ProjectBobcat

Ive recently started on a health phase. Basically im fairly scrawny with a beer belly due to years of alcohol abuse while i was a student. I want to lose the gut and build up some muscle, especially on my arms and chest. So far all ive done is started riding my bike for 5-8 miles per evening and cut the crap out of my diet a bit, over a month ive lost a stone and im now just under 11 stone. Ive bought a basic bench with 75kg of assorted weights with it. Im also trying to eat tuna or chicken after ive been for bike ride.

Where do i go from here, i dont know what exersizes to do or how to do them really, ive been doing situps but its just making my stomach harder but still round. Any advice appreciated.

Anonymous

...to lose the belly you need to eat less calories.....you are goin the right way with the riding though....Sit ups wont shed any beer gut as you are finding out..LOL...i do 150 situps daily have done for years but youd never know it ...you need to shed all fat to really show the abs....and although i eat sensibly i am a sucker for alcohol

Get a plan...i personally train every other day..was doin it daily but i couldnt hack it at 36 years old ...

I do these:-

Bench press
Butterfly
Concentration curl
Triceps press down
Preacher curl
Lat pull down
Underhand lat pull down
Leg extension
Leg curl
Sit ups

All on a fitness centre and as said everyother day..i do 3 sets of 5 on each excersize except the situps..i do 100 to warm up and then 50 warm down.

Tigran

You will get that - it's called a barrel belly. All the rugby forwards I know have one. You need to exercise all the layers of your abs. So do (for example) 30 normal situps with your knees bent, then lay your legs flat to the left with your back flat, do 30 of these, then lay your legs to the right and do the 30 and then lay your legs flat and do the situps. If you're really hardcore lift your legs up to about a 45 degree angle keeping them straight and lower them to an inch or a bit more off the floor, then bring them back up to the 45degree mark. Do this the same amount of times as the other excercises, but dont let your legs touch the floor!

You didn't mention - can you incline a part of the bench - so it acts as a back rest?

ProjectBobcat

Thanks, il try a small amount of your workout Phil, and gradually build it up couple with the different situps. Yeah my bench does have a bit you can incline Tigran. Cheers for the help lads

ProjectBobcat

So far things have been going quite well, Ive been biking about 3 nights a week and doing a bit on the bench. I can only do 3 sets of 20 reps using 28kgs at the moment but i think i should be able to up that pretty soon. I dont really know what the incline function does on the bench so ive been alternating between doing presses with it flat and raised. My arms are much less flabby already and muscle is starting to show where it wasnt before. I havent really got a specific workout, i just do a few weights inbetween the usually household tasks.

Ive also set up a chinup bar in the warehouse at work and im doing 10 reps every time i pass through. THis rooms great, its gives me alot of motivation, and the pics of some of you big fuckers gives me something to work towards.

FastFordChris

just gunna paste what i posted for someone else, use the bits you want or non at all.

good thing to do to start you off is start running, doesnt cost you a thing and i would say you only need half the motivation, cos once you've gone out a certain way you've got no bloody choice but to run back home

you dont have to wait around planning it just get some joggers on and some trainers and go! do it every other day until you've planned out your next step of attack. though one word of advice, try going when its quiet ie middle of the day or early hours.

i would aid this with doing some push-ups and sit-ups every day, only low reps and 1 set every day to start you off, say 10/15? do that for a week then add another 5 and so on, trust me within about a month you'll be doing 80 odd in your sleep. if you start to feel your muscles aching then stretch them out gently, this will encurrage them to grow.

this is pretty much how i started, it was free so i wasnt risking having to sign up to a membership i may use once and never again and it also got me used routines. start off simple and easy to build up a firm foundation so you'll be ready to move on to bigger and more complex workouts.
i owe most of my bulk to the way i started out and still now use alot of the simple exercises i started with in my routines.

if your keeping to the routines in a month or two then i would say your ready to invest into weights or a gym as at least you know your gunna stick at it.

the key thing to remember is this is something your going to have to do for the rest of your life, so pick a routine that soutes you and that your not going to dread doing.