It starts with...

R

R1kk1

0
...this. Hopefully... o_O

Hey guys! :D I'm new to these forums, and I am suddenly extremely serious about wanting to get my body into shape.

I'm 20, at Uni, so money is a huge problem, can't afford gyms etc. My body isn't disastrously bad. I have a flabby chest and my stomach pokes out a bit, but no where near enough to be called a beer belly.

So, I've been reading up on things lately, and I've decided I am really going to do this. So here's the precautions over the past couple days I've done and changed to get myself on the right path:

  • Firstly, I cut down on food, by about half at least. I threw away all my snack items apart from fruit so that I'm not tempted in between meals.
  • Completely increased my water intake. I went from having 1 bottle every other day to about 6 - 8 bottles a day.
  • Started running, although I'm not very good at it yet. Went for my second run yesterday, can only hack about 12 to 15 minutes before my body gives up. I'm hoping this will get better with time.
  • Do a small (and rather novice) workout routine of Press ups, sit ups and crunches in the evening, around 7pm.

Do you think this is a good start? I didn't gain or lose any weight because I used to binge eat when I was a teenager, which I've stopped now, but my stomach is well and truly doing my head in and I want it gone.

Any other tips you can offer would be great. I just want to know if what I've done is a good start or not.

Thanks guys!

Rik
 
Not a bad start. You ought to think about trying circuit training(grouping 3-10 exercises together & doing back to without rest) followed by Interval Training(which is periods of high intensity work followed by periods of rest or low intensity work). This combines both a strength component(for lean tissue building) and a cardiovascular component(for fat burning).

This type of training causes an effect known as EPOC...Excess Post(exercise) Oxygen Consumption. The EPOC phenomenon causes an increased rate of oxygen intake, an elevated consumption of fat for fuel and increases your metabolism up to 48 hours AFTER you exercise! Burning fat while you rest!

Not only does this type of training torch bodyfat, it also saves you time. No more splitting up your days...1 day cardio, 1 day weights...more time for family,friends,work,sports. You also don't need an fancy or expensive equipment to complete these workouts. Most of them you can do at home. example:

squats
push-ups
pull-ups
planks

Do each exercise for a set # of reps or time back to back without rest in-between. That equals 1 set. rest 30-60 sec then repeat whole sequence. Do 3-5 complete sets. You can plug in more exercises(I do one where I pick 10 exercises and do 1 min of each) or mix in different exercises. Follow this circuit up with 3-5 high intensity intervals. Jump rope, jumping jacks or any piece of cardio equipment will work. Do 20-60 seconds of all out pace. Rest or maintain a slow pace for 30-60 seconds. Repeat that interval 5-10x. Train this way 3x/week and you will definitely see some results.

What you put in your body is important as well. Your body needs all 3 macro-nutrients to survive -- carbohydrates, protein and fat. If you cut out one of those macro-nutrients your body will not function properly and eventually break down.

Eat whole, naturally occuring foods. Nothing processed, packaged or anything with added sugar, salt, artificial sweetners or preservatives.

Live by this quote: "If you CAN'T hunt it, fish it, pick it from a tree, bush or the ground, DON'T eat it."
 
Circuit training is indeed a good way to get in shape, I personally like to incorporate circuit training into my kettlebell and bodyweight routines. Since you are on a tight budget, you should probably make bodyweight exercises your new best friend. Perform them in circuits, and once you start to master the basics such as push ups, pull ups, planks, etc, start to challenge yourself by adding in variations such as one arm push ups, hand stand push ups, muscle ups, dive bomber push ups, etc. Also, the best tool I've used to get incredibly lean and strong are kettlebells, and they are great if you are on a budget. Im also in college and I keep four in my apartment and can get a solid workout in, in very little time. Please check out my website at and click on the bodyweight conditioning tab for tutorials, and if you are intersted in kettlebells, heres a good website to purchase them
 
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