Hi

Just want some advice.

I want to tone up and get a nice 6 pack. This is what my "abs" are like now.

My normal weekly workout schedule involves playing 5-a-side football once or twice a week for about 1.5 hours

I have been going to the gym for almost 4 years now. It all started when I gaining abit of weight - as a result of going to McDonalds etc too often!! Also didnt really do any exercise at all. I was never FAT but was just getting abit of a belly and abit fuller in the face etc.


I started going to the gym pretty much every weekday and cut down on un-healthy things. I have cut it down since and its now properly about 3-4 times a week at the gym. Its usually done after work and I dont eat anything 2 hours before exercise - I try to eat as soon as possible after but it can be at least an hour after.

When at the gym its about 20 mins on the treadmill and 25-35mins on weights (machines and free weights - incline chest press, dips, pull ups, sit ups, crunches, swiss ball exercises like jack knife and crunches). I normally run at a fair pace (at least 10kph) and uphill as I hate running!! However I think it may be running on treadmills as I seem to run faster when running outside. (Also I can run for longer - e.g. I did a 10km run thing last year). Weights wise I work on arms, chest and abs with various exercises including using swiss ball. Recently have been trying to alternate CV on one day and then just weights on the next day.



Diet wise I have been trying to eat small meals more often, eating more at breakfast, average at lunch and small meal at dinner. Everything I eat I look on the nutritional values i.e amount of saturated fat/salt etc. I eat quite a bit of chicken and started eating more veg etc.

Is there anything I can change. Looking at my photo would you say I need to lose more fat?? Bulk up more?? (More weights??)

A while ago (about 9 months) I weighed myself on one of those scales which measure body fat and from memory it was about 12-13% ish. When I first went to gym all those years ago I think it was about 18%.

What would help the most?? Do more CV work i.e. lose fat? Do more weights?? Change diet??

My usual daily intake is:

Breakfast: Special K cereals with semi-skimmed milk
Lunch: Either:

a) Turkey/chicken salad sandwich
b) Soup and some bread with chicken thigh in it (removed skin)
c) Occassionally have a low fat packet meal - make sure its low on sat. fat and salt.

Dinner: Stir fry chicken with some veg (e.g. Broccoli, green beans), rice (or wholemeal pasta).

Snacks - sometimes (not always) have a crispbread or two in the afternoon. Also have some fruit after dinner (or for breakfast).

Hardly ever have crisps now. About once a month have fish and chips. Sometimes have chocolate biscuits with a cup of tea. However my breakfast/lunch/dinner are similar.


Thanks

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b42/asy1mpo/CIMG6189.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b42/asy1mpo/CIMG6187.jpg

What would help the most?? Do more CV work i.e. lose fat? Do more weights?? Change diet??

Abs are made in the kitchen. However, all of the 3 things mentioned above will have to work together. Cardio, heavy lifting and a disciplined diet will yield optimal results. Looking at your photos, you are not far off from abdominal definition :tucool:

What is does your workout consist of? Also, please post a sample of your daily food intake.

Abs are made in the kitchen. However, all of the 3 things mentioned above will have to work together. Cardio, heavy lifting and a disciplined diet will yield optimal results. Looking at your photos, you are not far off from abdominal definition :tucool:

What is does your workout consist of? Also, please post a sample of your daily food intake.
Thanks for advice

I have updated post with my typical daily intake

My normal weekly workout schedule involves playing 5-a-side football once or twice a week for about 1.5 hours...

...When at the gym its about 20 mins on the treadmill and 25-35mins on weights (machines and free weights - incline chest press, dips, pull ups, sit ups, crunches, swiss ball exercises like jack knife and crunches). I normally run at a fair pace (at least 10kph) and uphill as I hate running!! However I think it may be running on treadmills as I seem to run faster when running outside. (Also I can run for longer - e.g. I did a 10km run thing last year). Weights wise I work on arms, chest and abs with various exercises including using swiss ball. Recently have been trying to alternate CV on one day and then just weights on the next day.

Well, the good news is you probably don't have to run that much. At your age, you can probably ditch it completely if you want if you get the rest of your plan in order, especially with your football added in.

But the thing is you are ignoring the most physique changing muscles in your body completely, while concentrating on the stuff that makes little difference.

You are doing nothing for legs and back at all? (No, running doesn't count.) Those are the biggest muscle groups in the body and will make the most impact metabolically, hormonally, and in burning fat and adding muscle all over.

Your workout should be primarily free weight, and include work for all parts of your body. That would include squats, deadlifts, rows, pull ups or pull downs, and presses (horizontal like bench, vertical like military). That will cover pretty much everything you need right now.

Focus your work on "compound" exercises, or exercises that involve more than one joint. That way you are more efficient with your gym time. All of the above listed moves are compounds. If you have to, do maybe 20% or less work on isoloation (single joint) moves like curls, or maybe some supplemental ab work (which won't get you abs any faster anyway).

When you do those, you are working the smaller muscles, too. For instance: Chins get your biceps, bench gets your triceps.

Focusing more on lifting along with proper eating will get you more mass and more definition, without really having to lower your body fat much from where it is.


I started going to the gym pretty much every weekday and cut down on un-healthy things. I have cut it down since and its now properly about 3-4 times a week at the gym. Its usually done after work and I dont eat anything 2 hours before exercise - I try to eat as soon as possible after but it can be at least an hour after.

No problem with eating before working out, in fact it is probably a good idea unless you are doing low intensity work (and even then it's debatable).


Diet wise I have been trying to eat small meals more often, eating more at breakfast, average at lunch and small meal at dinner. Everything I eat I look on the nutritional values i.e amount of saturated fat/salt etc. I eat quite a bit of chicken and started eating more veg etc.

Some saturated fat isn't bad. It's all the overly processed stuff, trans fats, corn and soy oil, refined flours, etc that are the problem. Fat isn't bad overall, and is an important part of the diet. Don't fear fat. Eat some nuts, a few eggs, some lean beef, some olive oil.

And eat veggies and fruit. You didn't list a lot. Those are key part of any healthy diet. Five servings a day is good to work toward (serving being 1 cup of veggies or one fruit)

Is there anything I can change. Looking at my photo would you say I need to lose more fat?? Bulk up more?? (More weights??)

I would worry more about adding a bit of mass than cutting with your pics. Nothing radical like an all out bulk, but lift heavy doing the right big movers. Learn to love squatting and deadlifting.

Read the stickies, put together a plan, and post it (diet and lifting). People will help you tweak.

Quickly, as I must get outta here being that I'm not supposed to get near a CPU today as I give myself one entire day per week (SUNDAY) to refrain from sitting in front of the CPU running my business for hours and hours on end, many times per day. I love it though, my own business/career/boss/etc., is something I would never change for NADA.

You are starting at a great point as far as level of leanness. At your age and with the metabolism you have which I would venture to guess is quite fast due to your structure/age/current physique, all you would need to do is pay a LOT MORE attention to the nutritional aspect of your desire to attain a six pack. You have a "half and half" situation here, meaning that 1/2 of your quest will be working the abs and developing them more and more so that they grow and "pop", with the other 1/2 of the quest being the nutritional approach that you will want to make sure is sterling as far as what you should consume to lose whatever fat you have left (which really ain't much at all there brutha), in order to make those abs "POP" the more they become developed. I'd lay my money on the abs getting more developed than the loss of bodyfat in terms of what is hindering the 6 pack from really standing out and being "SET" and permanent as long as you keep the level of bodyfat as low as it needs to be so as to have those abs there all the time, right under your shirt. :cool:

THE FOLLOWING IS JUST A SUGGESTION, HOWEVER I ASSURE YOU THAT IF YOU EXPERIMENT WITH THE PROPOSAL, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY FIND THE IDEAL LAYOUT FOR YOUR GOALS, AND WILL THEN UNDERSTAND THE REASONING BEHIND IT ALL. SO, HERE GOES:

I'd encourage you to not fall victim to what I dub "the old school calories in vs. calories out voodoo nutritional methodology" that many have fallen victim to, since it's been preached for decades and it was accepted as simply "the way it is". At one time it did make sense for the most part, but not for those that require impeccable fitness physiques and certain levels of development for competitions/sports/modeling/etc.

Instead, I would focus on WHAT those calories coming in are comprised of (macro-nutrient wise), specifically what macros you are eating and in what amount per meal, what macros you are eating together, the amounts of each, the purpose for the macros being in the amounts they are and which ones are consumed together after certain activities or none at all, and at what time and for what purpose. Sounds confusing, but the old adage "you are what you eat" has never been so true, and the three macros that yield energy aka "calories" are all very different in what they do to the body, what their purpose is, how they help or derail the physical activity that was done or is going to be done soon, etc.

Basically I am suggesting to start thinking of "eating for your activity" whether it be before the activity or after, and what is ideal to eat for your goals before/after the activity, which is entirely dependent upon WHAT that activity is. It's very true that what you eat before/after different forms of exercise/activity aka "physical exertion" make all the difference in the world result wise as the weeks/months go by.

Gotta run, my woman is about to have my head for writing a "war and peace" reply as she calls them. :eek:

Have a great rest of the weekend!
~SC~

thanks for the tips etc.

any recommended foods to eat in particular?? i read somewhere that broccoli is particularly good??? i am eating more tofu too - stir fried with some veg and abit of chicken

btw have i mentioned my age anywhere - some ppl have said at my age ...... hmmm

anyway, i am 29 (almost 30) - however I can get away with looking a lot younger - maybe even 10 years younger. Hardly happens but was asked for id at the pub about 2 months ago (i live in UK so that person thought I was younger than 18!!)

thanks for the tips etc.

any recommended foods to eat in particular?? i read somewhere that broccoli is particularly good??? i am eating more tofu too - stir fried with some veg and abit of chicken

Read the stickies in the beginner section, they've got a lot of the basics.

btw have i mentioned my age anywhere - some ppl have said at my age ...... hmmm

anyway, i am 29 (almost 30) - however I can get away with looking a lot younger - maybe even 10 years younger. Hardly happens but was asked for id at the pub about 2 months ago (i live in UK so that person thought I was younger than 18!!)

Your sports and other comments along with your "look", skin, and hands (huge tip off on a lot of people) appeared to be somewhere in your 20s. I was right :D