Topic: RAWK Adonis aka Fitness Thread...

[woozie]

i need advice too,

im starting to get a beer belly and its worrying! how do you get rid of beer bellys without actually cutting out the beer?

[Lush is the best medicine...]

How much - because you wont go from beer gut to 6 pack in a month. But anyway, here is some advice:

Go to the gym - get 4 split body sessions in there - chest/shoulders, bicep/tricep, back/abs and legs. make sure these do not last for longer than an hour, as testosterone levels drop after that, and have a post workout shake.

Multiply your bodyweight in kgs by 29 (eg I am 85kgs so for me it would be 2465) and minus that figure by 500 - that is the amount of calories you should intake per non-football playing day (for footy days add 300 extra calories), and 45% of the calories should come from carbs, 40% from protein and 15% from fat. Split your daily calorie requirement over 5-6 meals, as this helps reduce insulin spikes from the standard 3 meals per day (have a protein shake/yoghurt, as that counts as a 'meal') - for example if your daily calorie requirement was 2000 then you could have the following diet:

Breakfast - 200ml milk with 30g porridge with 2 weetabix (crushed) in the porridge with tea = 450 cals.

Morning snack - protein shake/bar = 250 cals

Lunch - Healthy eating tuna sandwich with salad (300 cals) with yoghurt (mullerrice plain, pro-bio yoghurt 200cals) = 500 cals

Afternoon snack - almonds and some fruit = 150 cals

Pre-workout - banana = 100 cals

Post workout - protein shake = 300 cals

Dinner - Pasta with chicken in tomato sauce with salad = 250 cals

And drink plenty of water throughout the day - about 4-5ltrs of water per day (gradually increase intake) - this will also help fatloss.

Regarding the booze - try to stick to once a week (on a rest day), and have one cheat meal per week to make you feel sane!

and

Joe,

If you want to get rid of fat you need to do resistance work (stick mainly to free weights, barbells, cables and swiss ball work, machines aren't bad for things like rowing and lat pulldowns but don't base your workout around it) - cardio is not the way to burn fat (see this - http://www.mikementzer.com/bodyfat.html), this is because weights increase your muscle mass, which in turn raises your basic metabolic rate which in turn increases the amount of fat you burn whilst not in the gym (cardio is great for burning fat in the gym, but it is less efficient in the grand scale of things as it lowers BMR).

And as for low weights high reps - great for getting a nice pre-date pump but not great for getting rid of the flab as heavy weights with low (8-12) reps (3 sets of these) puts your muscles through hypertrophy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertrophy).

BB.com is a great place for advice - yes a lot of meatheads use it but you can apply their principles.

As for nutrition and rest - redfnatic has it spot on - try to get 6-8hrs sleep when possible, and for nutrition try to eat 6 'meals' a day - split your calories equally (number of calories will be described later). Supplements are supplements - only use them if you aren't getting enough protein/carbs from your diet, but a PWO shake (try to take some carbs with it - either take a weight-gainer which has around 400cals per serving as they have a good mix of carbs and protein or have a banana with a protein shake).

Calories

For each of the three 'stages' (cutting i.e. fatloss, maintenance and bulking i.e. putting on muscle) you need different amounts of calories - here is a rough guide to working it out:

Your bodyweight in lbs (e.g. you are 200lbs):

x10 for cutting (2000 cals per day, split across 6 meals is around 350cals per meal)
x16 for maintenance (2800cals per day, 450cals per meal approx)
x22 for bulking (3600 per day, 550cals per meal approx).

Of course, it wont harm you if say on a cut one meal is 500cals and another is 200cals - as long as you stick within weekly limits then that is fine.

Nutrition

As said earlier, 6 meals across the day (every 2.5-3hrs) with the necessary calories in it - but what to eat?

Breakfast: Porridge is excellent - full of slow-release carbs and with honey (or even with a crush weetabix!) tastes fantastic!

Lunch: My personal fave is tuna melt toasties - basically a can of tinned tuna drained, two slices of wholewheat bread and two low fat slices of mature cheddar - around 500cals, 60g protein, 60g carbs 10g fat. Also chicken and turkey sandwiches are good too.

Dinner: Basically anything around 300-500 cals - chicken pasta is a goodie!

Snacks - anything from raisins and nuts to meal replacements (whether it be a shake like myoplex deluxe or promax meal or to their respective bars) - try to keep it withing the PCF ratio (explained later).

Pre-Workout - Try to eat around 1hr (experiment a bit to see what is the optimal amount of time) something that is predominantly carb based.

Post Workout - Try to drink a protein shake (one where the majority of the calories come from protein) with a banana (approx 350cals, and this has a good PCF mix) or a weight gainer (one where around 45% of calories is carbs, 30% from protein and is around 400cals per serving) - drink this ASAP after workouts.

Booze: Try to be moderate and stick to drinking once a week - and don't drink on the day you train and ideally don't train the day after you drink.

Water: drink lots of this - ice cold! Steadily get up to around 3.5-4ltrs per day, thats 1500cals (approx) burnt off a week for next to nothing!

PS Diet is just as important on rest days!

PCF Ratio

Basically where your calories come from and what ratio you should have them - protein (1g = 4cals), carbs (1g = 4cals) and fat (1g = 9cals) - around 40:40:20 should be good for you.

Supplements

Again - they aren't miracle tablets - they only work if you have a good diet (of course the key to a good body). PWO (post workout) shake's and MRP's (meal replacement's) will be good - but check the label to see what is in it, as there are lots of dodgy people out there. For brands, Maximuscle are pricey but pretty good - EAS's Myoplex are pretty good but value for money the best stuff is Holland and Barrett. Someone I know from another site is getting his own supps company set up soon, and he's spent a shitload of time and money trying to get it all spot on.

PS for protein shakes, don't take these with milk as it slows down the absorption of the protein.

Routine

As said before - cardio isn't the best way to burn fat - a bit at the end of the workout is ok, but its not what you should base your routine around.

As previously mentioned, rest is very important, so here is an example routine:

Day 1 - Chest & Shoulders
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Back and Abs
Day 4 - Legs
Day 5 - Rest
Day 6 - Bicep and Tricep
Day 7 - Rest

Day 1
- 12 sets (3 sets for 4 exercises) for chest, 12 sets for shoulders
- For chest, 4 exercises from the following: as bench press, dumb-bell press (first two should be done more or less every session), dumbell fly, incline/decline bench press/dumbbell press
- For shoulders, 4 exercises from barbell shrug, military press, dumbbell press (at least 2 from these three each time), alternate lat raises, 45 degree scarecrow
Day 3
- 12 sets (3 sets for 4 exercises) for back, 12 sets for abs
- For back, 4 exercises from back extension on a swiss ball, single arm row, pullups (if you can't do many then do lat pulldowns), cable row (try to pull the weight in using your middle finger and index finger), seated rear lat raise
- For abs, 4 exercises from swiss ball crunches, decline bench situps (these two every time!), 'the bridge,' woodchopper, swiss ball crunch with a twist, decline situps with a twist (i.e. when you reach the top twist to the right, then to the left (or vice-versa) to work the obliques), leg raises - do not use ab-rollers/instant abs/anything that claims to guarantee you abs by doing fuck all!!
Day 4
- 18 sets (3 sets for 6 exercises)
- 6 exercises from squats (front, hack, overhead or standard), lunges, leg press, leg curl, leg extension, standing calf raise,
Day 6
- 12 sets (3 sets for 4 exercises) for biceps, 12 sets for triceps
- For biceps, 4 from dumbell curls with a twist (at the beginning, so that your hand is facing your side, twist the dumbell 90deg and curl), seated preacher EZ-bar curls, single-arm cable curls, hammer curls, close-grip chinups, zottman curls
- For triceps, 4 from dips, rope pulls (you have one of those ropes attached to the top cable and you pull it down, spreading your arms apart at the bottom of the movement - called it rope pulls because I've forgotten its proper name!), scapjack (if this then this also counts towards arms too), bench dips, dumbbell tricep extension, EZ bar tricep extension

NB On say day 1 do 3 sets of one chest exercise and then 3 sets on a shoulders exercise.

For videos to how to do these exercises (http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html) - I have some pdf's with these so just PM me and I'll email you them.

Try to increase the weights every 3-4 weeks if possible. If you are finding it a lot harder to do your routine, take a week off as you will have been overtraining and need rest!

I've probably left something out, so I'll add later. Any questions, feel free to ask

[Something Else]

and

brilliant thank you

[rafabenitez.]

Anyone got some decent advice on how to put about 35 pounds of muscle on in 4 months?

[Something Else]

Anyone got some decent advice on how to put about 35 pounds of muscle on in 4 months?

im up for this too

[Col]

3 Stone's worth of muscle in 4 months?

Thought about steroids?


Nah, look into Maximuscle's range of shakes and supplements - their protein shakes and muscle builders are meant to be the best around. You'll have to work extremely hard to get anywhere near that kind of target though, I personally wouldn't have thought it possible fitting it around a regular day-to-day routine.

Also note that it's not just as simple as 'have protein shake + do a set on biceps = bigger biceps', and that any kind of sudden increase in muscle mass will leave you with stretch marks galore.

[rafabenitez.]

3 Stone's worth of muscle in 4 months?

Thought about steroids?


Nah, look into Maximuscle's range of shakes and supplements - their protein shakes and muscle builders are meant to be the best around. You'll have to work extremely hard to get anywhere near that kind of target though, I personally wouldn't have thought it possible fitting it around a regular day-to-day routine.

Also note that it's not just as simple as 'have protein shake + do a set on biceps = bigger biceps', and that any kind of sudden increase in muscle mass will leave you with stretch marks galore.

35 Pounds = 2 1/2 stone 

I was thinking of doing 4 sessions down thegym a week, starting 12th June (my last exam of the year  )

curently about 10stone ish and 5ft 10 so hardly a brute anyway 

that regime that laughter posted earlier - suitable for me?

[Lush is the best medicine...]

Anyone got some decent advice on how to put about 35 pounds of muscle on in 4 months?

im up for this too

35lbs in 4 months isn't going to happen unless you uses steds (like col says) - around 15-20lbs is a more realistic target for that time frame.

Pretty much going to echo Col's words here - get a good weight gainer - maximuscle stuff is a tad expensive but has worked well for me personally - another good one is Mass Attack (from http://www.boditronics.co.uk/) - tried it a while back and have got good gains. Also try some creatine, although that is more for when you reach a plateau. But try to get most of your calories from good food (chicken, turkey, lean beef etc) and carbs are also just as (if not more) important than protein when it comes to building lean muscle mass.

And any rapid weight gain/loss will undoubtedly give you more stretch marks than a woman who has just given birth

[Col]

Speaking of creatine, if you do get some, stock up on toilet rolls - it doesn't half keep you regular!

[Lush is the best medicine...]

that regime that laughter posted earlier - suitable for me?

yeah - just alter the diet to bulk (around 3000 cals per day) and it should be ok - too much work leads to overtraining which is a bitch

[Something Else]

yeah - just alter the diet to bulk (around 3000 cals per day) and it should be ok - too much work leads to overtraining which is a bitch

you seem realy up on this,

I am currently 5"8 and 12 stone, been working on upper body and hvae muscle there but want to get rid of flab that sits on top and bulk up my arms.

My legs are fine so I not arsed about that

I would say my target is like Gaz from 2 pints of lager (will mellor) type build. I dont want to be huge but I want to be toned, more like sezer than richard from BB.

So if i do weights and that every other day with a day off how should i eat supplement etc to reach target by end of August.

Is it possible

and yes I am vain

[rafabenitez.]

hardly any fat on me from few years of kick boxing so im fairly sound there, just need to put the muscle on now....

[JoeH]

i need advice too,

im starting to get a beer belly and its worrying! how do you get rid of beer bellys without actually cutting out the beer?

Sometimes its not the beer,.. mine was sitting on my arse for 10 years in an IT job!

[tyson]

Looking to gain muscle all over my body, mostly chest stomach and arms. Could anyone give me a brief regime that I should doand how often to do it? I dont have much equipment at the moment, just a decent set of dumbells. If anyone could point me in the right direction for a good regime/equpiment it would be great .Thanks

[Ashfordian]

Just off to book an induction at a new Gym. £6 to join up and then £3 each visit. Not a bad deal...

[BlahBlah]

Anyone know how to work out % body fat?

[AthaElvis]

Get the promo codes from four of boxes of Special K cereal bars... they have a body fat monitor you can send off for that costs a fiver... also a heart rate monitor for about a tenner, and you don't even need to purchase the bars if you order the monitors online

Also, www.menshealth.co.uk have some handy tools for working out Body Mass Index, Waist to Hip ratio, ideal weight for your height etc.  Magazine isn't bad either.

[Col]

So, seems everyone's been lazy for the last 6 months

I've just run about 4.5 miles today, after doing 3.5 yesterday, all at a steady pace. Also done about 3.5 miles on my bike, and a chest / biceps session down the gym today. I'm probably the fittest I've ever been right now, and it feels fucking ace. Playing footie 3 times a week helps, too!

[Elli]

Yeah it's cos you've fuck all else to do.

[Helly]

Yeah it's cos you've fuck all else to do.

[Col]

Yeah it's cos you've fuck all else to do.

nowt wrong with making the most of a few days off work

[Garstonite]

The only exercise I get is walking to the shop to buy bars of calories.

I used to be fit as a fiddle.

Honest.

[Ben_JP]

So, seems everyone's been lazy for the last 6 months

I've just run about 4.5 miles today, after doing 3.5 yesterday, all at a steady pace. Also done about 3.5 miles on my bike, and a chest / biceps session down the gym today. I'm probably the fittest I've ever been right now, and it feels fucking ace. Playing footie 3 times a week helps, too!

Good work, Col.

Right now I'm ballooning thanks to Christmas gluttony. Put on about half a stone in three weeks... Got nine months to get back down to my fighting weight, which will require about a two stone loss. Went to the gym the other night and what I did for a warm-up a little over a year ago (2k run at 12km/h and a 1k row on level 10) left me dizzy. Amazing how quickly fitness can go!

[LFC on tour]

Best way to get rid of a beer belly anyone? Cutting down the drinking obviously...

[Something Else]

Best way to get rid of a beer belly anyone? Cutting down the drinking obviously...

guessing cardio and sit ups mate ?

[Ben_JP]

guessing cardio and sit ups mate ?

Cardio will help although sit-ups themselves won't remove fat from your gut, just make the muscle under the flab toned for when you do enough cardio to see those muscles. Building up your bulk a bit will also increase your resting metabolism. A combo of cardio and weight-training, or even a class like Body Pump will be a good start. The rower is a great low-impact cardio machine that will work a lot of your body.

Wish I could heed my own advice at the moment, I think I just found another chin

[LFC on tour]

Cardio will help although sit-ups themselves won't remove fat from your gut, just make the muscle under the flab toned for when you do enough cardio to see those muscles. Building up your bulk a bit will also increase your resting metabolism. A combo of cardio and weight-training, or even a class like Body Pump will be a good start. The rower is a great low-impact cardio machine that will work a lot of your body.

Wish I could heed my own advice at the moment, I think I just found another chin

Nice one, crack on after crimbo

[Ben_JP]

Nice one, crack on after crimbo

Indeed, we can't have all these mince pies going to waste in the meantime!

[Garstonite]

OK, could I ask RAWK for a little bit of help? I've been to the doctors today and what I thought would be the same old rubbish routine of 'slightly high cholesterol and blood pressure etc' was said in an all too serious tone, for my liking.

I am overweight, I never exercise, I eat too much and I smoke (although not as much as I used to). I'm working on the smoking and feel I have enough will-power to give up completely. As far as excercise goes, well, I don't know. It's not really me, but I can see what I can do.

Eating is the problem: how do I seriously cut down? And replies of, stop shoving food into your gob aren't helpful, especially when I'm giving up smoking. Anyone got any tips?

[Ben_JP]

OK, could I ask RAWK for a little bit of help? I've been to the doctors today and what I thought would be the same old rubbish routine of 'slightly high cholesterol and blood pressure etc' was said in an all too serious tone, for my liking.

I am overweight, I never exercise, I eat too much and I smoke (although not as much as I used to). I'm working on the smoking and feel I have enough will-power to give up completely. As far as excercise goes, well, I don't know. It's not really me, but I can see what I can do.

Eating is the problem: how do I seriously cut down? And replies of, stop shoving food into your gob aren't helpful, especially when I'm giving up smoking. Anyone got any tips?

Speaking as someone who faces a similar battle with over-eating, my first tip would be to take things in small steps. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to do too much too soon.

For over-eating, I find simply drinking lots of water can help. Often thirst is mistaken for hunger, so guzzling down two litres or so of water every day is a good routine to get in to (if you don't do it already).
Also, drinking a large glass of water before a meal will fill your stomach up so you eat less.

Eating slowly also helps. It takes a while for your stomach to let your brain know you are full, so if you gulp everything down, you overeat. Take your time and enjoy the food you have so that you allow time for your body to let you know you are full.

As for foods, ignore fad diets. Instead increase your fruit and veg intake, eat less red meat and more lean white meat, but don't pile in food in the evenings. If you can, make breakfast and lunch your main meals. Never skip breakfast as it kick-starts your metabolism for the day.

As for exercise, if you are not used to doing it, again, start slowly. Even walking is a good habit. If you can walk more than you currently do. Cycling and swimming are good, low-impact exercises that don't put too much stress on the body should you be able to do either.

Another thing that helped me was finding someone else in a similar position, and using each other as motivation. You can feedback to each other for progress, what is working well and not so well.

I'm sure others will have some useful info. Good luck with it, especially stopping smoking.

[♠Dirty Harry♠]

i need advice too,

im starting to get a beer belly and its worrying! how do you get rid of beer bellys without actually cutting out the beer?

Basically what you have to do is burn more calories than you take in, same as with food. I got rid of my beer belly last summer for holidays, it was hard work though, I went on an 8 mile cycle every morning and did weights on Monday, wednesday and Friday.

It took me 3 months to lose a stone and I'm not a chubby bastard in anyway, skinny arms and legs but just have a beer belly, and believe me it's probably harder to shift than someone who is truly overweight, so good luck.

[Gus 1855]

Right advisors.....


I have just got a cracking deal with PruHealth, which is giving me free membership to my local gym, which I was going to join anyhow. It has a pool too.

Now, I am not particularly fit at the moment. While I am tall and lanky, I do have a bit of excess fat where I don't want any.

My plan is to get rid of said excess fat where it shouldn't be, then add muscle where it should. I don't want to be a super muscly sort, but I want to get into shape.

My diet is obviously key, and I do tend to snack a fair bit and eat a lot of carbohydrate, and a bit of fat, nothing OOT though.

What would you suggest I focus on to get where I want to go.

[Ben_JP]

Gus, having a pool is great, it is a low-impact way to get started. I would also recommend some classes if they are available at your gym. I've mentioned Body Pump on this page and I stand by it. You use low weights but do high reps so you get a good tone rather than bulk. Circuit training classes also offer something similar, and there can be different varients (my old gym did boxing circuits, which was superb).

Spinning is a great cardio class. I tend to do classes now because they last 45-minutes to an hour and are a great way to do a quick, focused work-out, plus you can push yourself as hard as you like in each class as you progress.

[Garstonite]

Thanks for the response, Ben_JP. Much appreciated. Drinking water is something I need to get into a lot more than I am at the moment.

[Ben_JP]

Thanks for the response, Ben_JP. Much appreciated. Drinking water is something I need to get into a lot more than I am at the moment.

No worries, hope some of it helps! I never used to drink that much water but it's now second-nature to drink two litres or more a day.

[Col]

Once you start drinking water often, it becomes second nature - it's very, very rare I drink any kind of fizzy or sugary drinks any more. Plus you'll realise that most fizzy drinks are just bad-tasting sugar rushes.

[Col]

Hit the gym today for the first time this year, it's amazing how weak you can get in 3 months

Going straight to footie training afterwards probably wasn't my best idea either, I'm well and truly goosed now

[bryanod]

Apparently being asthmatic equates to being unfit.

And eating curry for breakfast.

[Lottie]

This thread reminds me I must go to the gym...

Started going a few months ago but it's a bit of a hassle since I don't have a membership and can only get in if my mate comes with me 

[John C]

Speaking as someone who faces a similar battle with over-eating, my first tip would be to take things in small steps. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to do too much too soon.

For over-eating, I find simply drinking lots of water can help. Often thirst is mistaken for hunger, so guzzling down two litres or so of water every day is a good routine to get in to (if you don't do it already).
Also, drinking a large glass of water before a meal will fill your stomach up so you eat less.

Eating slowly also helps. It takes a while for your stomach to let your brain know you are full, so if you gulp everything down, you overeat. Take your time and enjoy the food you have so that you allow time for your body to let you know you are full.

As for foods, ignore fad diets. Instead increase your fruit and veg intake, eat less red meat and more lean white meat, but don't pile in food in the evenings. If you can, make breakfast and lunch your main meals. Never skip breakfast as it kick-starts your metabolism for the day.

As for exercise, if you are not used to doing it, again, start slowly. Even walking is a good habit. If you can walk more than you currently do. Cycling and swimming are good, low-impact exercises that don't put too much stress on the body should you be able to do either.

Another thing that helped me was finding someone else in a similar position, and using each other as motivation. You can feedback to each other for progress, what is working well and not so well.

I'm sure others will have some useful info. Good luck with it, especially stopping smoking.

Some great advice in there for everyone