Will the rest come off?

[Ryyyyan]

It's been almost a full year since I started working out. Granted I've dropped 60lbs, I can't get rid of some fat.
I STILL have the same size gut I did a year ago. I'm getting down on myself for not being able to get a flat stomach.

The same goes for my legs, my thighs and calves are still kinda big but I'm only 178lbs now. I run 2-4 times a week for 2 or 3 miles and go to the gym a few days, too.

My arms aren't that fat, but I know lifting weights and everything will help those get muscular.

I'm 6'1 and weigh 178lbs.
My normal food schedule is usually like this:

Breakfast: Cereal and milk around 6:30am.
School Snack: Usually a Fiber 1 bar around 10ish because I'm starving by then.
Lunch: I use to get a burger, but now I get a Ham and Cheese sandwich with a chocolate milk.
Snack at 3: Usually 1/4 cup of unsalted cashews with a glass of Orange Juice.
Dinner: Usually whatever my Mom makes, but it's never anything that bad. We have chicken and rice, and stuff like that.

As for my workout:

At home for 2-4 days a week I usually run 2-3 miles which takes me almost half an hour and then I get off the treadmill, and I'm done.

At the gym I don't do cardio anymore as I do it at home. There I usually bench, do other arm and leg machines.

I feel like I'm doing everything right, but the rest of the fat doesn't come off.

 

[Soverntear]

id say find a better routine that fouces in mroe on cardio and your mid section

 

[DanHarris]

I'd refine your diet some more. After a year your body is going to adapt not only to your workout routine but also your diet.

I'd look into a full body weights workout 3 days a week, after weights hit the cardio for half an hour.

On non-lifting days do an hour of cardio.

That should be substantial enough of a change to start seeing results again. Sounds like your body has adapted. If you've been doing 3 miles a day for a year, you probably aren't challenging yourself enough. (I'm not saying you aren't working hard)

Either speed up or add distance to your cardio.

Goodluck and well done so far on dropping the 60lbs.

I don't think from your example diet that you eat enough, and what you do eat could be cleaner. Don't see enough veggies and fruit in there really.

 

[wellness108]

I agree with Dan in refining your diet some more. Depending on how the chicken and rice is prepared, and what kind of bread you're eating, that fat you're trying to lose can hang around until you try something different. I'm 6'0 175 so I understand what you're going through.

 

[Goldfish]

Doesn't sound like you're doing everything right to me...

Breakfast: Cereal and milk around 6:30am.
School Snack: Usually a Fiber 1 bar around 10ish because I'm starving by then.

I'd be replacing this with something like fruit and low-fat yoghurt, or nuts. Also, get another nutritious snack in around 8-9am. It'll be good for your metabolism, and it'll take the edge off your cravings around 10am. If you eat the same total amount in 2 smaller portions (ie eat half of what you'd normally eat around 10 at 8, and the other half at the normal time), you'll still get fed, but your body will burn more calories along the way during digestion. It's possible that having something around 8 might also result in you eating less over all simply because you won't have 3.5hrs of built up starvation.

Lunch: I use to get a burger, but now I get a Ham and Cheese sandwich with a chocolate milk.

Depending on what's on the burger, it could be a better choice. I'd suggest getting some wholemeal or multigrain bread/buns (I prefer multigrain because wholemeal dries my mouth out) and making a sandwich/burger with salad on it. This will probably be more filling than the ham and cheese sandwich for about the same calories.

Snack at 3: Usually 1/4 cup of unsalted cashews with a glass of Orange Juice.
Dinner: Usually whatever my Mom makes, but it's never anything that bad. We have chicken and rice, and stuff like that.

Try real fruit instead of fruit juice. And I hope your mum's putting plenty of vegetables on the plate.

At home for 2-4 days a week I usually run 2-3 miles which takes me almost half an hour and then I get off the treadmill, and I'm done.

At the gym I don't do cardio anymore as I do it at home. There I usually bench, do other arm and leg machines.

Start resistance training with your legs. It sounds like (like most teenage boys, and sadly most adult males, too), bench press is the focus of your workout, then your arms. You have the order wrong. You'll burn the absolute most calories during and after squats and deadlifts. Then, after doing both those exercises, you might want to do a leg press to really burn out the legs, although this might be too much work to enable cardio at home the next day. Once you've done legs, then go onto compound push (rows, chin ups/lat pull downs) and pull (chest press, shoulder press) exercises. Try to use free weights for your exercises as much as possible. It's more functional and tends to activate more muscles all over the body, ergo more energy expenditure. The compound upper body exercises will also cover several muscles at once, meaning you won't have to waste your time doing isolated arm exercises which barely burn any calories. You may further benefit from supersetting your upper-body exercises, which will add a cardio influence to your resistance training and allow more time afterwards to do cycling, x-trainer or rowing cardio which, let's face it, will mean more calories burnt and better chance of losing excess fat. I strongly recommend that you do cardio other than running in the gym after your resistance training session, and save running for home. Running 2 days in a row is setting yourself up for injury.

 

[DanHarris]

Really good advice from Goldfish there, hope you take advice because you will see results if you put the extra effort in.

I usually hit the bike or cross trainer after my weights, hardly any impact on the body that way.

As suggested do your running on seperate days.

Doesn't sound like you're doing everything right to me...

Start resistance training with your legs. It sounds like (like most teenage boys, and sadly most adult males, too), bench press is the focus of your workout, then your arms. You have the order wrong.

THIS, one of the most annoying things people do in the gym haha. So many people ignore their legs, and a lot of the teens just seem to do a lot of isolation work on their biceps and forget all else.

 

[Ryyyyan]

To be honest, Goldfish's post completely threw me off track. I had no idea what half of that stuff was but I'm interested in learning.

This week I started taking my lunch to school. I ended up taking a PB&J sandwich on 12 grain bread with a yogurt and grapes and water.

I'm only at the gym 2 days a week because I don't have my license yet, but when I do I'm easily going everyday right after school. I'm going to plan on upping my cardio routine at home to an extra mile or two faster and a mile or two longer. Since it's getting nice out, I plan on running outside more and more each week.

At my house I have two 15lb dumbbells as well as a blue exercise ball. What are some exercises I can do on those to up my weight training? As for my abs I do planks, bridges, and cobras. I know doing this pretty much has NO effect since I have the same size gut I did a year ago but my parents keep telling me it's going away.

Reading your posts made me realize two things; my body IS adapting to my workout routine so I need to step it up with the cardio and weights. The second is I wasn't trying hard enough. I was doing 2-3 miles and I know if I dug deeper I would've done more but my lazy ass got off anyways.

My goal was to be ripped/toned/not fat by the end of 2010. I'm not sure if I can do it in 9 months (as in losing the rest of the fat) but I'm going to be fit before I graduate in 2 years.

Anymore food and workout suggestions are always appreciated. I've been committed to this but it's time to step it up.

 

[Goldfish]

Packing your own lunch is a good start to help you get on track. Feel free to ask specifically about anything I've written that you don't understand. I'm guessing that the main confusion would be in terminology. If so, this might help:

- Free weights: In the simplest sense, any weights that don't use a machine. Barbells and dumbells are classic examples of free weights.
- Isolated movement: A movement at only a single joint. A bicep curl is an isolated exercise at the elbow joint. A knee extension is an isolated exercise at the knee.
- Compound movement: A movement that uses multiple joints. A bench press is a compound movement of the shoulder and elbow. A squat is a compound movement of the hip, knee and ankle.
- Supersets: Take two exercises that each attack different muscles (eg bench press which tragets chest, anterior deltoid and triceps; and bench pull which targets the back, posterior deltoid and biceps). Instead of doing several sets of one exercise and then moving on to the next, do the second exercise when you would normally be resting after the first exercise (ie complete a set of bench press, then roll over and complete a set of bench pull, then do another set of bench press, and so on until you've completed all your sets for both exercises).

Again, if you've got more questions, feel free to ask.

 

[jermlm]

If what you are trying to do is to take off that extra body fat, I would slow down on the heavy lifting and start with focusing on form with high reps and lower weights. Your ab muscles are there already most likey, you just need to pull back the curtains to see them and to do that, you need a more advanced cardio program.

Have you tried circuit training? Get yourself some cheap 3X5 cards and write various exercises on them (jumping jacks, pushups, crunches, jack-knifes, V-Ups, Lying Twist, etc.), throwing them down on the ground in a circle. Then jogging/sprinting around the circle once, doing a fast paced pre-determined set, getting right back up and jogging/sprinting around the circle to the next card. You would have to have a really big room for this, or you can just do it out in the back yard.

I have seen some excellent and *cheap* cardio programs that didn't just entail jogging/running every day. Like other posters have said, your body gets used to that. Just a suggestion below...

Monday - Jump Rope (very cheap and effective jump ropes out there) for 5 - 10 minutes, rest and do another 5 - 10 minutes.
Tuesday - Circuit Training (see above, and 3 X 5 cards are cheap)
Wednesday - Long Run/Jog
Thursday - Up/Downs are what I call them. 1,2,3'S are what my daughter calls them when she gets into trouble and has them for punishment. Start in the standing position, vigorously get into the push up position, do 5 pushups, move to the situp position, do 5 crunches, stand up --- push up position, sit-up position, stand position, push up position, sit up position, stand position, (do this 7 more times vigorously) --- Push up position, do 5 push-ups, sit-up position, do 5 sit-ups, standing position --- Repeat this cycle for 30 minutes. You can even have your brother or parents keep the pace... hehe, I'm sure they have a bit of frustration to let out on you!
Friday - Short Run - sprints every 30 seconds, jog a minute in between.
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Rest

Also, are you eating enough? When I was loosing weight, my diet consisted of cereal w/milk, egg (however you want it), whole wheat toast and two slices of bacon for breakfast. 1 - 2 servings of fruit in between. PB&J or other deli sandwich on whole weat with possibly a soup for lunch. 1 - 2 servings of fruit/vegetables in between. A good size dinner. A serving of broccolli a few hours before bed. Now, mind you, I was lifting weights and doing some good cardio during that too, but you have to feed your body to keep your muscular physique and loose the fat.

Also, a good set of dumb bells that have variable weight (power block, etc.) and a simple weight bench will take care of 90% of your weightlifting needs without needing a gym membership.