General health/fitness advice needed

Mr. Manager

Posted this in Health/Fitness but got little response...


Hey all,

I've been going to the gym in work just about every day I'm in the office but do shift work so sometimes I could be in for 3 days with 2 off then back in again for 4 days with 4 off so consistency/routine is a little difficult

Obviously with being in work I can't be in the gym for too long, about an hour is the most I can get away from the desk. That hour is filled with either a 5k run or a 30 minute weight loss programme on the treadmill, 1K on the rowing machine, 10 sit-ups, 10 press-ups, 50 stomach crunches and between 12-15 bicep curls. *Not posted in order of accomplishment*

My problem is, I'm noticing little to no difference around my gut. My arms have gotten bigger, my upper body has toned up, my legs have grown muscle - generally, I feel and look a lot better except when I take a peek at my belly.

My diet is awful, no point lying about that. Because of the hours I work (12pm-10pm) it's difficult to fit in a good meal. Most of the lads in here get take-aways (which I've been known to do but not anymore). The job supplies us with a dinner at 13:30 but from then on, there's not much to eat so I have to bring in my own food. Usually consists of a big batch of spaghetti that will last a few days or a big dish or lasagne.

Avg diet is -

Breakfast:
A yoghurt or 2 slices of wholemeal toast

Lunch (in work):
Soup (either tomato, vegetable or potato n leek)
Main ranges from - Chilli Con Carne, Chicken Fajita, Chicken Curry, Lamb Balti, Indina spiced Lamb and various others.
Dessert of strawberry bakewell

Lunch (outside work):
Curry Noodles/Frozen pizza n chips/Frozen chicken chips or a pasta dish

Dinner (in work):
Either Spaghetti or Lasagne

Dinner (outside work):
Cajun chicken n rice / Chicken curry n rice / Beef Burritos / Chicken Fajitas / Spaghetti / Lasagne


Any help re-arranging my diet would be hugely appreciated. It's just tough though as I'm such a fussy eater. I don't eat eggs and have little to no vegetable/fruit intake.

I'm 23, 6'0 and weigh 76Kg. Would really love to be able to trim my gut down so that I can concentrate on toning up and building muscle afterwards. Just feels like I'm pissing into the wind at the moment.



Sorry for the long post and thanks for anyone who stuck around to read it

Bungy Girl

Hi,
I don't normally post here but this thread caught my eye. You do need to make changes to your diet to get better results from the effort you're putting in to the gym. It's interesting that you mention it being hard to get it right because of work but it sounds like you eat fairly similar things at home any way ?
You don't mention what you drink (water/tea/coffee/juice/beer) - don't forget to take what you drink into account when you're making changes.
How come you don't eat fruit & veg ?? It's hard (impossible even) to have a healthy diet without including lots of fresh food. At the moment a lot of what you're eating is convenience/processed food, high in fat, sugar and salt, which works against what you're trying to achieve in the gym.
You don't need special foods, diet products or protein shakes to make a difference - just good fresh, unprocessed food, plenty of water (and maybe a decent cookbook!).

Mr. Manager

I don't drink tea, coffee or anything of the sort. In and out of work I'll drink 2+ litres of volvic water a day. As for alcohol, I do enjoy a beer or two after a day in the office. Would drink maybe 6-8 cans per week. Don't go to pubs or clubs... well maybe for a special occasion once or twice a year.

Fruit just doesn't appeal to me. Not sure why. To be honest, I skip right by the fruit n veg section when doing the shopping but I guess I'll have to start taking on fruit if I want to sustain a healthy diet.

Bungy Girl

Hi again,
I think you'll be surprised what you'll achieve with just some simple changes. It's not like you need to lose weight so taking on plenty of good, natural food and eliminating the processed/convenience meals combined with exercise will do wonders for your waistline.

Wholegrain/wheat products (rice,bread,pasta, noodles) instead of white versions would be a good start and will add to your fibre intake. Swap butter for olive oil. Eat some oily fish instead of meat once or twice a week. And so on. Stir frys are a great and simple way to get some veg into you, also salads. Chopped fruit with yoghurt and granola for breakfast and additional fruit for snacks will help with getting your 5+ a day.

The more you can prepare your food yourself and avoid jars/frozen/instant meals the easier it is to know what you're eating. Also tastes much better too.

Best of luck with the changes - it'll be worth it.

If you're active at all, a clean diet will turn you into a different person in no time.

Clean = make your own food from food. No Jars, no microwave meals, no breaded fish fillets.

It can be that easy. That means cooking from scratch, and getting into good habits, but it will be very very worth it.

opinion guy

I realise this is heresy around here but my feeling is that you need to redo your ab work.
Scrap the situps - useless and probably not good for your back.
Crunches - well that depends how you define "crunch" - can be good can be bad. You need to make sure you are not putting too much stress on your neck and back etc. Also what you do with your arms is important too - I tend not to hold my head but to lightly touch my hand on my forehead - that way you are increasing the load on your abs (but also your neck muscles so be careful). I also raise my legs off the groun to increase the load. Also crunches generally only target your upper abs.

What I do for my abs basically once or twice a week is something like this:
30 crunches going into 30 obliques each side with stopping. Then I put my hands under my ass for stability and do 30 straight leg raises, 30 raised leg cross overs, and then just keep my legs up running in the air for at least a 30 count and go until it hurts too much. I then repeat all this two more times. When I do the leg work I keep my head off the ground to increase the load on abs - but again be careful cause this can strain your neck muscles when you are new to it.

This pretty much works. But things to be careful off - when doing the leg work if you lower back start to hurt - STOP. You can strain the small muscles of the back easy enough. You can also strain the small muscles in the neck doing too many crunches & obliques too soon (especially if you are not holding your head with your hands). Therefore don't try doing all this on the first day - work up to it over a few weeks. And like I said if you start to feel the lower back strain or neck strain stop the particular exercise you are doing for the day. Last thing you want to so is strain something.

Ab work will do almost nothing for you.

I think you're doing it in reverse btw, put on weight and muscle by lifting heavy things and eating like an army, and when you've bulked up, get on a cut and lose weight (muscle inevitably with the fat reduction).

Far easier

opinion guy

Deleted User wrote: »

Ab work will do almost nothing for you.

Wow...it took a whole 19 minutes for someone to say that.

Guy is a healthy and lean weight for his height. He wants more defined abs. Probably adding some definition to his ab muscle may, just may be part of the picture don't you think ????

I would be giving different advice if he said he weighed 96kg

opinion guy

opinion guy wrote: »

Deleted User wrote: »

Ab work will do almost nothing for you.

Wow...it took a whole 19 minutes for someone to say that.

Guy is a healthy and lean weight for his height. He wants more defined abs. Probably adding some definition to his ab muscle may, just may be part of the picture don't you think ????

I would be giving different advice if he said he weighed 96kg

Muscle made in the gym, definition in the kitchen. A simple rhyme that is worthwhile for all.

He won't get a 6pack through doing tonnes of ab work, he also talks about the idea of putting on muscle everywhere in the end of his post, so if he works to achieve a lean 6pack now before he bulks he'll have to do it all over again afterwards.

opinion guy

Deleted User wrote: »

He won't get a 6pack through doing tonnes of ab work, he also talks about the idea of putting on muscle everywhere in the end of his post, so if he works to achieve a lean 6pack now before he bulks he'll have to do it all over again afterwards.

At 6 foot and 76kg and already doing the work out he has been doing - yes he will. In fact doing this regime will be alot easier way to get some ab definition than reducing his body fat to like 5% which is the way you are suggesting.

opinion guy

opinion guy wrote: »

Deleted User wrote: »

He won't get a 6pack through doing tonnes of ab work, he also talks about the idea of putting on muscle everywhere in the end of his post, so if he works to achieve a lean 6pack now before he bulks he'll have to do it all over again afterwards.

At 6 foot and 76kg and already doing the work out he has been doing - yes he will. In fact doing this regime will be alot easier way to get some ab definition than reducing his body fat to like 5% which is the way you are suggesting.

I am suggesting that he eats clean and lifts heavy in order bulk up before he aims for a cut.

look at his end goal, there is no way ab exercises will speed him towards it

Edit: Also, and without trying to be confrontational, you have no idea of how he looks and carries that weight at that height. It's not ridiculous for someone with those figures and especially that diet to be "skinny fat", and would achieve nothing in the way of definition by performing endless situps.
He's discussed having a gut which he would like to "tone down", he's also discussed the preference to put on some muscle, situps and ab work would be completely and utterly ancillary to almost every single programme that any rational person would suggest.


"Skinny-Fat" people are those who would benefit hugely from what I have suggested, eating well and lifting big.

Aim for the goalposts, not just the halfway line.

Mr. Manager

Just to give you guys an image of my phsyque, here's a few pics of me.

Mr. Manager

BTW, thanks a million for the replies so far. I hope with the above images you guys could give a better more definitive guideline!

opinion guy

Deleted User wrote: »

I am suggesting that he eats clean and lifts heavy in order bulk up before he aims for a cut.

look at his end goal, there is no way ab exercises will speed him towards it

Edit: Also, and without trying to be confrontational, you have no idea of how he looks and carries that weight at that height. It's not ridiculous for someone with those figures and especially that diet to be "skinny fat", and would achieve nothing in the way of definition by performing endless situps.

I just saw this edit now. Actually I do have an idea as I'm the same height as him and I've been everything from 65kg to 96kg. At 65kg with a very low body fat percentage and underweight for me I still had a belly. Whereas with the routine I could get cut at any weight if I stick to it. So yeah I do know what I'm on about.

He's discussed having a gut which he would like to "tone down", he's also discussed the preference to put on some muscle, situps and ab work would be completely and utterly ancillary to almost every single programme that any rational person would suggest.

Sit ups are appalling and should never be done. Ab work is useful. Trouble is most people have no clue how to do ab work. The routine I'm descirbing comes from a mates soccer coach. You've seen the abs on soccer players yes ? Thats what it will give you.

Look at the photos just posted, will ab work have any results whatsoever?

I accept any and all apologies and appreciate the time taken to discuss things, if we all agreed it'd be crazy boring on here.

opinion guy

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

Just to give you guys an image of my phsyque, here's a few pics of me.

Dude what you are calling a gut is more a postural thing. You have a mild swayback posture - your hips are pushed forward relative to your upper body pushing your abdominal area with it. You actually have some muscle definition as you can see in the forward shot.
What might actually help you is to stretch your ab muscles frequently - you are actually shortened in front. But to be honest its quite difficult to correct your posture if you don't know what you are doing. By all means keep doing ab work for definition but also bring in ab stretching to counteract the shortening effect of the crunches etc - maybe don't increase your ab work for a time until you learn some good strecthes. The yoga stretch known as upward dog is a good ab stretch but best get a yoga teacher to show you how to do it without hurting your back. A yoga class in a style which focuses on posture might help you.

Mr. Manager

Thanks man. I posted the third pic as the first and second don't really show what I'm on about. When I sit down my belly looks like a bloody 12 pack of hot dogs!

Just looking to have more of a straightened out stomach. Today in the gym I did a 40 minute cardio bike ride. Some arm curls, 100 stomach crunches, 1:15 of plank and 25 sit ups. Do you think that in time this will show results. To be honest, I've only really noticed a difference in my arms and I've been at this basically since Xmas when my missus bought me gym gear. The only other real plus is I've gone from 13 st 3 lbs to where I am now, which is ~75kg.

No.

You won't see any definition with that much bodyfat.

You will need to combine the advice given above.

Ditch the low-impact curls and situps/ crunches and start lifting a bar. Squat, press, bench, deadlift. Get plenty of back strength from barbell rows and inverted rows.

I think the posture comment is very relevant also, finding good form on the compound lifts will help with this also, though yoga is a good idea too.

Diet is everything for a guy like you, eat healthy and lift big and you'll see a new you within 12 weeks.

Mr. Manager

Cheers guys, really appreciate the feedback. I'll take on the advice and repost in a few weeks.