Hello and helps wanted !

Hey my name is kin im from the US and im from chinese backgrounds so my food differs from most people.
im 16 and i weight 195 lbs and wanted help on losing weight (down to 165 or 170 to be exact) or until i get the lean / toned body i like.
i have recently signed up for the gym and need help on what to do

i have started on watching my calories

usually its this
8AM- Chinese buns, or Peanut butter sandwich
12 Noon- Milk, Baloni or Turkey or Salmi on roll wheat, Fruits (Sliced Apples or Bananas or Pears)
3PM- Salty crackers or crackers as a snack.
8:30 PM: (chinese dinner) rice, chicken, beef, broccoli, fish(salmon or other chinese fishes)

what should i eat / replace instead of certain items
i usually spend 2-3 hrs in the gym anywhere from 3-4 times a week. giving either 1 or 2 days of rest after each day.

at the gym i do
25-35 minutes of stair climbing
5-8 laps around a big track
20 reps of 40LB 2 arm bicep machine (u have handle bars and u pull up) (3 reps per set) i do 1-2 set
20 reps of 40LB 2 arm tricep machine (u have handle bars and u push down) 1 - 2 sets
dumbells 20 LBs 20 reps 3 sets
chest press machine 35 LB 15 reps 1-2 sets

My arms are somewhat trained i can see the muscle outline when i flex, i have a big stomach and no chest muscles. My goal is to tone my arms (NOT TOO BIG I just want it to have the muscles visible) get my Chest to be in shape and lose weight and get some abs. please criticize and give me advice !!
 
1. At lunch ditch the bolanga and add a veggie of some kind (carrots are easy, or leftover whatever was for dinner last night too could do too.. I am assuming the family food you eat isn't really the fried stuff so many people like at chinese restauarants!)

2. The lifts you are already doing, fine, they are nice and conditioned, now up the weight until you can only do 8-10 reps (you may have to decrease the reps again in the future, this is a starting place) after your warm up set. Do each rep nice and slow for endurance purposes, but if you would like some good power as well, lift powerfully, and let the weight down slowly. This is my recommendation anyway (you may feel sore after this workout, keep your arms moving, you'll get used to it).

3. Do not stand around at the exercise machine you are doing, hop on to something else if at all possible.

4. Do you walk/jog or run those laps? You may want to try an elliptical if your gym has it, mix up being on the stairclimber a bit, as long as you still feel you are working out intensely after 5 minutes on the machine, and instead of doing the laps together right after your other cardio, add 5-10 minutes to your cardio, then you could go run a quick lap if the machines you want are being used, so you are not wasting any time, and any leftover laps you have to do use for your cooling down time...

5. You are working your chest a bit but forgetting about your back. Try some lat pulls, either on the machine, with cables, or with dumbells doing one arm at a time (lean forward on a bench, stabilize your back, get what weight you think you can do 20 times to try it out, pull the weight up so you are pushing your elbow toward the ceiling... this will really be just past your body, remember the power up, slow down plan discussed earlier...)

6.dumbells 20 LBs 20 reps 3 sets Umm, doing what? Over head press? Bench press, bicep curls? Squats?

7. Speaking of Squats, you are working your legs in your cardio, which is good, but not in a weight trainging, muscles bulking strengthening sense. Do some squats, stabilize your core muscles, do not allow yourself to let your knees bend out past your toes, chest out, and to do it right you will have to feel like you are sticking out your butt. If possible, ask someone for help with this at first. Hopefully not an idiot that does not know what he is doing. Watch other people (not power lifters, their lifting methods may be too intense for a beginner and they already know how to hold their body properly without getting hurt, and their backs are already used to it.)

8. I hope you are drinking plenty of water with the food, otherwise, looks decent, except the cracker snack is kind of a waste of time. It doesnt' give you any real nutrient value, and how much are you eating of everything? Put another more nutrient dense snack instead of the crackers and see how that does for you.

That is it for now, good luck.
 
xfobbyx,

You should be seeing some good results by now if you're eating better, but you may have also hit a plateau & need to tweek things a bit more; here's my opinion (after having lost about 40-50# of fat over the last year-&-a-half):

* Eat 6-to-7 times each day (small-to-moderate meals) -- it really works well
* Avoid anything with the words "Partially-Hydrogenated" in the ingredientsº
* Avoid fattening foods, such as low-grade cuts of beef & pork¹
* Avoid Shell-Fish (high-cholesterol)
* Avoid most (US) cheeses (low-fat Mozzerella, Feta, & some Swiss are Okay)
* Avoid Fried Foods (deep-fried or sauteed)
* Avoid some oils altogether, such as Vegetable Oil & Coconut Oil
* Use "good oils" sparingly, such as Extra-Virgin Olive Oil & Canola Oil
* Most (non-bottom-feeding) Fish & White-Meat Chicken & Turkey are good
* Peanut Butter is good, but it should be "natural" & used sparingly²
* Eat plenty of veggies & some fruit too, daily
* Best to eat protein with meals, & make one or two daily meals meat-less³
* Egg Whites are great; but use egg yolks sparringly

º Most modern-day bakery products (like crackers & cookies) have this very bad stuff (NOTE: a good cheat-snack is Frito-Lay Brand of chips, as they use a good oil & it's not partially hydrogenated -- but a portion is their smallest-made bag... about once a week: Potato Chips have a good amount of natural Potasium which is a good thing for active people; potasium in supplement form can be deadly if one has a kidney problem; to be safe, avoid all supplements, or check 'em out with a physician prior to taking, as some may be good for you, but others may harm you)

¹ If making a burger, use 4%-fat, or 7-to-8% cooked on a BBQ grill or George Foreman grill; some best cuts are Filet Mignon, Top Round, & Top Sirloin; Pork Tenderloin is also a good cut (unlike bacon) -- eat these meats sparingly (perhaps beef once or twice a week & pork once or twice a month)

² Unless trying to gain weight

³ Beans are usually especially good for this (& especially so when combined with Rice); or try a whole-wheat pasta dish every once in awhile (say once or twice a week)

P.S.: If you eat out at fast-food joints a lot, then let me know & I'll give you some tips on making your food choices; I don't know too much about Chinese food, except that some is fried & often with vegetable oil (so use your common sense & make substitutions as appropriate -- & seek the advice of non-fat & healthy Chinese people as they may be doing something right using Chinese dishes)

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Now, here's my opinion about your exercising:

Don't neglect other body-parts & always train antagonist muscles to avoid creating muscle imbalances which will eventually harm you.

For instance: to counter-balance the effects of chest presses & flyes you need to do plenty of back-work such as various rows & plenty of rear-delt work as well. Your back needs to be tighter/stronger than your chest in order to keep your arms in socket.

Once your eating better has your weight down some (getting your gut out of your way), then you can do more ab-work to help burn calories... in the meantime, a good ab exercise is an Upright Pole-Across-the-Shoulders Behind-the Neck Twisting (keep hips as stable as possible -- sit if necessary)

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Use common sense & persevere (be continuous -- keep-up) with your good nutrition & exercise programs & good results will eventually be seen over the years to come.

Of course there's a lot more to be said about each subject (& rest as well), but this is good enough for now.

Take Care,

Marooned Mike
 
okay i took most of the things into consideration, i would like to be as precise as i can and i want to maximize my workout at the gym with the amount of hours i can put into it

An update to my food being as precise and detailed as possible

Morning : Noodles (Ramen) or Bun + stickyrice (about the size of a burger)
Afternoon: 1 Milk LOW FAT purple one (pint), (either a selection of 2 whole apples or 2 bags of apple packs, pears, or 2 Bananas. i get either a slection of P&J on white bread, Salami + cheese on white bread, Balogni + cheese on white bread or Tuna / Turkey on white bread. and potato wedges.

im thinking that i should not get the wedges, get the fruits, milk and one sandwich

afterschool, if i go to the gym i usually drink a lot of water and work out and eat dinner at home

if not i go and buy a selection of things, OJ + chinese buns or Chinese buns + milk tea.

at dinner i have 1 bowl of rice, Broccolli & chicken, white chicken meat, ground beef patties, and veggies.


i have a stomach somewhat, what is the best way to lose the stomach and gain abs? i need a routine for the CHEST and BACK too any recommendations that i can do these at home instead of the gym? (I have dumbells at home)
as of now my biceps are in pretty good shape, i want to gain some triceps and chest/ back muscles. while losing fat + gaining abs.

as of now i burn about roughly 20 minutes on the stairs which is like 230 calories per time (KEEPS ME SWEATING EVERYTIME so i think its a good machine)

i usually run around the lap about 5 times but i get really tired and i get hard cramps if i try to go around again so i usually stop at 5

i was hoping that someone can tell me the ROUGH amount of calories i take in and how much i should burn

also what routine can i do at home that effectively works out my triceps , back chest and abs without straining my neck trying to sit up lol.
 
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