[iSMark]

(Original post by AverageExcellence)
Well thats not really my intention although i wouldnt not want that. Its mainly because im carrying a bit of a 'spare tyre' i want to try and bring it down and i was assuming excerise around the abdominal area would address it the best way

Sit-ups will help, although you need to do variances on these sit-ups.

So maybe do 20 of each variance you fancy.

See this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv8drdaRWL8

That would probably be more effective than doing 100 sit-ups of the same type.

[sconter]

(Original post by AverageExcellence)
Well thats not really my intention although i wouldnt not want that. Its mainly because im carrying a bit of a 'spare tyre' i want to try and bring it down and i was assuming excerise around the abdominal area would address it the best way

sit-ups wont help, ignore above.

you dont decide where fat comes off, eat at a deficit and you will lose fat. abdominal exercises wont make the fat come off the stomach.

[iSMark]

(Original post by sconter)
sit-ups wont help,

you dont decide where fat comes off, eat at a deficit and you will lose fat. abdominal exercises wont make the fat come off the stomach.

Abdominal exercises will burn calories, maybe not the most efficient way of doing it, but it will.

Abdominal exercises will strengthen abdominal muscles, so if you combine abdominal exercises with calorie burning then your abdominals will look great.

[AverageExcellence]

(Original post by cfizzle)
I haven't got an answer for you, but PLEASE stop using BMI. It's so inaccurate... 13 stone for a 6ft guy seems very normal to me


First website of many I found on the matter:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=106268439

Oh right i didnt realise that, quite an interesting article. Do you know any more reliable measures of fat ratios i could use to give me a good indication?

[ken2]

dude bmi is jus bull... i have a younger brother, 13yrs, eats like a horse, weighs 70kg, height 5'9 and you n everyone expect him to be a pig noo hes got a six pack n no sign of fat which pisses me off to the next level
My point is eveyone is different and at the end of the day is down to YOUR METABOLISM!

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

[Scoobiedoobiedo]

You seriously need to read the stickies

[tooosh]

(Original post by iSMark)
Abdominal exercises will burn calories, maybe not the most efficient way of doing it, but it will.

Grasping at straws a bit? How out of breath do you get doing crunches and situps?

[SillyEddy]

(Original post by AverageExcellence)
Well thats not really my intention although i wouldnt not want that. Its mainly because im carrying a bit of a 'spare tyre' i want to try and bring it down and i was assuming excerise around the abdominal area would address it the best way

Exercising the abdomen will not cause the fat to be removed there. You'll be moving and shaking your stomach around, but the friction won't cause the fat to melt. It will help to define the abdomen and strengthen the muscles, but losing the weight is 90% of the effort of a 6-pack. The other 10% is the crunches. Unfortunately, the stomach can be one of the first places where fat accumulates, so that can mean it's the last place to go when you start to remove it again.

Just do cardio, and improve the diet. Look at calorie counters, or food counters (such as My Fitness Pal) as you can keep a track of your metabolic rate, exercise, calories in, calories out, etc.

[SillyEddy]

(Original post by BKS)
incredibly fit in the next 8-12 weeks isn't happening. It's not long enough unless you have a very low standard of incredible. You can get a fair bit fitter though and set yourself on the right path to getting incredibly fit

Don'y lift for 90mins. Go in warm up, lift for 45-60mins at the most, cool down. Whole thing should be done within 90mins if you are on the ball. Set yourself real goals to work towards- as in how much do you want to lift on what lift, not a general more muscle. Have a program with linear progression, part because you are noob enough for it to work for you and part because the progress is obvious.

Talk to a physio about your injuries. Doing it now will save you hurting yourself and getting de-motivated later. If a physio isn't possible try your GP but you are less likely to get helpful information

Stronglift and starting strength are the two common programes suggested so start by looking at them

Also, diet. Learn about what you need to eat if you don't know much now.

I have been thinking about going to see a physio, and I did have a good workout plan from my gym when I was there. Their membership will let me get time with an instructor to go over all the exercises and create a workout plan.


I think I need to stay away from the free weights though. Would it be better to spend my time on the machine weights instead? My reason being that the machines can focus your energy on the specific muscle group, and should hopefully mean that I can't yank my body out of alignment like on the free weights. I do also have a double jointed right shoulder, so I need to make sure I have the strength and control so that it doesn't pop out!

[Tendedez]

Hiya,

I'm 17 years old, female, I weigh around 93pounds and I'm 5ft (I'm very slim and tiny but naturally quite toned)

I've started the gym this summer because I want to stay healthy, and face it, what am I gonna do for the 3 months I have off? I just started so that I could make my stomach completely flat (it is flat, but there's a small amount of fat under my belly button!) and bulk up my legs because they are very slender and I've tried gaining weight with food alone but it doesn't seem enough.

Obviously I'm new to gym so I'm not entirely sure what type of excersises I should be doing to tone my stomach and bulk up my legs, because I only have 3 months to do so before I start uni and I won't be able to work out as intensely.

Anyway I have decided to go gym 4-5 times a week and I was wondering if anybody could inform me on how long it will roughly take me to see a difference?
Also what do you recommend the best work outs are for toning stomach and building leg muscle?
So far I've been using the running machine (running not power walking) to tone my legs and calves and also lose stomach fat. Can someone recommend what I should use and how long for?

Also what type of diet should I pursue for maximum results? I'm not expecting to get anything over night, I'm just curious and I want to set specific goals and I'd like a sort of idea for how long things will take.

Thank you, and apologies for the amateur questions!

[RyJ]

Not sure if anyone will be able to help but I was wondering; roughly how much should I weigh to be classed as healthy? A rough scale would be great (no pun intended); I'm 6'6"

Thanks!

[tooosh]

(Original post by SillyEddy)
I think I need to stay away from the free weights though. Would it be better to spend my time on the machine weights instead? My reason being that the machines can focus your energy on the specific muscle group, and should hopefully mean that I can't yank my body out of alignment like on the free weights. I do also have a double jointed right shoulder, so I need to make sure I have the strength and control so that it doesn't pop out!

That doesn't make sense. Surely if you focus on a specific muscle group you're more likely to grow out of proportion than if other muscle groups were involved? Either way, this concept doesn't really apply to machines, it's more relevant to isolation (single joint) vs compound (multi-joint) exercises. You should always do free weights unless your shoulder prevents you from stabilising them safely.

[shorty.loves.angels]

(Original post by Moonlight_)
Is it possible to lose 2 stone in 3 months by working out 3 times a week and eating around 1,250 calories?

What do you currently do/ eat? What are your height weight etc and what are your aims?

[shorty.loves.angels]

(Original post by RyJ)
Not sure if anyone will be able to help but I was wondering; roughly how much should I weigh to be classed as healthy? A rough scale would be great (no pun intended); I'm 6'6"

Thanks!

At that height it would highly (inadvertent pun) depend on your build. You should know whether you're a healthy 'weight' or not by your shape.

[EonBlueApocalypse]

Thank you for this, I'm getting sick of all the fitness myths and misinformation that is spread on this forum.

[shorty.loves.angels]

(Original post by Tendedez)
Hiya,

I'm 17 years old, female, I weigh around 93pounds and I'm 5ft (I'm very slim and tiny but naturally quite toned)

I've started the gym this summer because I want to stay healthy, and face it, what am I gonna do for the 3 months I have off? I just started so that I could make my stomach completely flat (it is flat, but there's a small amount of fat under my belly button!) and bulk up my legs because they are very slender and I've tried gaining weight with food alone but it doesn't seem enough.

Obviously I'm new to gym so I'm not entirely sure what type of excersises I should be doing to tone my stomach and bulk up my legs, because I only have 3 months to do so before I start uni and I won't be able to work out as intensely.

Anyway I have decided to go gym 4-5 times a week and I was wondering if anybody could inform me on how long it will roughly take me to see a difference?
Also what do you recommend the best work outs are for toning stomach and building leg muscle?
So far I've been using the running machine (running not power walking) to tone my legs and calves and also lose stomach fat. Can someone recommend what I should use and how long for?

Also what type of diet should I pursue for maximum results? I'm not expecting to get anything over night, I'm just curious and I want to set specific goals and I'd like a sort of idea for how long things will take.

Thank you, and apologies for the amateur questions!

You'd probably see best results from free weight workouts. Cardio will be doing the opposite to building muscles up; it causes breakdown of muscles. A free weight workout of compound lifts will work all of your large muscle groups and high intensity workouts would work well for reducing fat - though it sounds like you might not have that much fat (please be careful and realistic).

Exercising like this is going to require energy, so fuel your workouts with foods for energy (complex carbs) and if you do wish to build up a little muscle mass then you'll need to make protein a significant part of your diet. Vitamins et al. from vegetables and fruits should never be overlooked.

It is impossible to tell you exactly what to do, but if this sounds like something you want to look into then at least you have a starting point. Always listen to your body, it is well designed to help you decide what it needs.

[RyJ]

(Original post by shorty.loves.angels)
At that height it would highly (inadvertent pun) depend on your build. You should know whether you're a healthy 'weight' or not by your shape.

Well, I'm about 14 and a half stone, so I guess I could lose a bit...

[Riku]

I'm wondering whether you need to get very fit in the cardovascular sense before you really weight-train. I get really knackered when lifting and I'm not as strong as I used to be I try and get my 10,000 steps in and that, lol. I have 2-mile walks to work on most days, uphill for a bit on one, which isn't really an effort. Should I really have done more and completed Couch to 5K etc.before lifting?
Do you have to be a lower bf% to lift heavy safely too ? *(Literally like bench press of 100 pounds now >_<)
I'm 6', round 152lbs and typically aroud 12-15% when consistent but don't really measure much given history. Appearance isn't as much a priority as solid health and fitness. Strength would be nice too.

[tooosh]

(Original post by Riku)
I'm wondering whether you need to get very fit in the cardovascular sense before you really weight-train. I get really knackered when lifting and I'm not as strong as I used to be I try and get my 10,000 steps in and that, lol. I have 2-mile walks to work on most days, uphill for a bit on one, which isn't really an effort. Should I really have done more and completed Couch to 5K etc.before lifting?
Do you have to be a lower bf% to lift heavy safely too ? *(Literally like bench press of 100 pounds now >_<)
I'm 6', round 152lbs and typically aroud 12-15% when consistent but don't really measure much given history. Appearance isn't as much a priority as solid health and fitness. Strength would be nice too.

You can maintain basic CV fitness just doing weights.
You can lift safely at any bf. Unless you're so fat you can barely move your limbs, that might be a problem...

[jcsarchitect]

Morning TSR. Recently decided to lose a few pounds in time for my holiday in August. Previously I was playing 5-a-side on a Sunday and weight lifting 2-3 times a week.

I've knocked that on the head now with the aim to lose stomach fat. I'm in the gym 3 times a week burning around 750-850 a session and as well as my Sunday 5-a-side I also play 5-a-side on a Friday night which is 100mph for 90 minutes!

I've recently read drinking water can do wonders for weight loss so I'm drinking about 6-7 pints a day.

I havent made drastic changes to my diet but cut out the treats I'd have e.g fizzy drinks, fast food and snacking.

Do you think this is a good way to burn fat or any other suggestions?

Regards
Jamie


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