Don't want to get massive,just leaner and a bit stronger

A19B1C12

Hi,

I'm 19 and I currently play quite a lot of Gaelic and the odd bit of soccer. My main asset was never really my physique more about the skills and I don't really enjoy lifting massive weights in the gym. However I am about 6 ft 4 and weigh about 91 kilos so I can more than hold my own.

I want to start doing weights regularly,but I don't want to do really heavy ones. They're boring and when I go training the next day I'm always lethargic. I'd do aerobic exercise about 5 days a week, either training, 5 a side soccer or a match.

I was hoping that you guys could give me about 3 exercises I could do for each body area (arms,legs,core,sides,back) with moderate weights that would increase my muscle and strength,just make me a bit leaner and less flabby. As I said I'm not going for the massive arms, bodybuilder look. I'd go gym about 4 times a week if I had an idea of what I could do to improve myself but I don't know much at all.

What I don't want is to lift really heavy weights or develop bad form/posture or injuries from the weightlifting so I need a balanced set of upper and lower body exercises that will help me achieve my goals. If anybody took the time to read this thanks very much and could you please just maybe suggest a few exercises for the body groups or even a website that will help me.

My back isn't very well developed and I am a bit hunched so if someone could give me exercises for that especially I'll be thankful. And please, no pull ups!!!

Thanks very much

d'Oracle

Why no pullups?

A19B1C12

I can't do them. I'm too heavy and not strong enough to do them properly

d'Oracle

O.k..

I can't help but notice that you seem to want to get stronger but not do anything heavy.
There is a disconnect there.

You say you want to get stronger, and you want to do two or three exercises that will make you stronger, but then you rule out a great exercise for your back and arms.
And you aren't too heavy for them, I'm 3" shorter than you and 9kg heavier and I can do a few.

Do you know what inverted rows are?
Cos you could try them instead of pullups.
And do pushups to cover your upper body.

Dunno what to tell you about your lower body.
except do deadlifts and some sort of squat or leg press.

Tigger

d'Oracle wrote: »

O.k..

I can't help but notice that you seem to want to get stronger but not do anything heavy.
There is a disconnect there.

You say you want to get stronger, and you want to do two or three exercises that will make you stronger, but then you rule out a great exercise for your back and arms.
And you aren't too heavy for them, I'm 3" shorter than you and 9kg heavier and I can do a few.

Do you know what inverted rows are?
Cos you could try them instead of pullups.
And do pushups to cover your upper body.

Dunno what to tell you about your lower body.
except do deadlifts and some sort of squat or leg press.

this /\

Doctor_Socks

If you want to get stronger you have to lift heavier, what else do you think provides the stimulus for your muscles to go 'get stronger!!' apart from heavy weights?

As for your hatred of pullups, they are a great exercise for your upper back and you'd be a fool to leave them out completly. If you can't do any at the moment with your bodyweight you can do machine assisted pullups, or my personal favourite for building strength for pullups, lots of negatives! For a negative you start off in the top position of the pullup, i.e. chest to bar, and you lower yourself down as slowly and controlled as possible. Be warned though, you WILL be sore the next day after them!!

As for the bodybuilder statement in your post, believe me when I say you won't get that big without years of dedication and good diet. Rome wasn't built in a day and either were great bodybuilders

Tigger

Doctor_Socks wrote: »

As for the bodybuilder statement in your post, believe me when I say you won't get that big without years of dedication and good diet. Rome wasn't built in a day and either were great bodybuilders

i'm gonna write a book : the accidental bodybuilder

rubadub

johnb03 wrote: »

increase my muscle and strength,just make me a bit leaner and less flabby.

Then you should be lifting heavy, if you could name an athlete or actor that you would aspire to look like I would bet they are lifting heavy.

I think many might not realise the training these people have to do, and might expect them to only do the sport they take part in, and get built from that. Same with actors, many are built and in the films there is often no mention of training etc during the film, even though they might be following the character a lot. Or in the likes of batman you might see him banging out a few pushups and thats it.

Any bodybuilder you see who is "too big" is most likely training years, lifting hours a day, on steroids and eating like a horse.

It is not like it will happen overnight, if a month down the line you miraculously are "too big", you can always just stop lifting and the muscle will decrease in size.

Michael 09

A bit off topic but peoples fear of getting 'too big' drives me mad. Do they think it just happens. Really grates me

Mellor

OP,
You came here looking for advice on how to lose weight and get stronger. Some advice on what to do in the gym. So far so good.

But to then say you don't want to do heavy weights, and that you do aerobic stuff 5 days a week makes it impossible to give you the advice you look for.

• Aerobic training isn't conducive to strength gaining. So you need to cut this down or work around iot if you don't want to sut it down.
  
• Strength training involves heavy weights at lower reps. There is no magic exercise or movements. The simple stuff is really the best. Deadlifts, squats, bench press, overhead press, rows, chin/pull ups.
  
• Heavy is relative. it doesn't mean you use bad form and give your self injuries. It means something you can manage with good for 5 reps.

I was hoping that you guys could give me about 3 exercises I could do for each body area (arms,legs,core,sides,back) with moderate weights that would increase my muscle and strength,just make me a bit leaner and less flabby. As I said I'm not going for the massive arms, bodybuilder look.

Ironically, Bodybuilders don't train with heavy weights, relatively speaking.
In order to put on mass like that, then train with moderate weights and higher reps, and various other methods.