Hey guys! I'm a newbie to this forum. I'm a 16 year old (almost 17) male. I weigh 136-140 havn't checked for awhile, i'm about 5 ft 9".
I wanted to get more in shape so i signed up for basketball this upcoming september, i'm also planning to run once a week and play squash once a week, making my week look like 2 days of basketball, 1 day of running, 1 day of squash so 4 days of fitness a week. Would that much get me in shape? Because the thing I really want the most is some good looking abbs. I kind of have a mini beer belly yet im skinny so its really messed :( but somedays it looks like i have the starting of a 4 pack but that just must be the lighting. I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures so that way i can post you some.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6633/picture1436gj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5933/picture1410fn.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6052/picture1401mz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3775/picture1398al.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3515/picture1468mh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5449/picture1398my.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1775/picture1389ml.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3016/picture1450ye.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I was also wondering about something i read a while ago. This fitness website said there is no point in doing abb excercises if you have fat covering your abbs. So is this true? And if not what are some abb excercises that i can do around home? I've been doing the one where you go in push up position over 2 chairs and try and hold it as long as you can, and that seems to work quite well, and also the knee to chin ones. And is it true that you basically have to be born with it to get really good abbs? Because that's the thing im most embaressed about and i have the determination, i just need some expertise to guide me!

If anyone could help me out i would appreciate it more then you could ever know! Thanks a bunch!

This fitness website said there is no point in doing abb excercises if you have fat covering your abbs. So is this true?
Not true. I think what you read was trying to say that you can exercise your abs all day long but you won't see them until you lose enough fat around your midsection. It's not until you lose that fat that your abs show up, no matter how big your actual ab muscles are. Once you do get rid of that fat, though, it's nice to have well defined abs.

And is it true that you basically have to be born with it to get really good abbs? Because that's the thing im most embaressed about and i have the determination, i just need some expertise to guide me!
Not really... there are some people that won't see too much ab definition even at low body fat, but I think that's more rare. When you get down to 9-10% body fat, most people can really see their abs. You want to lose the fat around your waist... read around through the fat loss section, read the stickies and make a plan. Diet is the key ingredient... good luck! :tucool:

Main thing IMO, and this is gonna be tough at 16/17, is your diet. Read the stickies and try to eat healthy.

[QUOTE=Ichigo]I wanted to get more in shape so i signed up for basketball this upcoming september, i'm also planning to run once a week and play squash once a week, making my week look like 2 days of basketball, 1 day of running, 1 day of squash so 4 days of fitness a week. Would that much get me in shape? Because the thing I really want the most is some good looking abbs.QUOTE]

Your level of fitness will improve provided that your planned workload exceeds what you are currently doing. But here's the thing: "fitness" is kind of a general term and can be misleading. By fitness, I mean cardiovascular and muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility. But just because you have a high degree of fitness doesn't mean you will have abs. You have to be very specific when you plan your goals.

If what you want is to see your abs, then you need two things, 1) you need to develop your abdominal muscles with excercise, and 2) you need to strip away the fat till you are down to single digit BF%. Best way I know to do that is with a good diet, and a combo of cardio/weights. Read the stickies!

Firstly, i think doing cardio 4 times a week is a good idea, no matter what type of cardio it is.

patience and consistency is the key, just something ive learnt.

But like me you want your abs to show and that means your diet will need to be in pretty good shape. Check out the sticky from gravityhomer at the top on cutting, and thats a good guide on the type of foods you should eat.

i'll be the first person then...
DONT LOSE ANY FAT - BULK!

first - read up on bulking (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51).


after you've gathered info ....

eat 3000 calories a day
40% of those from protein
50% of those from carbs
10% of those from fat (or lower if you can)

Lift weights like crazy! keep trying to break your own records every week.
Lift weights using every muscle in your body that you can.


the muscle you put on during the bulk will eat away at your fat constantly, and you'll get ALOT more girls this way ;)

you're 16 years old.
your body is growing like crazy right now, so this is the best time to take advantage of weight lifting.
i wish i would have.


here's the kinds of things you should eat:

protein:
+ plain skinless chicken breasts
+ lean beef
+ tuna

carbs:
+ fiberous veggies (broccoli, etc)
+ sweet potatoes (my favorite)
+ plain oatmeal

fats:
+ none. you'll get your 10% fat from your other foods.
maybe once a day (before bed) take a tbsp of flax oil or olive oil.

eat 3000 calories a day
40% of those from protein
50% of those from carbs
10% of those from fat (or lower if you can)

fats:
+ none. you'll get your 10% fat from your other foods.
maybe once a day (before bed) take a tbsp of flax oil or olive oil.

Where on earth did you find such poor advice from? A diet so low in fat is not only unhealthy, but will in no way aid in building muscle. Fat has its place in any diet just as carbs and protein do. On average, I would not keep your fat intake under 20% of your calories.

Where on earth did you find such poor advice from? A diet so low in fat is not only unhealthy, but will in no way aid in building muscle. Fat has its place in any diet just as carbs and protein do. On average, I would not keep your fat intake under 20% of your calories.

Agreed. He probably just read the MAX-OT guide. Fat is important for regulating hormone levels including testosterone. Furthermore, it can help you meet your caloric goals when bulking. I do agree that you should bulk and add muscle Ichigo.

i'll be the first person then...
DONT LOSE ANY FAT - BULK!

first - read up on bulking (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51).


after you've gathered info ....

eat 3000 calories a day
40% of those from protein
50% of those from carbs
10% of those from fat (or lower if you can)

Lift weights like crazy! keep trying to break your own records every week.
Lift weights using every muscle in your body that you can.


the muscle you put on during the bulk will eat away at your fat constantly, and you'll get ALOT more girls this way ;)

you're 16 years old.
your body is growing like crazy right now, so this is the best time to take advantage of weight lifting.
i wish i would have.


here's the kinds of things you should eat:

protein:
+ plain skinless chicken breasts
+ lean beef
+ tuna

carbs:
+ fiberous veggies (broccoli, etc)
+ sweet potatoes (my favorite)
+ plain oatmeal

fats:
+ none. you'll get your 10% fat from your other foods.
maybe once a day (before bed) take a tbsp of flax oil or olive oil.


ummmm... wasn't going to go there myself, but I would second what wh0areume suggests in pursuing a bulk first. The abs are seductive, we all want them, but they will look a whole lot better on you if you put on a few pounds of lean mass first. As far as the diet goes, wh0areume obviously found what works for him to build a great body (just look at the guys pics, you gotta give it up for a guy who dropped 100lbs.) It's not an unreasonable starting point, but what worked for him may not work for Ichigo.

Ichigo, you're going to have to experiment on yourself and see what works best. Karatetricker has a point too about fat content being important for building the hormones necessary to put on mass. If it were me, I would start with a 20% fat content for a bulk, but then I've bulked before and I kinda know my own body. If you still want to cut, 10% fat may be the way to go, and it may not. You have to implement it, track the changes, and be willing to try something else if you don't like what you see.

There's plenty of room for debate between the two views, but what works in theory doesn't always play out in real life, and it doesn't always play out the same way for every body.

My 2 cents...

hmm... my appologies for my fat% knowledge.
i always thought while bulking - focus on carbs and protein and fat usually takes care of itself.

plus that mastover guy said 10% fat while bulking, he's a pro bodybuilder, i put 2 and 2 together and decided he was right.

hmm... my appologies for my fat% knowledge.
i always thought while bulking - focus on carbs and protein and fat usually takes care of itself.

plus that mastover guy said 10% fat while bulking, he's a pro bodybuilder, i put 2 and 2 together and decided he was right.

He may have... I don't know. I'm sure some people bulk on 10% fat. I know that guy from the movie The Punisher bulked up using a diet that went back and forth from 10% fats to I think 30% fats. However, if you check out articles on bodybuilding.com from an array of pros and other ones scattered throughout the net, you'll see most professionals recommend quite a bit more than 10% for numerous reasons. I would think 20% of your calories would be a good place to start and adjust accordingly.

He may have... I don't know. I'm sure some people bulk on 10% fat. I know that guy from the movie The Punisher bulked up using a diet that went back and forth from 10% fats to I think 30% fats. However, if you check out articles on bodybuilding.com from an array of pros and other ones scattered throughout the net, you'll see most professionals recommend quite a bit more than 10% for numerous reasons. I would think 20% of your calories would be a good place to start and adjust accordingly.

Yes. I know that mastover advocates 10% fat. But most professionals, natural or otherwise, that I have either talked to or read up on do not. Personally, I have had great results on substantially more than that. went from 158 at 5'7 to 188. Leaned back down to 179 and am now about 10% bodyfat. My fat % was between 20% and 30% during both phases. When bulking it was closer to 20% and carbs made up a greater percentage of my diet.