At the moment I am 20 years old. Height is 5'8. Weight is 145 lbs. I have a small/scrawny frame and a bit of pudge in the mid-section.MY GOAL 1: To lose the fat. I know 145 lbs seems like nothing but remember fat really doesn't weigh a lot and by all rights I should be a stick. MY GOAL 2: To tone up. I know I have definite potential to build up abs and pecs. I think I could definitely have a nice torso. However if you were to cut off my arm and show it to someone you would think it belongs to a girl. And that is no exageration. I think building up biceps/triceps/&forearm will be a definite hill to climb.PROBLEM 1: I've tried to diet control but I have two problems with that. One is no matter how good I eat I never seem to lose fat. I worked in construction over the summer and decided to eat really healthy and maybe lose some of the pudge. Nothing changed really. Granted I drank a lot too. TWO: I have difficulty keeping to a healthy diet plan. I've tried 5 small meals but then I just over-eat. I've tried 3 solid meals a day but then like a day later my mind goes "well I ate good yesterday so it's ok" I don't know how to train my mind.PROBLEM 2: Genetics? Like I know my torso has potential but in all honesty I have serious doubts about my arms. My dad is a little stick man with a round belly too so I'm worried that's what I'm destined for.... man that would suck ass. MY CURRENT PLAN: So far I've been swimming a mile 3 times a week but I don't feel that is adequate areobic excercise to burn off more fat then I consume even on a regular healthy diet. Also I have been doing 40 crunches a day. I havn't done much with my arms. I lifted weights the first couple days but it really f*cked up my arms after I swam the next day. After some advice I was told to choose one over the other.QUESTION 1: Any other quick & highly effective aerobic excercises I can do? I live in Canada and it's already pretty cold outside so keep that in mind please!QUESTION 2: Should I buy a home excercise equipment? I hate bowflex with a passion for some reason but I wouldn't mind buying something like a Weider Pro. Any advice in this regard? Also any other ways to work abs until I get equipment?QUESTION 2: How can I train my mind to stick to a healthier diet? What food groups should I focus primarily on if I want to build muscle?QUESTION 3: Dad is a twig. Grandpa was a football player (Dad very obviously took after my Grandma). Mom's side is larger as well but I definitely do not take after that side. So genetically speaking, am I screwed? Should I even bother? And is there any natural supplements that I could take to sort of cheat? Like to steroids but a lot less dramatic and with a lot less side effects lol!
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I need Fitness Help
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At the moment I am 20 years old. Height is 5'8. Weight is 145 lbs. I have a small/scrawny frame and a bit of pudge in the mid-section.Hey, welcome to my world. Only I was 6'0" and 125lb.MY GOAL 1: To lose the fat. I know 145 lbs seems like nothing but remember fat really doesn't weigh a lot and by all rights I should be a stick. I think you should focus first on putting on some weight. Your body might burn this fat in an attempt to feed your muscles, and if it doesn't, well your stomach won't look anywhere near as pronouced around a muscular frame.MY GOAL 2: To tone up. I know I have definite potential to build up abs and pecs. I think I could definitely have a nice torso. However if you were to cut off my arm and show it to someone you would think it belongs to a girl. And that is no exageration. I think building up biceps/triceps/&forearm will be a definite hill to climb.At your weight (apart from your stomach, obviously) you should be pretty toned already, you just need more mass. Seeing abs on really skinny people just makes them look even skinner IMHO.PROBLEM 1: I've tried to diet control but I have two problems with that. One is no matter how good I eat I never seem to lose fat. I worked in construction over the summer and decided to eat really healthy and maybe lose some of the pudge. Nothing changed really. Granted I drank a lot too. TWO: I have difficulty keeping to a healthy diet plan. I've tried 5 small meals but then I just over-eat. I've tried 3 solid meals a day but then like a day later my mind goes "well I ate good yesterday so it's ok" I don't know how to train my mind.There are many ways you can go about this. You can do it perfectly at www.fitday.com and count your caloris, although this way is time consuming and annoying. Although it comes as a great source of motivation later, being able to look back on what you've done. Otherwise just stick with it. One of the biggest mistakes many people make is they diet perfectly for a week, then eat a slice of cake on day 8. They think "well, I've ruined my diet anyway" and eat everything else too. So you had a bad day? So what. Eat healthy again the next day, you're still eating a lot better than you usually do and it will become easier with time.PROBLEM 2: Genetics? Like I know my torso has potential but in all honesty I have serious doubts about my arms. My dad is a little stick man with a round belly too so I'm worried that's what I'm destined for.... man that would suck ass. Yes, we have it harder to gain weight, but we're also blessed with little to no fat. You will gain muscle much slower than most others in the gym, but what you do gain will be clearly visible for everyone to see. If you wish to know more, google ectomorph.MY CURRENT PLAN: So far I've been swimming a mile 3 times a week but I don't feel that is adequate areobic excercise to burn off more fat then I consume even on a regular healthy diet. Also I have been doing 40 crunches a day. I havn't done much with my arms. I lifted weights the first couple days but it really f*cked up my arms after I swam the next day. After some advice I was told to choose one over the other.I agree, you need weight. If you're going to invest time and effort into fitness, I'd lift weights. Doing cardio only slows your muscle gain, so I'd cut it right back, or cut it out completely. Once you've put on a bit of mass (lost those girl arms for example), then start up with the cardio again. Keep lifting though, or you'll burn away the muscle before the fat.QUESTION 1: Any other quick & highly effective aerobic excercises I can do? I live in Canada and it's already pretty cold outside so keep that in mind please!Honestly? I dance, but I do a pretty tiring dance. Most people who do it for long periods of time are pumped up on drugs. Otherwise, I'd recommend you run. Sure you can skip, and other boring things, but if you rug up and run you'll be more than warm enough.QUESTION 2: Should I buy a home excercise equipment? I hate bowflex with a passion for some reason but I wouldn't mind buying something like a Weider Pro. Any advice in this regard? Also any other ways to work abs until I get equipment?Don't. Ever. Buy. Abs. Rubbish.Want abs? Grab a weight, hold it behind your head, and do sit ups on a decline bench, or one of the many other weighted workouts.QUESTION 2: How can I train my mind to stick to a healthier diet? What food groups should I focus primarily on if I want to build muscle?You need carbs, lots and lots of carbs. Lots of everything actually. I'm probably more of an extreme ectomorph than you, but not by much, and to gain weight I need to consume over 4000caloris a day. That's why fitday.com helps so much. As for motivation, the two best motivations I've found are friends and results. Get a buddy to goto the gym with you, and go 3-4 times a week for a month. Workout properly, eat properly, and watch yourself grow. By the end of the month you may not look noticibly bigger, but the scales will say so, and the increase in weights you lift.QUESTION 3: Dad is a twig. Grandpa was a football player (Dad very obviously took after my Grandma). Mom's side is larger as well but I definitely do not take after that side. So genetically speaking, am I screwed? Should I even bother? And is there any natural supplements that I could take to sort of cheat? Like to steroids but a lot less dramatic and with a lot less side effects lol!Whey Protein Powder, eat it morning, pre-workout, post workout, before bed, and any other time you're bored. The stuff works wonders. It's just protein too, not a drug. Make sure you get the powder with a carb:protein ratio of 1:1. Many contain little or no carbs.If you do decide to put an effort in, post back here for more advice. What stops most people, especially ectomorphs is that they do the wrong thing and see no results. It nearly stopped me, but I'm a stubborn bastard.
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Thanks! I already set up a journal at Fitday. A question about protein though. I have heard that when you eat a lot of protein many people gain a substantial amount of weight... and not always muscle weight... fat weight! It's also in pop-culture where Cartman ate protein whey and in "Mean Girls" where some girl ate a bunch of protein foods thinking she would lose weight for prom.So if I load up on a bunch of carbs and proteins won't I also need to do a lot of aerobic excercise to burn off the fat? And wouldn't that, by your method, be counter-productive?Also I was going to ask, I have a really messed sleeping schedule. What is the ideal sleeping pattern to have in getting and maintaining healthy?
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Put very simply, to lose weight you need to use more calories than you consume. As an ectomorph, your metabolism will naturally burn calories faster than most, hence the reason we struggle to put on weight.How many calories do you think the girl from Mean Girls, and Cartmen burnt per day? Hardly any, so when they crammed these high energy supplements into themselves, on top of what they originally ate, of course they gained weight.Your body needs protein to rebuild your muscle once you damage them (by lifting weights), so they can come back bigger and stronger. Muscles, even when they're not in use require energy to exist, one of the best sources of energy is carbs. Without enough energy your body simply cannot feed your muscles, and they will suffer as a result. Many lifters cycle through phases called bulking and cutting. They pile on the calories whilst they're lifting heavy to put on the mass, both muscle and fat. They then "cut" by adding cardio to their routine and dropping the calorie intake.Just eat everything you can, with your metabolism I highly doubt you'll put on any fat, and if you do, it will not be much. Plus, once you do decide you're big enough it will be very easy to shed it.As for sleeping, I don't really know too much about it. Generally though, get at least a good 8 hours sleep a day, and I've read a short nap doesn't hurt either. Remember, you muscles rebuild themselves whilst you sleep, so rest is important.
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You say you drink a bit sometimes, stay away from beer if youre going to drink. I have been drinking spirits for quite a while because I wanted a change and have noticed I have lost quite a lot of weight without even trying. Other than that you need to get a good exercise plan going and remember loosing weight can take a LONG time sometimes. I have never lost weight before, no matter what. Until recently and its SLOWLY going, I dont want to loose anymore particualy but I cant seem to keep it on without eating unhealthy lol.
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I suggest, if you are going to keep up swimming, switch the routine up a bit. What you can do depends upon the size of pool you're in (most are 25m or 50m). Try doing 50m and 100m sprints. What strokes do you do? Try doing what's generally referred to as medley, where you swim hard swimming equal lengths on different strokes (eg. a 100m medley with 25m freestyle, 25m backstroke, 25m breaststroke, 25m fly). You don't have to do the strokes you find difficult, most notably fly, but by switching up your routine you will not only challenge your muscles in different ways but it should make the routine a little more exciting. Higher intensity exercise is also good for building muscle.If you combine swimming with weights, swim early in the week and lift later. Get rested up for a day or two, then swim again. Swimming with muscles sore from lifting, particularily when they've been worked in such a different motion, just doesn't work too well. It is a good source of mild cardio though and it is a great full body form of exercise so I'd suggest not cutting it out completely.My personal favourite form of cardio is running. I don't even do it that often right now, but once or twice a week I'll get up whenever I feel like it and go out for a run. Along with weightlifting it keeps me in decent shape right now and it's an amazing stress reliever for me. Probably won't be doing anything too intense until next summer rolls around and my summer swim club starts up again.I have a hard time putting on weight too. I'm 6'00" and ~155 pounds. I just got back from a week in Mexico where I'd generally eat about 2 large plate fulls of food three times a day and I lost a couple pounds overall from a moderate bought of ecoli poisoning while I was there. I've been back into weightlifting for a month now, no gains in mass despite my cardio being limited to occasionally running and biking short distances. Tone will come if you keep exercising. I agree that if you want to gain more definition then you should first focus on putting on a little muscle first. Read Helms "Basics of Bigness" post to get your started. The idea is that you want to do the large muscle group and full body exercises and challenge your body with heavy weights. Be sure to ease yourself in first so you don't hurt yourself, especially with squats and deadlifts as form is everything, but after some time you'll feel more comfortable with the movements and can up your weight. I'm betting you, like most people, don't do squats. If that's the case then I'd highly suggest it because it's probably the best weight exercise you can do.