm right handed and footed and so natully the right side of my body is stronger than the left. I know that's natural but I'd like to strengthen up my left side.

[jiggawhat99]

Hey EASYlivin, I need some advice.

I am 26 5'3" and about 150 lbs. I want to lose 15-20 pounds and gain muscle. I just started to workout with cardio for 30 minutes and then move to lifting weights 5 days a week. I usually wake up in the morning and about an hour later start my workout.

After reading the previous post, i realized i need to work out before my cardio workout. I take casein protein before workout and whey after. Then have a small carb snack. Because i workout in the morning, I skip breakfast and consider my protein shacks as lunch and weight till dinner to eat (slowly).

I want to lose 15-20 lbs to get rid of my belly, actually i dont care how much i lose , just want to get rid of the belly.

How should i alter my diet and workout plan?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Royal™]

5'8 137 pounds. I can bench my body weight(135) but I want to look more cut, also, I have a very hard stomach and if I lay in the right position you can see my abs but if i just stand up it looks like I have a little fat, how should I get rid of this.

Basically I want to tone my stomach\chest and bulk up my arms.