I'm 38 years old and have a good sized beer belly with flab all over my body. I just bought an Impex Marcy MWB 4360 Smith Machine. I also have a treadmill, elliptical, exercise bike (the wife uses these), and pull up/dip tower. I want to take shirtless pictures this summer, and I'm willing to work hard (up to 2 hours or so per day) 7 days a week to get there. I want to be as ripped as possible by then. Can you guys help me design a workout?
Welcome to JSF. I am in the same situation as I have been doing the same workout for about 6 months and need a change. There are many places to find workouts online. Here is a link to one page that has several to choose from. I haven't tried them but they will give you a good idea of what to do. Here is a link.
Your enthusiasm is admirable, but working out every day for 2 hours is not going to contribute to any type of success, especially regarding the goals you are after. Go here. Take your time to read and learn. Then learn some more. http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=45975
Keep I'm mind it is 99% diet and only 1% exercise. It is way to easy to out eat any exercise program.
Plus a sprinkling of HIIT added to the plan will do wonders. Yes...I'll second what MacDiver said.....it's easy to "out-eat" an exercise regimen.......
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a form of cardio that is excellent for fatburning. The main feature is that it can be done in much shorter time periods than steady state cardio...and get better results...because unlike steady state cardio, with HIIT your metabolism stays "ramped" for up to 48 hours after, still "burning" fat. There are many versions and exercises that can be used for HIIT. But you don't go very heavy on the weight aspect at all. In fact HIIT can be done without using resistance devices of any kind. One can get pretty inventive with custom HIIT routines......but there are lots of "routines" on the Internet. HIIT involves going all out at something for no more than about 20 seconds....and then taking a strictly calibrated break which is usually no more than 10 to 20 seconds. Maximum time duration for the entire HIIT session should generally be no more than 20 minutes. And novices should NOT be doing it every day. Maybe twice a week to start with on "off " days when coupled with a lifting program. If done on the same day as lifting...HIIT should be done dead last in the exercise order. As I said HIIT routines can be customized.....both in exercise-type and also timeframes of duration/rest. But you don't want to stray too far from the corral with this.......otherwise the plan could become too skewed and ineffective.... My advice would be to look up HIIT on the net and study the different styles/info. If you've never done it before I would not jump into the "deep end" right off the bat. Your heart has to be in good shape for this kind of thing......so make sure you have no "issues" to deal with. You can gradually "immerse" yourself into HIIT.....starting with much shorter durations and intensity. Designing a weight workout:- well, the sky's the limit here. There are so many routines around it defies description. And everybody has their own personable preferences in terms of exercises that they can or cannot perform for one reason or another.. It's no good recommending Squats, for example, if the person can't squat or has debilitating issues. It's no good recommending Chins if the person can't Chin etc.etc.etc.etc. So you need to peruse a few routines and methods and see what might work for you. On this site,read Mastover's posts....lots of excellent routines and advice. You could also look up on the Net:- Anything by Chad Waterbury Anything by Mark Rippetoe Anything By Alwyn Cosgrove There is a book called "Scrawny To Brawny" which is excellent. Don't let the title fool you.........I know you are not scrawny. But this book is excellent for anyone involved in bodybuilding because it has a lot of info on personal specifics that are not found in other books.
To your original request: (I am going to make the assumption that you want to be stronger) Start with a basic program that revolves around some foundational exercises and those that will challenge many muscle groups at the same time....a.k.a. compund lifts Again, going off what little info is in here and making some generalizations....but here it goes... We will always do a big compund lift, followed by "accessory" type exercises....which you can pull from the menu.... Doing the following will get you going: (Do 3 sets of 5 - 8 reps) Monday: (leg day) Compound: Squats Choose two or three from the following menu: - Lunges - Bulgarian split squats - Leg press - Leg Curls - Calf raise (Calves certainly are not mandatory) - Glute ham raises - krispy kremes - other Wednesday: (chest/shoulder day) Compound: Standing BB Press Compound: BB Bench Press Compound: Dips If you want, choose from the menu in addition or the occasional substitute for a compound: - lateral raises - skullz - tricep pushdowns - DB incline - other Friday: (back day) Compound: Deadlift Choose 2 or 3 from the menu: - pullups - DB rows - cable row - BB row - Cable pulldowns - and because everyone just can't stand it and must directly train their biceps....do some kind of curls Keep it simple and you can do great things pushing a little steel around... But like others said.....90% of the physique war is won in the kitchen......