Fitness routine advice for homer simpson..

Cindy Love

Hi there. Im 24 and weigh just under 12stone. I used to work out very regurlarly (4 maybe 5 times a week) but since ive joined the workforce ive been extremly busy. i need a good realistic workout. Im about 6'2 and I would be described as an ectomorph (naturally thin with v.high metabolism)

With all the work ive been doing i have had no time to excercise in the last year and now im finally get a chance to attack my waistline. I was around 10+half stone for ages and in the last year ive put on over a stone-of flab- as i havent been doing any excercise!

Ok what i would like is a workout thats feasible.3 nights a week which would be more do-able? Or 5 nights if i split up cardio and alternate between weights one night and cardio another? (I only get about 1 hour a night to workout although i do walk everywhere.)

I have a home gym--bench,barbell + punch bag.

My aims would be to tone up and really tackle the waist line-ive never had a belly but now its looking very homer-simpson esque! Its my lower abs thats the problem?

I have been doing 30mins of cardio twice a week (joggin outdoors at a reasonalbly challenging pace)

Ive been doing weights three times a week. Low weights(50punds) with high reps-i.e bench press & incline(both at 50punds) i do 50 reps in as short amount of reps as possible.

I would like to improve my fitness with a feasible workout-tone my waistline and if possible get bigger shoulders. Im a dedicated Mofo and love working out so if i get a good program Ill stick to it-but it just has to be feasible becasuse i am so busy!

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Many many thanks!

BaZmO*

Cindy Love wrote:

Hi there. Im 24 and weigh just under 12stone. I used to work out very regurlarly (4 maybe 5 times a week) but since ive joined the workforce ive been extremly busy. i need a good realistic workout. Im about 6'2 and I would be described as an ectomorph (naturally thin with v.high metabolism)

With all the work ive been doing i have had no time to excercise in the last year and now im finally get a chance to attack my waistline. I was around 10+half stone for ages and in the last year ive put on over a stone-of flab- as i havent been doing any excercise!

Ok what i would like is a workout thats feasible.3 nights a week which would be more do-able? Or 5 nights if i split up cardio and alternate between weights one night and cardio another? (I only get about 1 hour a night to workout although i do walk everywhere.)

I have a home gym--bench,barbell + punch bag.

My aims would be to tone up and really tackle the waist line-ive never had a belly but now its looking very homer-simpson esque! Its my lower abs thats the problem?

I have been doing 30mins of cardio twice a week (joggin outdoors at a reasonalbly challenging pace)

Ive been doing weights three times a week. Low weights(50punds) with high reps-i.e bench press & incline(both at 50punds) i do 50 reps in as short amount of reps as possible.

I would like to improve my fitness with a feasible workout-tone my waistline and if possible get bigger shoulders. Im a dedicated Mofo and love working out so if i get a good program Ill stick to it-but it just has to be feasible becasuse i am so busy!

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Many many thanks!

You're 6'2" 12 stone and you have a belly? Really?

B.

Cindy Love

yeah i do have a belly-but thats by my standards. I used to work out a lot so was pretty defined there coupled with lots of running, swimming and even surfing but now i dont have time and with drink etc ive lost this definition...

I figure if i slim down to 11 id get back in the shape i was.

BaZmO*

Cindy Love wrote:

yeah i do have a belly-but thats by my standards. I used to work out a lot so was pretty defined there coupled with lots of running, swimming and even surfing but now i dont have time and with drink etc ive lost this definition...

I figure if i slim down to 11 id get back in the shape i was.

You're 6'2" and you want to get down to 11 stone? :eek: You'll look anorexic. I'm 6'1" and I'm 13½ stone. I couldn't imagine loosing 2½ stone, not unless I cut off maybe a leg and maybe a couple of arms too.

I take it you're female?

B.

Cindy Love

no offense mate but im looking for advice not an opinion on how you think i would or wouldnt look. So how about a bit of focus huh?! thanks in advance.

BaZmO*

Cindy Love wrote:

no offense mate but im looking for advice not an opinion on how you think i would or wouldnt look. So how about a bit of focus huh?! thanks in advance.

Sorry mate I didn't realise that you were looking for advise on how to be unhealthily under weight. Sorry, my mistake. :rolleyes:

B.

BrianD3

What are your chest and waist measurements. Measure them with a tape, don't just say what size clothes you wear as that will be inaccurate. I am asking about waist measurements because it's hard to know how bad your belly is from your description.

From the info you have given it sounds like you are "skinny fat". This term is used to describe those who are relatively thin and light but have a surprisingly large and fat belly. What you need to do is gain muscle, lose fat and forget about losing "weight". Judge your progress on how big your muscles and belly are, not on what the weighing scales say.

You didn't mention anything about your diet. What's it like? Have you checked any of the previous post in this forum on diet?

Your exercise programme looks reasonable. But 50 reps is far too many for weight training exercises. Reduce the reps to around 10 and use a much heavier weight, this is a far more efficient way to gain muscle mass. Also, I hope your weight training sessions consist of more than just benching. Benching is not enough, if possible you should be doing chin ups, rows, military presses, deadlifts, squats and other compound movements as you won't gain significant muscle mass if all you do is bench.

Jak

11 stone for 6 ft 2 woman is (although to some degree dependent on build type) not an 'unhealthy' weight. As requested Bazmo just focus on the training advice not individual opinions on what are essentially acceptable targets.

I appreciate and accept that it is important that people offer words of caution for people with unrealisitic or dangerous goals, but this is neither.

Cheers all,

JayK.

BaZmO*

Point taken JAK, but 11 stone for a 6'2" man? Is that helathy?

B.

Cindy Love

Boxing(many contact sports) and long distant runners-I think youll agree are populated by people tall, slim and HEALTHY.

11stone is approx 70kilos- and the twelve Olympic weight divisions, with the maximum weight allowed are:


Light flyweight - -48kg
Flyweight - 51kg
Bantamweight - 54kg
Featherweight - 57kg
Lightweight - 60kg
Light welterweight - 63.5kg
Welterweight - 67kg
Light middleweight - 71kg
Middleweight - 75kg
Light heavyweight - 81kg
Heavyweight - 91kg
Super heavyweight - +91kg

please stop ruining my post-im looking for advice and help from those in a position to give it.thanks.

g'em

if you want to build muscle on your shoulders and have a bench and barbell try bench pressing, shoulder press, and shrugs. Maybe also try deadlifts if you're comfortable with them. With just a barbell you can also do straight leg deads and good mornings for the legs. Use a medium to heavy weight, heavy enough that you can only do 10-12 reps, but for straight leg deads and GM's keep the weight light.

Diet is the best thing for toning up the belly- you can crunch until the cows come home but excess flab will keep the abs covered. Compound exercises will work virtually all the major muscle groups and strengthen the core very quickly.

If you can, try and do cardio straight after the weights- your metabolism will be raised right up from the weight training and you'll burn more cals.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

thirtyfoot

Most distance runners are well under 11 stone, in fact well under 10 stone. Most sprinters are in the 12-13+ stone range. Wariner, Olmmpic 400 champ, is 6ft and in and around 11 stone.

I always struggle with the belly too, g'em what specific compound exercises do you suggest, squats, dips etc?

BaZmO*

Tingle wrote:

Most distance runners are well under 11 stone, in fact well under 10 stone. Most sprinters are in the 12-13+ stone range. Wariner, Olmmpic 400 champ, is 6ft and in and around 11 stone.

Sorry, didn't realise the OP was an Olympic athlete or a Boxer.

B.

joejoem

BaZmO* wrote:

Sorry, didn't realise the OP was an Olympic athlete or a Boxer.

B.

Quit it. We know his/her first comment to you was narky but just let it go.

BaZmO*

joejoem wrote:

Quit it. We know his/her first comment to you was narky but just let it go.

And sorry, who are you?

B.

joejoem

Im Joejoem :rolleyes:

daymobrew

Could you cycle to work? My commute is 9 miles each way. It's like free exercise - you have to get to work so why not combine it with some exercise.
One day a week I get the train most of the way and run the last 2 miles.

I'm lucky that there is a shower in the office (a surprisingly rare thing in this country).
Cycling fast helps me keep fit. I do a few weights and running at home but nothing to boast about.

I'm 11 stone, 6', male with skinny legs.

Transform

Would agree with former posts - 11st is very light and i am the same height as your good self and running the marathon in 2 weeks at 80kg. (will run it in 3hrs 30mins approx - on my own in under 3hrs)

Post your diet - everything!!!

Reps are too high - lift a little heavier or move between exercises in a circuit fashion e.g. squats holding 20-50lb weight for 15 reps followed by bench press with what you have for 12reps followed by weighted crunches with 3-10kg weight for 15 reps. Just an example. No more than 15 sec rest between those exercises and then take a 90sec break and repeat 3-4times.

Match up a few other body parts and blast it out if you just want to burn calories etc

Diet is everything though e.g. white bread, soft drinks, junk food, most cereals are great for getting fat and tired if you want so focus on clean foods.

g'em

Tingle wrote:

I always struggle with the belly too, g'em what specific compound exercises do you suggest, squats, dips etc?

squats and deadlifts are considered the premier lifting exercises going, and pretty much for good reason. Both are compound excercises which work a huge range of muscles, but make sure you do them right. Bad lifting will result in damaged shoulders and back. Another great core exercise is a standing over row with a barbell. It will work the lower back and stabilise the core realy well.

Remember that to strengthen the core you really have to use free weights and barbells- balancing is one of the best stabilising techniques.

Cindy Love

hello all,

I just thought id update my original post.
Basically I firstly should thank you all for your advice-most of it i took on board and the results have been really quite positive.

First-Ive given up smoking completly. Was v hard for a few days but after a week of coughing up phlegm I figured it wasnt the sexiext of habits!ha. Straight away my energy levels improved and interestingly i stopped craving certain foods (salty ones in particular). TBH i still wouldnt mind the odd smoke-when im drunk this usually pops into my mind-but i always have a pack of gum handy to keep me away from the bloody smokes!

Second- I have really really reduced my dairy intake. I take a small bit of butter on my bread (usually brown before it was always white) and i taake a bit of milk in my tea. But all other dairy ive completly stopped. Dont know whether ive noticed any huge differences so i migh try cutting out wheat and see how i get on....althought thats in booze right....hmmm baby steps!

Third-I have always had a good diet-someone asked me this. I eat a small breakfeast- 2 slices of toast,cup of tea, pint of water and a juice or orange.
Lunch-piece of fruit and drink water througout the day. Might have a cup of tea at lunch
Tea-- Always freshly cooked. Any vegetables and any meat. Usually have portion of potatos and two portions of other 2 other vegetables and a portion of meat. I also eat fish. The only time i wouldnt eat vegetable is if im eating pasta/spagehettis bologonse.usually will have some bread here too. Oh and a cup of tea with the obligatory 3 bisvuits.
Supper--pack of crisps or a chocolate bar or something light.

Fourth-- Workouts have been going really really well.

Im joggin an average of once a week. In the begining it was a real slog to get 15-20minutes at a good pace but now im up to 30 mins and I find i could probably push harder. I'd like to get back to my 7 minute mile so ill see how things go. I find my muscles tire quicker then my lungs give up now that they are clear of all the smoke/phlegm.

I do weight training an avaerage of 3 migths a week. Chest one night,back and legs the other and shoulders on its own.

I do abs every time i do weights. Fumping nightmare!!!i find it real tough but the difference is noticeable. My stomach was like a rock leaving the gym today.Ive been doing lots of leg raises and standard weighted sit ups. I can feel the muscles but there still covered by a layer of flab-hopefully the cardio will continue to thin this down. I find the muscle group that are located aroudn by the hips that attach onto the legs?(erector obliqiues maybe ?) tire out first before the actually abs do. The upper abs are pretty hard its the lower once that need to get there ass' whipped into shape.

When i used to train 4/5 times a week i considered myself fairly fit (one arm chin ups, 7 minute mile etc) but now that ive relaxed and focused more on 'form' as opposed to lifting really heavy weights im getting results ALOT faster. I bencehd the most ive ever benched the other day. I just wanted to see if I could and when i did i dropped down the weight and worked a higher rep on a lower weight (80%-90% workrate maintained). Previsouly i was from the Arnie school of thought and always always maxed my workrate-which resulted in me being wrecked and picking up injurys.

Oh I invested in a e-z curl bar and a (think its called) tricep bar (for reverse over head curls). Havent used them too much. Im finding that working on the core movements is gradually building up the balancing muslces again. Oh and my weight having fluctuated by about half a stone in a week (high metabolism and giving up smokes) ive leveled off at a leaner, meaner 11 and 3/4 stone.

Anyhow Im looking to get toned and to have some division and too increase my emergy levels. Is there anything you feel I could improve on or should I stick to this for the next while? Im not going to start taking protein shakes or any of that lark(no offense).

And again-thanks for all the advice!

GreeBo

Transform wrote:

most cereals are great for getting fat and tired if you want so focus on clean foods.

Argh!
What cereals do you recommend?
I usually have 2 weetabix with warm milk and a half spoon of sugar every day in work (after a 6 mile cycle)
Though at home at night I often have Crunchy Nut Feast mixed with Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes, especially on the weekends... is this bad?

(oh, its always low fat milk)
Thx

g'em

GreeBo wrote:

Though at home at night I often have Crunchy Nut Feast mixed with Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes, especially on the weekends... is this bad?

well lets see...

kellog's crunchy nut is 37.7% sugars by weight, compared to 13.6% for All-bran and 0-1% in oats (porridge).

so ts certainly not good to be eating a bowl virtually every night, especially before bed. all those carbs will just sit in your stomach being converted to energy your not using = pile on the lbs.

GreeBo

g'em wrote:

kellog's crunchy nut is 37.7% sugars by weight,

ARGH

g'em wrote:

especially before bed.

Depends on what you get up to in bed I guess
Though on a more serious note, I usually have a bowl when I get back from soccer (twice a week at about 10:30)
Or before I go play golf (Sat morning)
Is weetabix crap too?

I'm ~5'11" and 160lbs

g'em

GreeBo wrote:

Depends on what you get up to in bed I guess

touche.

basically, most cereals are highly processed, even the 'good-for-you' ones. All their roughage gets stripped away and oodles of salt and sugar are added for taste. Have you ever tried porridge for brekkie? i know it doesn't sound too appealing at first, but at this time of year, a hot bowl first thing in the morning goes down a treat. i make mine with water and skimmed milk, and add a low-fat fruit yoghurt to sweeten it. Oats will slowly release energy unlike sugary processed cereals, which will leave you hungry after an hour or so (regardless of what the shreddies ads tell us!). If you need a snack after training try something with lots of protein which your body can slowly breakdown over the course of the night.

BrianD3

Cindy Love wrote:

When i used to train 4/5 times a week i considered myself fairly fit (one arm chin ups

:eek: A genuine one arm chin up is one of the hardest exercises anyone can do. Sometimes people who weigh about 5 stone can do them fairly easily but 99% of adults cannot and will not ever do one.

GreeBo

g'em wrote:

If you need a snack after training try something with lots of protein which your body can slowly breakdown over the course of the night.

Such as?
I cant think of anything high in protein that would be easy/quick to make/
spaghetti hoops/beans on toast? (brown of course)

g'em

well something like a protein shake would be ideal, but not everyoe likes to take them.

But yeah, beans would be good, just with one slice of toast, or a small portion of lean meat with salad (i know it doesn't sound nearly as appetising as sugary cereal!!) or maybe just a really big glass of milk.

GreeBo

g'em wrote:

(i know it doesn't sound nearly as appetising as sugary cereal!!) or maybe just a really big glass of milk.

To be honest 90% of the reason I have the cereal is because I am so thirsty and hungry (though it could well just be thirst and my body confusing my brain)
that the thought of loads of milk appeals to me.
If Im "allowed" to have a glass of milk then thats what I'll go for, but Ive read (on here) that dairy is a big "no no"...?

g'em

GreeBo wrote:

If Im "allowed" to have a glass of milk then thats what I'll go for, but Ive read (on here) that dairy is a big "no no"...?

Some are in favour of dairy, some favour soya over dairy. There's valid arguments on both sides. But milk is a good source of calcium, protein, water, and low in fat- heaps better than guzzling 1/2 litre of coke or a big bowl of sugary cereal regardless of what anyone says.


ps, OP, so sorry for going off topic... if was all ^^^ his fault

Cindy Love

No worries G'em! Any tips for me. Im aiming to tone up my body(and to add more definition) with particular empahsis on my tummy. In terms of sets I have been doing Chest one day, back and legs on another and then shoulders. Ive opted to dismiss doing arms at the moment. And i do abs about 4 times a week.

Ive been working at about an 80-90% max workrate and doing about 8 reps over 5 sets. Is this ok?

When im doing the abs ive been doing a mixture of weighted (standard) sit ups and unweighted ones too. Ive also been doing hanging leg raises which I find v difficult but seem to be working wonders. bearing my previous post in mind-should i be opting for higher reps on the abs or is my mixture the best bet?

thanks to all