Losing the "pudge" and getting muscle

Have you ever seen the movie American Beauty? Remember the part where Kevin Spacey is chasing after the Jims and he asks them about getting into shape? They ask "Are you looking to lose fat or get increased strength and flexibility?" and he responds "I want to look good naked.". Well that's basically me.

I'm 16 years old and I'm in somewhat bad shape. I'm a junior in high school now. I used to play football in middle school and in my freshman year of high school, but the coaches took it way more seriously than I did so I stopped playing. After that I still ran like 2 miles a day after school with a friend of mine that still played football and did some intramural sports like flag football. But then in the winter of my sophomore year I kinda just stopped.

I would still play ultimate frisbee with friends 2 or 3 times a week on the weekends and after school, but that was pretty unreliable and not very good of a workout, and I've lost a little muscle and gained a little fat. I haven't gone running since the winter of my sophomore year either.

Anyway, my mom just got a new job that pays quite a bit more and we're getting a pool this summer. I want to lose the little bit of pudge that I got and get a little bit of muscle so I can have friends over to the pool. I'm pretty self-conscious, which I'll admit is a flaw, but there's not much I can really do about that. I'm a teenager.

What I'd like some help with is learning what I should do to get into better shape. Do you think that getting a personal trainer would be worth it? My mom at least used to be a member at Lifetime Fitness, so maybe I could do that. This is going to sound really spoiled and ****, but money isn't really a problem because I don't really ask for much she's gotten a newer, higher-paying job.

It's winter now and even though I've tried to keep physical by skiing with friends every other weekendish I feel like I'm getting a little more out of shape. But I don't play any organized sports or anything because I don't really find them fun. I love to play frisbee and football, just stuff where you go to the park and mess around, that's fun. But because that's not really serious stuff, I don't have much a need for "increasing my meta-hypo-quadricep force output". As I said earlier, I just "want to look good naked".

I also don't want to go the weightroom at my school. I used to play football at the pivotal first year of high school, so I made friends with a lot of jocks and stuff and obviously they're all stronger than me now, but because I don't go to the gym or anything they don't notice it really. And I know that all my friends will give me **** if I go in there and start benching 105 when they're doing 200.

So is getting a personal trainer worth it if it's important that I don't have to go through the embarrassment of being pathetically weak and money isn't an option? Or is it just simply not worth it because I don't have any real practical usage for it because I'm not in organized sports?

I eat pretty healthy (fast food MAYBE once a month, pizza maybe once every three weeks) and don't really mind running, despite not having done it strenuously in a while. Here's the parts of my body I want to improve most, and the condition they're in at the moment:

Chest - I basically don't have pecs. You can sorta see my ribcage start to protrude.
Biceps/Triceps - They're pretty flabby right now, as I haven't really done anything with them except play pool, push myself along with my poles while skiing, and play videogames.
Abs - They're kinda flabby too, but I feel like they're not that bad and if I burned that little pouch of fat on the bottom and just thinned out the rest, I could start to get some definition.

I want volume of muscle, not strength. Strength is great and all, but I don't have any practical application for it, nor do I want to. I just wanna look a little bitter in a swimsuit. Is there specific routine I should go through, like doing a thousand pushups, a thousand situps, 500 bicep curls, 500 tricep curls, and running 30 miles a day I should do? Should I get a personal trainer? Should I just suck it up and find a friend that won't humiliate me?

Also, what should I eat? I'm really good at not doing things, better than I am at doing things. I don't drink soda at all really except for Sprite maybe once every two weeks when I'm out or at someone's house and there's nothing else to drink, and I like a lot of foods.

Please, need some help. I'd like to get bigger pecs, arms, and a more defined stomach before June rolls around.
 
Also, this is a pretty important thing to put in that I didn't remember to talk about before. Even though I'd like to experience results and lose fat, gain some muscle volume, I don't want my life to revolve around working out. I had a friend who was a pretty cool guy and he played football and then started wrestling. The wrestling program at my high school, as with any other wrestling program, was extremely strict and it basically took over his life. He'd come to a friend's house, eat one potato chip, and start doing pushups because he ate a potato chip.

Anyway, long story short, I have to go to school, study, help around the house, and get my fair share of TV, listening to music, and video games in as well as get into better ship.

Oh, and also, props to anyone who actually took the time to read that and shows a genuine interest in helping me with my problem.
 
Last edited:
You need to work out where you want to be in 6 and 12 months. If you want the perfect naked body you've got to be clever, patient and persistant about it.

You don't need a Personal Trainer, you'll learn everything you need on here and through reading every other website out there and from learning you're own body. go out and buy 'New Rules of Lifting', by Schuler. it has everything from diet basics and guidelines, exercise instruction and training programs. Even if you dont use the programs (which you should) it'll start you off with a good, well informed, mindset.

it sounds like you need to bulk up a but first, use one of the numerous kcalorie intake sites (search the forum) and work out how much you should be eating.

read the stickys (and that book) and come back with some questions; believe me when i say that the more you learn the less you will think you know. you dont have to revolve your life around the gym and train like a bodybuilder but you want to be as prepared and well informed as possible to make the most of the time you have. too many people wander around gyms and programs, feeling bad about what they eat and trying to make up for it by overtraining. and try to enjoy it, it really does help.
 
when i started I was very weak, and these people here helped me out.

THey started me off on a FUll body weight room routine 3x a week with compound movements.

It has really helped me.
let me know if you have questions, and really read around.
 
whatever u do...dont get a personal trainer. Depend on yourself. i used to have a personal trainer, and i honestly regret wasting my money on that a**. the worst thing is, they never really teach you to train on your on, like somehow they train you to be dependent on them. I know u can always argue that i lacked the willingness to learn on my own, but i tried weight training on my own and trust me..i just couldnt. I think your lucky since you know alot of football players and ur freinds with them..i dont think it should be difficult to approach them.
 
Back
Top