Need Advice on Working Out & Exercize

[anonymouschris]

i can loose a decent amount of weight fast. i can increase the weight i put up fast. but i can never get 'cut', 'yoked', 'defined'! i really want definition, but don't want to sacrafice my strength. any one have any input? thanks.

 

[bonk102]

what does your normal routine consist of?

 

[Miramonti]

Depends. Do you have any muscles yet? It doesn't do any good to get ripped if you have no meat on your bones.

I'm no pro about this but bulking up and toning down at the same time don't easily go hand in hand. If you have bulk already, significantly cut your fats and simple sugars and do more reps than normal, mixed with aerobic activity.

 

[Scipionix]

Originally posted by: wongsoongpak
i can loose a decent amount of weight fast. i can increase the weight i put up fast. but i can never get 'cut', 'yoked', 'defined'! i really want definition, but don't want to sacrafice my strength. any one have any input? thanks.

I know it's not what you asked, but if you're in good shape, you're strong, and you look athletic, why are you worried about looking like a bodybuilder? There are diminishing returns with weightlifting as with anything else, so it may take a lot of extra work to get the "cut" look.

 

[anonymouschris]

well. i do a fair amount of weight. im not fat or anything. but im not 'defined'. just to give you an idea...im about 5'10 and i can put up 85lbs dumbells on each side, 3 sets, 10 reps when doing the dumbell bench press thing. i could probably do 90/95lbs, but i just started working out again about 2 weeks ago and want to take it slowly. i dont like using the bar for bench press b/c i feel like im working out both sides evenly. when doing the incline bench with dumbells i put up about 75lbs. my routine is not too organized. usually i workout my chest/back one day, bi's/tri's/shoulders another day, and legs another day. i try to do 10-15 mins of cardio and some abs as well whenever i work out. my ideal body type would be like that of male gymnists.

 

[Scipionix]

Well, one thing you could do that would be a generally healthy thing is to do more aerobic exercise. Three miles on the treadmill would be good. It's only about 25 minutes at even 7 mph.

 

[anonymouschris]

i hate running. but if thats what it takes...im willing to make that sacrafice

 

[Scipionix]

I hate treadmill running too. I prefer running outside. But running is by far the best aerobic exercise, save perhaps rowing, and with the treadmill I find that because I can run at a consistent speed and pace myself, I do a lot better than I do outside. You should check your body fat percentage. Fifteen percent is good for a man, but if you want to look ripped I'm sure you'll have to take it below 10% (not exactly sure, but that sounds right). If you need to lose body fat then you will definitely want to do a lot more aerobic exercise.

 

[anonymouschris]

alright. will take your advice on running. should i start off with a 5 minute run and work my way up? although i play a lot of sports...i was never a really good runner. how long should i be aiming to run a day. how bout jump roping?

 

[p0ntif]

other aerobic excercises work too. I prefer racquetball. But yeah, you need more aerobic excercise to get cut, and keep in mind that genetics also plays a hand . . .

 

[Scipionix]

Jumping rope works too, but not as well as running, and i'll bet you get tired of that faster than you get tired of running

It's not distance so much as time. If you were trying to be a runner you'd want to run 45 minutes to an hour, but you're not, so if you can run hard and sweat for 30 minutes, that's plenty for your purposes. If you're not breathing through your mouth and you can talk, it's not fast enough. If you feel like you're gonna die and you can't say more than one word, that;s too fast.

Running 3-4 days a week is good, but running 5-6 is much better. It pisses me off too, but you gotta do it. Since you're NOT a runner, you'll improve fast enough in the first few weeks to make it enjoyable. After that you just gotta stick with it.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: wongsoongpak
alright. will take your advice on running. should i start off with a 5 minute run and work my way up? although i play a lot of sports...i was never a really good runner. how long should i be aiming to run a day. how bout jump roping?

<== Former cross-country track runner.

For new members on the team, it was 30 minute workouts. You'd jog for about 5 minutes, walk 10, jog 5, then walk the remaining 10. 6 days a week, once a day. 2 weeks later, you'd be on 10 jog, 5 walk, 10 jog, 5 walk. 2 weeks later, you'd be on 15 minutes jog, 5 minutes walk, 10 minutes jog. 2 weeks later, 25 minutes jog. Eventually, you'd get to 60-120 minute runs at 70-85% full sprint.

The first month or so is for totally out of shape people though, we usually bumped people up to the next level after a week until you were doing good 30-45 minute jogs. Reply with any questions. PM if you want.

 

[Miramonti]

I've been working out lately but always play a fair amount of hoops each week so I don't worry about other aerobic exercises. If you do alot of situps and crunches you get some good definition there and that always feels great. I always like to do alot of shoulder shrugs and neck excercises too because it always looks better when you do ....as you work on the other areas as well too of course.

 

[anonymouschris]

thanks for the advice guys. will take up more aerobic excercizes....and hopefully see some improvement.

 

[monotony]

The most important thing being ignored here is that it's 85-95% your diet. You're muscles are probably already fairly defined, but to see the definition you need to be very lean. Gymnasts are in the 4-7% body fat range. To get down to that, you'll really need to change the way you eat. Many smaller meals througout the day is a good start. Also try to make them high in protein and a little lower in carbs. Cut back on sugars. That should get you started.

 

[Parrotheader]

Yeah, the whole eating healthy part sucks, but it's worth it if that's your main goal. I'm in a similar boat as you, although I've got a slimmer body type so I'll never be mega-ripped no matter what I do. I work our regularly, but only get in a little bit of cardio so I'm not as "cut" in some areas as my strength would otherwise indicate. I'm trying to eat a bit healthier (and drink lots of water . . . I actually like that part) but it's still tough going since it's SO easy to eat junk food.

One other cardio exercise to consider (IF you have access to it) is swimming. I used to do it fairly regularly back and college and it was FAR and away the best cardio exercise I could subject myself to. It works your WHOLE body much more efficiently than running or biking. And it's also easier on your body from a wear and tear standpoint. If you go to a healthclub that has a lap pool I'd highly recommend it.

 

[StageLeft]

Running works well but basically any cardio will burn off calories. a 1.5 hour walk won't get you all that fit but will burn as many calories as a good 30 min run. Cycling is superb as wel - professional cyclists consume up to 10k calories a day and are thin as rakes. Pick whatever cardio you like.

If you're as strong as you say you already have the muscle you need - you simply need to lower your body fat. In combination with cardio cut your calories back a good bit. You just have to keep at it until you lose body fat so that you look more defined.