Maybe not the best place to ask , but hey ill give it a bash.

Basically going on holiday soon , so wanted to loose a tiny bit of weight upperbody (chest area etc), whats the best way of going about this exersise wise ?

CV ? Abs work ? weight work ?

If anyone knows any good workouts , feel free to post them

 

You will get loads of great advice on here about this!

First and foremost, diet - eat salads and the like, no chips and burgers!

Then lots of cardio would be my bet. Thats what I do anyway, heading down to the gym in an hour

 

cv m8 u need to do at least 20 mins a day for it to have affect and not eat for 1 hour after exercise cos ur body will then source its own energy from ur body fat thus losing weight and toning up and drink plenty of water

 

do some chest press and press ups! .. eat chicken and get a nice big chest for the ladies to feel!.....lol...

or diet and excersise!

 

Asked about exactly this at my gym this morning (fook 7 a.m. work outs )

Instructor told me that it's got to be 20-30 mins of solid exercise (walking, running, rowing etc).

 

Did he recommend Chin-Ups too

 

that is true Bitchard, however, you need to do this AT LEAST 4 times aweek to see any improvement. You will also have to put in a fair few weeks worth before you start to see any physical benefits as well.

 

Diet is the main thing, before my finals I lost 1.5 stone in 3 weeks from cutting out the junk in my diet, playing a bit of footy and getting up at 9am instead of 2pm

 

 

Its a simple equation...... put less calories in than you need.

Depending on how much you need to loose in what time frame will depend on how you go about this.

You can obviously do it by diet alone, but you will need to be pretty strict. The other way is to do some exercise. People have mentioned doing cardio, but in all honesty if you have a good weights workout that lasts for 45-60mins you don't need to do much more cardio(unless you really need to shed loads of lbs).

I find cardio is more useful on a 'non-weight' day just to keep your body burning extra calories. But I am a bodybuilder and coz I'm not actively dieting I do zero cardio

If you want to add a bit of muscle and keep it, then make sure you DO eat after training. There is a 30-60min window after exercise where the body is more receptive to nutrients.

If you are really dedicated to loosing the weight, then first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is the best time to do low impact cardio, e.g go for a 20-30min walk at a pace where it is still comfortable to hold a conversation. This way you will not eat into your bodies muscle reserves.

People think that by starving themselves they will loose fat, but your body has an anabolic and catabolic state. If you starve yourself the body will stop using only fat as fuel and also burn up your muscles.

THe answer is small meals with a higher level of protein and lower level of carbs and fats. The protein will keep your body in an anabolic state and help it burn fat only.

I actually find cycling my carbs works well.

Day 1 Normal Carb day (basically i have potatos and pasta with meals)
Day 2 Reduced carb day (errrr no potatoes or pasta )
Day 3 Repeat low carbs

Then repeat. Anymore than 2 days on low carbs and I'm shattered in the gym.

Also have some carbs in the morning then leave them out of the lunch and evening meals. Although have a few after training for the reason further up. Use this window or your muscles will become depleted of glycogen/energy.

Hope this helps.

 

Rich, you should just come round ours.. cos apparently the basement is being turned into a gym.

I'll be using it though.. cos that's where the fridge is that holds the old vino

 

Blimey Paul, how much to take in?!

So from my reckoning you say,

Eat some bread first thing for the carbs.
Gym for whatever exercise.
Eat some protein straight after the gym.
Then just eat mucho protein and not much carbs in other meals.

Is this right?

 

AFPMSL!

Look, in the sky! A pig!

 

In a nutshell, yes

But remember to have a day, every 3, with a normal amount of carbs.

You can also have museli, porridge etc for breaky plus some protein.

 

you sound doubtful of my ability Rich? Remember, before i worked in IT i was a full time personal Trainer. I done a lot of studio classes, as well as acheiving a black belt in karate. I also represented Great Britain for the England junior swimming team, competing internationally.

Never judge a book Rich

 

No Dave, you've got it wrong.

I know about your past as a trainer, swimmer, female etc etc but I wasn't referring to that.

I was referring to Cola LETTING you have that room as a gym

 

Well thansk for such a responce lads !!

I been going to the gym for about 8 months now, i try to do a lot or cardio , by that i mean 50 mins to a hour each day, i do around 400 sit ups as well then do some weight machines working legs and stuff.

From what you guys have told me its really my diet i need to work on and keep doing wot i am doing at the gym by the sounds of it.

I will be sorting the diet out from now

Going back to the cardio, what do you reckon is best to work on ?

I usualy do around 20-30 mins on the treadmill, and the same on the cross trainer and also combine that with some bike and rowing machines.

Any more info would be great

 

pmsl @ female you coont

also LMFAO @ Cola LETTING me good effort, but you truly have me mistaken for a doormat

 

Did anyone read the article in The Times last week about the 2 minute a day workout, looked quite interesting 4 30sec mad bursts on the exercise bike gave the same fitness gains as people doing slower 20/30 min sessions!

 

40 mins steady state running 3 times a week, 70-80% max heart rate eat sensibley easy as that

 

What about the other way, putting on weight and bulking up. i have always been skinny, can eat non stop or eat bugger all, never change build

Was told to use heavier weights and lower reps but what about diet, what should I be trying to eat and how often.

Really only want to put about 2 stone on so what is the best way??????

Matt

 

Theres a similar principles in the bodybuilding world. Arnold and a lot people from his era used to training a couple of hours morning and night!!, a total of four hours a day and loads of sets. Then there is a group of people, and I follow this style, who do a couple of warm up sets and then one all out heavy set, and the then move on to the next exercise. You can be out of the gym within 40mins with this approach and only train 3 times a week.

Its not as extreme as doing just 2 mins, but then if you are trying to develop a specific muscle group you cannot hit all of it with just one type of exercise and therefore need to do something with a different angle/movement.

Heavy duty is not for pussys though

 

YesssaYYYY!!! cheers dude, Cola will be pleased!

 

so all in all i should stick to wot i am doing and sort the diet out

 

Paul Eggleton, Thats what I do when I do weights I think, set it so 15 reps kills me on each machine and do 2 circuits basically. Saying that I haven't been to the gym for a year really whilst I was back at uni Today should be interesting

 

You obviously have a really high metabolism Matt. The same rules apply with diet regarding eating 5-6 meals a day. In your case I would have breakfast lunch and evening meal as a normal meal(obviously protein rich) and have a mid morning and mid-afternoon meal replacement shake.

I actually use a pure protein shake as I am happy with my weight at the moment, but you would benefit with one with extra calories in. These are made up from having carbs in the drink. MET-Rx do a nice meal replacement drink. A box of twenty will cost over Ł30 though so it isn't cheap.

If you can, having a drink before you go to bed helps too. I used to mix up ice-cream 5 eggs plus anything else I had into a smoothy when I first started out and had that around 8-9pm.

As fas a training is concerned, people have told you to go low reps for one reason, you are trying to get stronger, and a strong muscle is a big one (ooerrrr missus ) Keeping a training diary is very useful and it lets you set yourself targets. You want to be looking to increase your maximum weight VERY slightly each week. If you jump in big steps, because one day you are feeling really good, be careful as it can lead to yo-yoing and you don't know where you are. I would keep it in the 5-8 rep range for the heavy sets and between 12-15reps for the warm ups. Do one all out set on your maximum weight.

Also are you doing the right exercises? If you want to add size and strength then I'm afraid you will have to do squats and deadlifts. These are the biggest and best exercises you can do as they involve a lot of muscle groups. If you do these and progressive lift heavier then you will see some good results.

Keep to the basics for the other muscle groups too. e.g barbell presses for chest and shoulders, chinups and some form of heavy rowing for the lats and try close grip bench press for the triceps. This helps build strength and increase your normal bench press weight.


the other importnat factor is rest. Make sure you get a good nights sleep (7+ hours) and try and do nothing for the rest of the time

Good luck!

 

My plan now is to work on the diet

Morning - cereal

Lunch - salad roll or sandwich

Evening - some ort of pasta dish or chicken dish


that sound ok ??

 

I'd make sure you have some protein in the lunch time meal.

 

so wot do u suggest then paul ? bearing in mind i dont want to put on weight

 

cant believe what i difference ive noticed since changing my diet.

always messed around with weights but never been serious.

now im on a diet where i have loads of carbs for lunch then loads of protein within an hour of working out at night. together with actually warming up and down! no aching or anything! and im lasting for much longer! time to up the weights me thinks!

probably all pschological but im feeling great with this current routine!

 

A run round the local park works wonders

I really cant stand the thought of paying someone 30 or what ever quid a month to use a gym when I could easily go for a run aorund the block or round the local park! Works for me

You could always use the stupid diet! Spend all your money on class A drugs.

1) you wont be able to afford food
2) your body will be constantly burning fuel because you dont sleep!
3) youll be running around like a nut case burning off loadsa callories!

Tis expensive - more so than the gym - but fast quick results!

 

Just add some tuna to the salad, or chicken or turkey.

I've got 2 cooked, roast, chickens sitting in the fridge for this weeks lunch times I'll have that with salad and every 3rd day I'll have a jacket spud with it.

 

well i usualy have chicken and cheese salad rolls so that seems fine

 

i eat kebabs

 

I lost a over stone in a week for a drunken bet at the end of last year! LOL still not put 3/4 of it back on.

 

for all your diet and training needs you have to check out the best fitness site on the web.

www.muscletalk.co.uk

there is dedicated diet and cv sections, if its not on there then its not worth knowing

Ste

 

Their shop is pretty good for supplements too.