Good Afternoon Everyone,

I am farely new to this site (just joined earlier this week) and would like to dip into the fountain of knowledge that this site offers.--Back ground-I'm 23 yrs old and have been serving in America's 911 force (USMC) for the last five years. I have a muscular frame at 218/5'9 but would like to get down to around 195. I would like to do this solely with out the use of weights (the only strength training that I will be doing will be calistenics). I don't mind losing the muscle mass in my efforts (I gain muscle mass very easily) but would like to know where should I start? What types of foods (in an average refrigerator) can I start eating to help fascilitate my fat loss and what is a good cardio routine (primarily running based) that I can do to achieve this goal? I know that I am asking a lot, but I know I am committed enough to achieve this goal, Its just that I lack a sense of direction or plan. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I thank you all in advance. Have a great weekend and a safe, funfilled labor day.

Solomoniv :tu:

Sorry that no one else has responded, but let me be the first. Running and the good old Military Calisthenics, I lost most of my first 90 pounds this way. I believe that with your own body weight resistance you can do quite a bit. However, you will not be looking like anyone on the cover of Men's Health or Flex. If you are looking to lose weight, this will work perfectly. Push-ups and sit-ups are great for toning. I like to do them just as any one would do a set of upright rows. I do variations. You can start off with 15 close hand then rest then do 15 elevated, then do 15 wide arm. You hit several different muscles in doing this. Sit-ups have just as many variations, 25 regular, then 25 rocky twist, then 25 crunches, then 25 reverse (meaning bring your lower abs up with your buttocks), Running can also have variation. I like to do a long run (five miles)three days a week at a pretty slow pace (depends on what is slow for you) (I run my two miles in about 14:00 min, so a ten minute mile is slow) Then the other two days I like to do quick sprints, Like I will run fast for three minutes then walk for one. Or you can do uphill and downhill training on those days. There are tons of great ways to workout with just running and calisthenics. I hope this was of some use to you. I am not an expert, but I did lose 90 pounds this way.