Time I made a start

A

averagefella

0
Hi!

Thought I'd join up, see if I can make a difference to my health!
I'm 38 and till recently did virtually no exercise whatsoever, I have a physical job, lots of walking, crawling, carrying, pushing, pulling ect. So I'm not coming straight off the couch so to speak, but till recently when I finished work, that is where you would find me, the couch.

So, the wife books our holiday next year to the Caribbean in May. A couple of weeks later I began to make changes, I stopped drinking alcohol, my dog walks include a jog when I get to the steep hill, I cut out the rubbish for pack up, and I stand up straight (its amazing how much weight I appear to have lost just by walking tall!)

I am feeling better than I have felt for years and the dog walk is 90% jogging all the way!

Right, ill see if I can get a pic up, its me and my belly in March. View attachment 5957

View attachment 5958

What I would like to achieve is abs, and just a good looking physique, I won't be joining a gym for various reasons, but any advice is welcome, I've started with the sit ups and leg raises, but any good recommended you tube links would be good!

Thanks!
 

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All of the abwork in the world will not give the six pack, they are totally reliant on the spot raining fat myth. The dog walking and jogging have more chance especially if this gets stepped up and combined with other stuff.
Not joining a gym, no problem. What kit do you have available or is this a bodyweight only workout? There are some great posts on bodyweight work that will help there.
What you've done is good, start small build up, now it's just decide what you want and what you enjoy doing, then setting up a program is no problem.
 
I think its mainly gonna be body weight, although I can always find some weight to lift if you know what I mean, a 110v site transformer is a well packaged weight!
Thanks for the reply, ill check out some of the bodyweight stuff now
 
Ideally I would say some basic muscular strength endurance circuits will work well toward your aims at the moment. Don't go flat out, work the same way you already have steady start while getting technique etc. going mad can come later.

Use the BALS (Back, Arms, Legs, Stomach) system for balance and set your own style, timed, or rep based.
Below is a simple example, there are millions of variations. Obviously warm up before, cool down and stretch out after to avoid injury.

Sets of 10 no rest except to swich between, keep going for 20 minutes or less if set too high.
Back - bent over row, transformer in each hand
Arms - push ups, what ever type you can do comfortably
Legs - tuck jumps, tuck can get tighter as you get used to it, initial coud be very loose
Stomach - crunch with twist

This type of training will build muscle slowly, burn energy fast and keep burning it during recovery. It is also so variable it makes it easy to avoid boredom, the killer for many.
Give this style a go, if you like it great, if you hate it after a week or so, find somthing else that you do like.
 
That sounds great, thanks a lot for the advice, definitely gonna give this a go, how many times a week?

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Depends what you can comfortably do. Try it twice one week and see how it feels. If it's a breeze do more reps, more intense exercises, longer period of time or more times a week.
Try to avoid working out every day where realistic, recovery is very important.
 
Speaking of body weight work, here's a link I post sometimes for people curious about those types of exercises. It's not my site or anything, so I have no reason to pimp it. It's just a good list.
 
Hey "averagefella"!

As previously said, you can't spot reduce. Basically meaning, you can't do sit ups and leg raises all day long to lose excess weight around the abs area. You lose weight more like an onion... in layers.
Doing body weight exercises at home is your best shout. And maybe introduce some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training - High-intensity interval training - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and see how you get on. You'll be amazed at the progress you make in such a short time.
 
Hello again, just saying that I haven't given up and despite not posting I have still been at it, the 50 bodyweight exercises have definitely been a big help, thanks! And here's a little progress pic.
View attachment 5964
Currently giving my legs a little rest as my knees have been giving me some jip as the running has been taking its toll, also last week I was on a solar job working on a roof all week, and yesterday did a fire alarm and emergency light test on a massive building and walked over 5 miles just at work. Anyway will keep up with the upper body stuff while the knees recover
Once again thanks for the help you have given!

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Good stuff. Hopefully you are enjoying it too. The importance of that can never be overstated, as if you enjoy it training becomes an integral part of your life and you just keep getting better.

Really like seeing success stories. Thanks for that.
 
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