Workout

Ok, im still a little confused, Ive got my head around the idea that I cant 'spot reduce' the bits I dont like (*sigh* all that time spent doing sit ups in my bedroom as a teenager to get a flatter stomach...) But thats pretty much ok as its my whole body I have a problem with.

Ive managed to lose some weight and I am a healthy weight but im still pretty, well, flabby. So I guess I need to do some exercise to get everything looking better so im going to start going to the gym. But do I have to be eating more calories to make that happen? I dont want to build huge muscles, just look less flabby :eek:

At the moment I eat between 1200 and 1400 calories a day and am 5ft 6" or 7" tall.
 
Halo, there really isn't a right or wrong answer to your question.

First, yes, to make any significant impact on muscle mass, you have to be in a caloric surplus. Which means you would certainly need to eat more. On that same note, newbs in the weight room can actually gain some muscle while not actually being in a surplus. However, this effect is short term, and not something I would bank on.

So is this what you should do?

That is up to you.

You see, going into a caloric surplus will add some fat as well as muscle. You are forced to take the good with the bad. That is why this is a never-ending lifestyle/endeavor.

Look at me, I am constantly bulking up and cutting down by manipulating my calories in order to bring out a better physique over time through multiple cycles.

If you don't take this route, you could continue dieting. We all have muscle under our flab. So if you continue dieting, you could get lean. Regardless though, you should be working out with weights in order to preserve muscle mass. Just as when you are in a caloric surplus and you gain fat with the muscle.... in a caloric deficit you will lose muscle with the fat, which is obviously not ideal for numerous reasons.

More importantly than all of this: You will not get huge muscles. It just doesn't work like that. If lifting weights led to big muscles so easily, there would be a lot more naturally lean, muscular people walking around.

Do your own test. Go into any gym. I bet that a majority of the people do NOT look like they workout. At the very least, they are not big and muscular. It just doesn't work like that. Especially with women!!!!
 
Thank you for that advice Steve, good to know im not going to suddenly look all muscle bound :)

I think I will do as you say and try to be leaner but work out to try and keep a bit of muscle. Il start going to the gym and just wait and see how my body reacts.
 
Appreciate the topic Steve. With the labeling of 1-3 Days, do you mean one should only lift three days out of the week?
 
Ok, im still a little confused, Ive got my head around the idea that I cant 'spot reduce' the bits I dont like (*sigh* all that time spent doing sit ups in my bedroom as a teenager to get a flatter stomach...) But thats pretty much ok as its my whole body I have a problem with.

Ive managed to lose some weight and I am a healthy weight but im still pretty, well, flabby. So I guess I need to do some exercise to get everything looking better so im going to start going to the gym. But do I have to be eating more calories to make that happen? I dont want to build huge muscles, just look less flabby :eek:

At the moment I eat between 1200 and 1400 calories a day and am 5ft 6" or 7" tall.

No worries. Most ( if not all ) women bodybuilders you see use steroids to get those " huge muscles " you mentioned.

Fact is, women can't produce anywhere near the amount of testosterone as men do. And, since testosterone is one of the main hormones responsible for building muscle mass, it's impossible for a woman to bulk up significantly just by doing some simple weight training.

So, women who weight train won't turn into huge muscular hulks, but weight training WILL give them a " toned " and well shaped body.
 
Appreciate the topic Steve. With the labeling of 1-3 Days, do you mean one should only lift three days out of the week?

Correct, with this specific training split, you are only lifting weights 3 days per week. However, you are hitting each muscle group multiple times.
 
No worries. Most ( if not all ) women bodybuilders you see use steroids to get those " huge muscles " you mentioned.

Fact is, women can't produce anywhere near the amount of testosterone as men do. And, since testosterone is one of the main hormones responsible for building muscle mass, it's impossible for a woman to bulk up significantly just by doing some simple weight training.

So, women who weight train won't turn into huge muscular hulks, but weight training WILL give them a " toned " and well shaped body.

Hence my above posts.
 
Cool thanks STEVE.
I have been going about things wrong............hopefully i will see an improvement now!!! Thanks for the info!!!
STAR
 
Cool thanks STEVE.
I have been going about things wrong............hopefully i will see an improvement now!!! Thanks for the info!!!
STAR

No problem Star. If you run into some hurdles, or have questions, don't hesitate to ask.
 
Steve,
I hate to be a burden but can you post a routine for someone who works out at home...what weight shoudl i start with is 8lbs enough?
 
Steve,
I hate to be a burden but can you post a routine for someone who works out at home...what weight shoudl i start with is 8lbs enough?

Well, I can't just pull a routine out of my butt. It really depends on what equipment you have available, KWIM? Why don't we start with what you have.

Also, I can't throw out a weight that is sufficient. You have to understand that some exercises you will be able to use heavier weights than other exercises. For example, the difference in weights used when squatting compared with overhead pressing is drastically different.

On top of this, still concerning weights used, is, it is not good to have one set weight to use all of the time. For instance, if you went out and bought a pair of 8lb dumbells, you would outgrow them very quickly. By outgrow, I mean, your strength would surpass the weight of the dumbells and you would no longer be able to get a sufficient workout from them.

Remember, one of the core principles of a proper weight training program is progressive overload. This means you must consistently throw a stress (weight) at your system that it is not used to. When your body gets used to that weight, you increase the stress.
 
A bit of advice...

This is a very helpfull guide, I would like to get some feedback on what I am doing at the moment though.

I am 185cm or just a hint over 6ft, and I am around 110kgs but dont look fat, but could do with a decent toning. I used to do Karate and am keen to get back into it. Its hard to describe my physique..

Due to my occupation, and unhealthy habits I had reached this weight and I want to shed some Kg's. This is what I am doing each night at the moment;

20 jog + 10 minutes power walking
2 x 20 inclined situps
1 x 10 pushups
2 x 12 Bicep Curls (DB's) - 6kgs
2 x 12 Flys " "

I will soon be getting into the gym @ my work, as there is a bike, rowing machine, cables, bb's, punnching bag etc.
And a couple of other little things, along with removing alot of sh*t from my diet as well (ie. coke, chips, hicarbs, etc)

Some feedback would be great, as you are clearly living proof that it can be done!!

Cheers,

Aaron
 
This is a very helpfull guide, I would like to get some feedback on what I am doing at the moment though.

I am 185cm or just a hint over 6ft, and I am around 110kgs but dont look fat, but could do with a decent toning. I used to do Karate and am keen to get back into it. Its hard to describe my physique..

Due to my occupation, and unhealthy habits I had reached this weight and I want to shed some Kg's. This is what I am doing each night at the moment;

20 jog + 10 minutes power walking
2 x 20 inclined situps
1 x 10 pushups
2 x 12 Bicep Curls (DB's) - 6kgs
2 x 12 Flys " "

I will soon be getting into the gym @ my work, as there is a bike, rowing machine, cables, bb's, punnching bag etc.
And a couple of other little things, along with removing alot of sh*t from my diet as well (ie. coke, chips, hicarbs, etc)

Some feedback would be great, as you are clearly living proof that it can be done!!

Cheers,

Aaron

Well, let's hope you get access to your gym sooner than later. What exactly do you have at your disposal at home right now?

What you are doing is VERY sub-optimal to say the least. Sure, it is better than nothing, but you could do a lot better, even if you don't have any equipment at home.

So let me hear what equipment you have and we will see what we can come up with.

And you obviously know that nutrition is the primary driver in terms of weight loss and "toning." Any advice I give you is mute if you don't fix your nutrition first.

You can also go to my journal instead of doing it in this stickie.
 
Your Journal..

Whats the URL?

I failed to mentioned a few things, I also jog/run in the morning aswell.. Running is done in bursts (sort of using the HIIT concept)

I try and mix it up a little bit. I work 10 hour shifts, so its hard to fit in the excersise and I consider the effort I am putting in now to be decent considering;

I have quit smoking and drinking for over a month now, and only just starting to get my lung capacity back

I have a set of db's at home, but there is much more to use at the gym.. which is really more like a circuit.
 
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