A Few Basic Questions for a Beginner

elspecia

Hey guys I’m new on here, so apologizes if this isn't the correct place.

So i have done training in the past, as i used to play a lot of sports but over the last few years I’ve been putting on weight and losing it in bits and pieces, but I’m at a weight now that isn't really acceptable to me(well the weight isn't the big issue its the amount of fat)

So i have decided to address this situation, first off I’d like to do a little work on my arms and chest, and then I’d like to lose weight around my belly.

So I’m looking for exercises that ye found useful in this pursuit, i was thinking about push up's, but how many should i do, and how many times a day?

I know for weight loss I’ll need to watch what i eat and cut out the rubbish, so I’ve read a lot of posts over on the food diary section. Also in terms of exercise i have bike which i used to get to and from work so i know that will help.

So is doing 20 push ups, 3 times daily every day too much? Will this do more damage than good? Also is there exercises for my stomach that aren't sit ups as I’ve struggled in the past with them and I’ve a history of back issues so I’ll to keep that in mind.

Sorry for the long post and many thanks to you for your advice and guidance

BossArky

Outline your typical days intake of food and drink.

What do you enjoy doing sportwise?

You could add in bodyweight squats with the press ups too. Anything which gets you active/sweating/slightly out of breath will help.

Do you have access to a gym? Bike? Swimming pool?

Torakx

I think if your looking to lose fat you would be aiming to do more sets of pushups but a small number of pushups in each set.
For building muscle you will need more of a workload in a short amount of repetitions and for losing fat i think its more of a light but longer workout to make you burn energy hopefully from stored fat too.Maybe upper body cardio is best,not sure.
I would guess the paleo diet would be the healthy way to lose weight as you exercise.
Its mostly protein(meat) and fibre(veg) from what i remember.

From what ive been readng the basic idea seems to be speed up your metabolism by eating regular small meals so your body gets used to burning calories fast,the same with regular small/light exercise.Drinking water at room temperature as i heard cold water can slow it down.

This is how i have always been and im trying myself now to eat less meals but full plates as my metabolism has been running nearly too fast over the years and i cant seem to put on any fat at all,which is also worrying for me believe it or not lol
It gets bloody cold in the winter without any cushioning you know!

Frogdog

I really don't know where to start with the "advice" given above.

OP, have a read of the stickies on this forum and on the Nutrition & Diet forum. They'll answer a lot of your questions and give you more information on other topics.

Basically, if you want to lose weight you'll have to eat less calories than your body needs daily. No amount of push-ups or other exercises will lead you to lose weight if you're eating too many calories than your body needs.

Doctor_Socks

As mentioned above the first thing you need to do is supply is with a typical days food intake, outline everything from a slice of bread to a plate of spuds! The only way you shed bodyfat is with a proper diet.

Secondly, you say that your main goal is to lose weight. I would recommend having a read of what Frogdog said. In essence the main point thats in the stickies is that to lose weight you have to supply your body with ~500cals less then what it requires e.g. if your body requires 2,400 calories a day you eat 1,900 cals which will result in around a pound of fat dropped a week which is within healthy standards of weightloss.

Since you didn't mention anything about a gym i'm assuming you do your workout at home. You said that you were doing pushups, if you only do these you will probably get bored after a while so i'd recommend mixing it up a bit with other bodyweight exercises like squats, chinups and inverted rows. This will help mix it up a bit and also get other muscle groups worked leading to a better look when you lose the extra bodyfat. Hope all of this helps you with your goal!

elspecia

BossArky wrote: »

Outline your typical days intake of food and drink.

What do you enjoy doing sportwise?

You could add in bodyweight squats with the press ups too. Anything which gets you active/sweating/slightly out of breath will help.

Do you have access to a gym? Bike? Swimming pool?

Well at the moment my diet is pretty much all over the place as well as my sleeping habits due to work.

But I was looking at getting into a diet as follows,

Breakfast- Porridge or Something with eggs
Dinner- Something with alot of protein and vegs, try and cut back on carbs
Snack- Fruits and yoghurt, and the occasional bar of dark chocolate
Drink mainly water, milk and tea

But i've been finding it very hard to do with work and the fact its coming up to xmas

I have access to a gym(i go once every two weeks at the mo), i enjoy cycling, i can't swim.

I also play soccer once a week, sometimes I'll play twice a week.

Doctor_Socks wrote: »

As mentioned above the first thing you need to do is supply is with a typical days food intake, outline everything from a slice of bread to a plate of spuds! The only way you shed bodyfat is with a proper diet.

Secondly, you say that your main goal is to lose weight. I would recommend having a read of what Frogdog said. In essence the main point thats in the stickies is that to lose weight you have to supply your body with ~500cals less then what it requires e.g. if your body requires 2,400 calories a day you eat 1,900 cals which will result in around a pound of fat dropped a week which is within healthy standards of weightloss.

Since you didn't mention anything about a gym i'm assuming you do your workout at home. You said that you were doing pushups, if you only do these you will probably get bored after a while so i'd recommend mixing it up a bit with other bodyweight exercises like squats, chinups and inverted rows. This will help mix it up a bit and also get other muscle groups worked leading to a better look when you lose the extra bodyfat. Hope all of this helps you with your goal!

But I'm looking at losing fat in particular in my stomach while trying to build my upper strength up if that is possible of course

I also have access to a road racer which I used going to and from work

metamorphosis

losing fat = losing weight

diet diet diet - then train hard

connollys

your body decides where you will lose the fat from. you cant spot reduce, ie doing exercises on your abs doesnt make you lose the fat from there. Better of concentrating on the larger muscles to get the most out of your time exercising.

Chet Zar

elspecia wrote: »

Well at the moment my diet is pretty much all over the place as well as my sleeping habits due to work.

But I was looking at getting into a diet as follows,

Breakfast- Porridge or Something with eggs
Dinner- Something with alot of protein and vegs, try and cut back on carbs
Snack- Fruits and yoghurt, and the occasional bar of dark chocolate
Drink mainly water, milk and tea

But i've been finding it very hard to do with work and the fact its coming up to xmas

I have access to a gym(i go once every two weeks at the mo), i enjoy cycling, i can't swim.

I also play soccer once a week, sometimes I'll play twice a week.

But I'm looking at losing fat in particular in my stomach while trying to build my upper strength up if that is possible of course

I also have access to a road racer which I used going to and from work

Really it's all about preparation and I'm only coming to really realise that myself - if you don't go out and shop for the right foods and have them nearby then you're destined to fail. So get out there doing what you need to do food-wise!