I don't know why, but getting fit seems TOO SIMPLE. I not sure about a lot of people but my process is 1) eat clean and 2) lift weight.
I don't really do much other than that. Is there something i'm not doing, or is it really this simple. I know about cardio, but i won't do it.

why wont you do cardio?

just don't like it.
thats probabaly the reason ishould be doing it, and i think i WILL start as soon as summer comes, but with school it's just too much, cause i like to do it fasted, and i just don't like waking about that early

Its not that difficult, you walk to school? own a bike? like to go for hikes? theres lots of ways you can work it into your program. Your like 15 right? Im thinking you probably dont have 2 jobs, 3 kids, and tons of other things using up your time. If you can work in 30-45 min sessions maybe 3-4 times a week as a start, see how it goes. Also if youve already got the weights you could look into doing circuit training with them to as an option. If you dont have one get a cheap heart rate monitor or learn how to do it manually so you can track your results.

I don't know why, but getting fit seems TOO SIMPLE. I not sure about a lot of people but my process is 1) eat clean and 2) lift weight.
I don't really do much other than that. Is there something i'm not doing, or is it really this simple. I know about cardio, but i won't do it.

Sure, it's simple. Why wouldn't it be? Not always easy and harder for some than others. And harder the leaner you get. But definitely simple.

It is extremely simple in principle. In practice it can be rather tough.

but my process is 1) eat clean and 2) lift weight.
I'll add one more basic principle in fat loss, "Managing stress properly". Well this goes both physically and mentally. I'm sure even at young age you already experience some, if not a lot of problem, right? It's a matter of how you deal with it. But I'm sure that the older we get, the more problem we face, that's why some people can't lose fat that easily. Because life is in their way (or so they say). And not to mention, the older we get, the habits get that much stronger, and harder to break. (I'm refering to the bad habits)... So yes, it may be simple for some but difficult for others. It really depends on the situation and condition.

By the way, for me, If I only have a cardio machine and a small gym at home, I'll say fat loss is easy :D Or, you may take away the cardio machine, it's fine with me :lol:

I'm gonna start doing cardio this summer, see if it speeds things up a bit, since it's easy for me to gain muscle, cardio shouldn't hurt me, only help. Besides, if you have an intense hate for an exercise, it USUALLY is good for you, not counting dangourous ones.

i read it like this somewhere - simple, but not easy. that says it best for me.

Basically it is that simple, but that doesn't mean it's easy. It's simple to bench 1000 lbs: just lie under the bench, allow the weight to press up, and push! But that's not easy.

Really the missing link is will power and dedication. If you have those, you can get fit using points 1) and 2).

I don't know why, but getting fit seems TOO SIMPLE. I not sure about a lot of people but my process is 1) eat clean and 2) lift weight.
I don't really do much other than that. Is there something i'm not doing, or is it really this simple. I know about cardio, but i won't do it.

Cut calories to lose fat. Add calories to gain muscle.

Lift as heavy weights as you can in proper form in a slow controlled manner.

i was wondering about you guys workout schedules. they always have very little sections a day, how can it take you 1-2 hours to do those? they are so short. all i do right now are push-ups and dips and i'm getting really nice results, so i guess even just a little bit helps.

Hate to be the one to say this but, push ups and dips can only bring somewhat close to your goals, but not nearly close enough to reach it.
Meaning, you'll se great results at the beginning, but if I may, "You'll platue sooner before you reach your goal". My advice is go into a gym or buy a set of dumbell (going to the gym is more advicable).
Here's another key, weight training session does not need to last as long as an hour or two. In fact it only takes 25-30 minutes to build muscle. It's all about prioritazion and time managing! :gl:

i read it like this somewhere - simple, but not easy. that says it best for me.

Tom Venuto has this saying in his book. He says that losing bodyfat is very simple...though its not easy.

He makes the comparison to complex algebra. Just plug in the right numbers in the places of the variables, and the equation works perfectly. Simple. Though, figuring out what the correct numbers are is not easy....

i was wondering about you guys workout schedules. they always have very little sections a day, how can it take you 1-2 hours to do those? they are so short. all i do right now are push-ups and dips and i'm getting really nice results, so i guess even just a little bit helps.

I'm glad your "getting really nice results" with pushups and dips, but that is a relative statement. I wouldn't be getting the results I wanted if I only did push ups and dips. As far as how long it takes, I'm usually in and out of the gym within a 1/2 hour once a week. My program consists of Barbell Rows, Squats, Bench, Deadlift, Shoulder Press, and Seated Rows. One set of warm up and one set of 6 - 12 reps to failure.

[Tom Venuto] makes the comparison to complex algebra. Just plug in the right numbers in the places of the variables, and the equation works perfectly. Simple. Though, figuring out what the correct numbers are is not easy....

The more I study of nutrition, the more I come to the conclusion that fat loss and body composition works with the precision of a machine. There's fuel going in, energy being used, and some chemical processes in between.

Unfortunately, we can only get an approximation of how much usable fuel is going in, it's usually impractical to measure how much fuel is used up, and we can't predict exactly what processes will happen in between.

i was wondering about you guys workout schedules. they always have very little sections a day, how can it take you 1-2 hours to do those? they are so short. all i do right now are push-ups and dips and i'm getting really nice results, so i guess even just a little bit helps.

Weight workouts by no means need to be and in most cases should not be over an hour. You want to get the most bang for your buck with intense workouts, using heavy weights, and focusing on compound movements in the shortest amount of time you can that will still allow you to get the strength and hypertrophy gains you want. For fat loss especially, workouts with excessive volume are not good.

Oh really? i had no idea short was better. Fat loss just gets simpler and simpler. I guess i thought fat loss was suppose to be complex, because barely anyone is fit anymore. The more i think about it, the more i realize that 75% of americans are looking for answers that aren't there, while what works is right under their noses. People want it easy, and I guess that just won't happen.

yeah its not so much duration but content. I think its better to have a low volume series of sets, which get progressively heavier to failure. YOu can complete these with slight rests in a short amount of time. But you should have a nice written up program to follow, at least for me, it helps keep things in order. I think you will find body weight excercises are marginal, with the exception of maybe chin ups. They will give you some results, but theres no getting away from the need to do some hard deadlifts, some squats, and other large compound lifts. I use to just mess around with a pathetic high volume program with little leg work. I got poor results. NOw I have shrunk the volume and upped the suffering...much better now. I should also add that you can get alot of really good advice from some on this forum, that will steer you in the right direction. Investing in the squat rack after a good post by RTE really made a big difference for me, that and some other leg equipment. So try some real work and post back if you find it easy.

I'm not lazy, I would LOVE to be doing squats and deadlifts and all that stuff, but i don't have a barbell and i can't get taken to the gym cause my dad sleeps during the day and my mom works. I'm sure I would be blown away by those results if i think mine are good. Also, when i say good results i mean that my man boobs don't sag now and my triceps are popping out more. Those ARE good results when you've never seen any.

ya know...you could always maybe ride your bike, walk or take a bus to the gym... Or you could invest in a set of cheap dumbells. If your short on money, buy a used set at a garage sell....there are always lots for sale..You could spend very little and still make better progress.

I have dumbbells and i do use them, but they are much to light for things like squats and deadlifts. also, push-ups work my chest and lots of other things more than they can. I think i need a heavier pair.

yeah if you want a cheap fix, I think walmart has a cheap set that allows you to swap on bigger plates and stuff..that way for a really small investment you could get some better stuff. Theres a few on this forum that dont seem to use bars at all. LIke 150lb dumbell bench presses and stuff. I myself have a large set of both, from adjustable plate type dumbells to fixed weight ones. Both are good.

Oh, i didn't know walmart carried weights, should have though(duh, they have everything).
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll talk to my parents.

:D

Yeah. You are missing a couple of things.

#1 In any weight loss, about 1/2 will be fat and half will be muscle.
#2 Your body want to store fat first, and burn it off last.

Losing weight is pretty easy. Losing fat is hard. Losing fat while keeing muscle? Very difficult.





I don't know why, but getting fit seems TOO SIMPLE. I not sure about a lot of people but my process is 1) eat clean and 2) lift weight.
I don't really do much other than that. Is there something i'm not doing, or is it really this simple. I know about cardio, but i won't do it.

:D

Yeah. You are missing a couple of things.

#1 In any weight loss, about 1/2 will be fat and half will be muscle.
#2 Your body want to store fat first, and burn it off last.

Losing weight is pretty easy. Losing fat is hard. Losing fat while keeing muscle? Very difficult.

Not at all. Difficult, yes. But with a proper weight-lifting program and a well-planned diet it is certainly possible to have minimal muscle loss. Nowhere near half the bodyweight lost.

There are diminishing returns in fitness - the more progress you make, the more complicated and difficult it gets to make more progress.

But, in general, since most people are so far below their potential anyway, losing fat isn't very complicated.

Nutrition is very complicated, and to really be at your best, that's very complicated.

But for just losing a lot of fat, it's the mental part of the game that's complicated - getting yourself from bad habits into good habits can be a tricky proposition.

In any weight loss, about 1/2 will be fat and half will be muscle.

Hmm, in my 3 months so far, I have lost nearly 11 kg of weight, of which about 2 - 3 kg is "lean" mass loss (according to my Omron meter and, I am anticipating, my next skinfold measurement at the gym).

This is far less than half. And I've imagined that they'd have been better if I was younger and didn't have diabetes!

Well, that is part of the problem. You cannot really measure how much muscle you tore down, because after the catabolic stage, you went back into a muscle building phase.

At any point in they day, you are burning some fat, some glycogen, and some amino acids from muscle tissue.

The gross numbers burned change by your activity, and also change in percentage of fuel used.

But at any given time during the day, you are burning muscle for fuel.

At that same time if you are dieting, hopefully you are building enough to keep up so your net loss is zero or very little.

You net loss of lean was 2kg. At a minimum 20%. And I assume that is eating good lean protein and working out.

Some not actively combatting that daily burning of muscle? Up to 50%.


Hmm, in my 3 months so far, I have lost nearly 11 kg of weight, of which about 2 - 3 kg is "lean" mass loss (according to my Omron meter and, I am anticipating, my next skinfold measurement at the gym).

This is far less than half. And I've imagined that they'd have been better if I was younger and didn't have diabetes!

In any weight loss, about 1/2 will be fat and half will be muscle.
Technically this is corect, if you only reduce calorie and do not train with weights. But still, it's very hard to make a generalization because each individual are unique (genetics, age etc).
But I think it would be safe to say that if you want to lose weight (mostly fat) and still retain some (if not a lot) of muscle, weight training is essential! :tu:

Well, i just finished reading Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, and i must say that losing fat is just as simply as can be. Even basic nutrition is not as complex as i thought it would be. Really, determination is all you need. Also, i recommend BFFM for anyone and everyone trying to lose fat.

Tom Venuto, right? Yeah, that's a great reading material! :tu:

Some not actively combatting that daily burning of muscle? Up to 50%.

If you do the proper weight training and diet. You shouldn't expect muscle loss. You should even expect a small gain. :tucool:

im wondering.... why is it that body types such as meso and endo have an easier time maintaining and building muscle and ectos have a hard time? whats going on there... genetically and technically?

Maybe because ectomorphs have ultra, super, very, very fast metabolism? :confused: That's why most of the calories they consumed are used very quickly (and I mean, really quickly). That's why they don't have sufficient calories to feed to the muscle to maintain it. And like the body's old mechanism, since it's 'famine', it need to get rid of everything that could worsen the situation (muscle in particular; where muscle consume a lot of calories just by existing). -- Just my wild guess :D

By the way, does anyone enjoy watching wrestling, WWE RAW in particular? I just saw Randy Orton a few days ago, when he had a shoulder injury and he wasn't able to lift weights (or so he said), and did you see how thin (and I mean thin, even Vince told him to get off the 'anorexic diet' :lol: ). If that's really him, then that guys surely is an ecto. I'm not too surprised though, cause I've got a lot of friends here just like that, they stop lifting weights, they become thinner. They kindda hate it, because majority of the people here are thin, and the only way to make a difference is be big and lean :tucool: