I'm a trained Fitness Instructor, any questions on exercise or simple nutrition? :)

[e5th3r]

i've lost quite a bit of weight over the past 2 years.. my actual weight hasnt decreased much (only about 5-10 pounds) but the shape of my body has changed dramatically. (maybe because of puberty.. im 17 now) i have lost weight in my legs/thighs, waist, and a bit of my stomach area. but im so concernced about my shoulders now. i feel so insecure to wear anything that shows my arms. and summertime is coming soon and i'd like my shoulders and my arms not to look so bulky. any exercises i can do to lose weight in my arms and shoulders?. i have 5 pound and 3 pounds weights at home. thanks a lot :D

 

[SonOF]

I am 23 years old, 6'7'' around 265lbs. I am pretty big, but I really want to be more ripped, and not just thick (visible cuts, ect). I don't play sports anymore, so I have no reason to gain more mass. I usually go to the gym 3 times a week, doing cardio for about 25 mins and the rest weights.

I have heard about doing less weight, more reps but haven't seen much success with this. It seems like a waste of time.

Should I just do more cardio and keep my lifting the same? Or try with more reps?

On a side note, my diet is pretty bad and I drink too much...this is another issue.


thanks in advance

 

[nickels]

Hey..

As a quick note, to you and other woman who are concerned about getting "big" with muscles from lifting weights, you need not worry.

Much of our body types and ability to get "big" is genetic and hormonally (sp?) influenced. As a result, you will find it very rare that a woman can be "huge" with muscles no matter how hard and often she works out. Woman (generally speaking) are not "built" genetically to develop like men, therefore most women are not able to get "huge". However there are exceptions and there are drugs (steroids) that can change this.

A good point.

 

[nickels]

I am 23 years old, 6'7'' around 265lbs. I am pretty big, but I really want to be more ripped, and not just thick (visible cuts, ect). I don't play sports anymore, so I have no reason to gain more mass. I usually go to the gym 3 times a week, doing cardio for about 25 mins and the rest weights.

I have heard about doing less weight, more reps but haven't seen much success with this. It seems like a waste of time.

Should I just do more cardio and keep my lifting the same? Or try with more reps?

On a side note, my diet is pretty bad and I drink too much...this is another issue.


thanks in advance

Not my thread, but you said it yourself in your post--Your diet should be your number one focus, especially if all you're aiming for is trimming down. Stick with higher reps, but clean up your diet, have several smaller meals, and don't eat before bed. And alcohol is a big one for empty calories.

 

[LightSeeker]

Cpt. Caveman, I wonder if you've encountered this problem before.

About me... I'm 5'11", 175lbs, in the last 2 years I've dropped weight from 250. I have a very large frame, so the weight loss, while very effective, has left my ribs sticking out a bit out of my frame. Because I lost 40 lbs or so very quickly, I think this is the reason. I am now doing cardio-aerobics a few times a week, I walk at least an hour every day, I try to do as many ab exercies as possible, but nothing seems to make my ribs less prominent. Do you think that muscle buildup around the chest, abs, may improve this?

 

[dbighead2]

^40 pounds over two years is not too quickly. you can safely lose a pound a week. you had 104 weeks to lose 40 pounds in....you did it safely.

 

[LightSeeker]

I wasn't clear, sorry about that. I was 250 in April of 2003- by July, I was 200 (50 pounds or so in 3-4 months could not possibly be healthy). And the last 20 or so pounds were lost over a period of the year and half that followed- average of about 3 pounds a month over a few months. My weight has remained steady around 175 +/- 5 pounds. Despite my weird ribs- if I could do it (and I was overweight for 10 years), anyone can.

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

i have two questions

1. i feel a numb tingly feeling on my left elbow usually when i left (bench mainly, though it happens after a while of working out on other arm things)

i usually just work through it. is it anything to worry about? is it common?

2. i'm not sure how much i should push myself on the upper leg machine. after 10 (sets right word? reps? not sure. ten rounds) i get a huge pain in my legs. but when i work my arms, theres a point where i cant evne lift the weight anymore. with the leg machine, i can keep going, but theres this huge pain so i stop.

\

1. Could be a nerve pinch but its hard to tell, see a doctor if you're worried about it or if it gives your any problems.

2. Pain is definately not a good thing, thats something you should get checked out by a doctor. I wouldn't do any more leg presses until you have.

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

routines/ calorie intake programs just aint ever gonna work unless your 100% commited. if u wanna lose fat u need some ephedrine/ clenbuterol/dnp if u wanna put mass on u need steroids . your advice is sound cpt crunch. but the results will never be as good as expected.

Where there is a will there is a way. Having more muscle, more tone or better health are only important to you if you think they are.

Besides, I think that exercise has a whole range benefits on quality of life aside of just being thinner or larger. Doing something that you know is beneficial but is hard to do will be character building.

It depends on person to person with the motivation and ability to stick to it but I definately don't think that supplementing a good exercise and lifestyle program with drugs is a good idea.

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

i've lost quite a bit of weight over the past 2 years.. my actual weight hasnt decreased much (only about 5-10 pounds) but the shape of my body has changed dramatically. (maybe because of puberty.. im 17 now) i have lost weight in my legs/thighs, waist, and a bit of my stomach area. but im so concernced about my shoulders now. i feel so insecure to wear anything that shows my arms. and summertime is coming soon and i'd like my shoulders and my arms not to look so bulky. any exercises i can do to lose weight in my arms and shoulders?. i have 5 pound and 3 pounds weights at home. thanks a lot :D

If you've worded your post correctly, the only way to lose muscle is to be inactive with those muscles. So don't do any weights at all if you want to lose size.

I'm not talking about never lifting a milk bottle because you want to shrink, just don't do any resistance exercises and you'll be fine. If you do want to exercise, stick to cardio.

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

I am 23 years old, 6'7'' around 265lbs. I am pretty big, but I really want to be more ripped, and not just thick (visible cuts, ect). I don't play sports anymore, so I have no reason to gain more mass. I usually go to the gym 3 times a week, doing cardio for about 25 mins and the rest weights.

I have heard about doing less weight, more reps but haven't seen much success with this. It seems like a waste of time.

Should I just do more cardio and keep my lifting the same? Or try with more reps?

On a side note, my diet is pretty bad and I drink too much...this is another issue.


thanks in advance

Okay, if you're not that interested in gaining more muscle mass then try and do more than 15 reps in each set. Even go up to about 20 or so. This will build muscular edurance and keep your strength but not build muscle muscle very quickly at all. 8-12 reps is the muscle building range so the idea is to go higher than it.

The only way to get toned or ripped is to lose body fat. A lot of people have a pre-conception that doing weights that use your arms will tone your arms, etc. This isn't true.

To lose body fat you have to be doing frequent cardio exercise coupled with a healthy diet that is low in sugar and fat. Try and have a good breakfast and instead of just eating lunch have snacks through out the day as you need them. This will make better use of your food for energy. Try not to drink alcohol with dinner because that will send your food straight to fat stores. Bare in mind as well that more alcoholic drinks contain quite a bit of sugar.

I would recommend doing some good cardio 4 times a week or so, at least 30mins each session. Up to 60mins if you can. Try and train in 75-85% of your age predicted max heart rate. Your age predicted max heart rate is 220 minus your age. You can stop and check your pulse on your wrist while exercising by counting how many beats are in 15 seconds and multiplying this number by 4.

On the days that you don't train try and get about 30mins of some moderate exercise in as well. This could be taking the stairs instead of lift, parking further away from work than normal and walking to work, washing and waxing the car (sounds silly I know but shit its hard!).

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

I wasn't clear, sorry about that. I was 250 in April of 2003- by July, I was 200 (50 pounds or so in 3-4 months could not possibly be healthy). And the last 20 or so pounds were lost over a period of the year and half that followed- average of about 3 pounds a month over a few months. My weight has remained steady around 175 +/- 5 pounds. Despite my weird ribs- if I could do it (and I was overweight for 10 years), anyone can.

That is quite an amount of weight to loose in that time. There are a lot of factors that could have come into play like illness, stress, quanitity of food, etc.

Its not my place to make a diagnosis so if you're worried then see a doctor. It might be a wise thing to do.

In terms of your ribs sticking out, thats quite normal. Unfortunately there isn't much muscle at all over certain parts of your ribs, none in some areas. If you've been serious about losing weight for quite some time then this may not go down well for you..but putting on a little bit more body fat is the only thing that will fill in some sections of those ribs.

 

[markusgoneawry]

routines/ calorie intake programs just aint ever gonna work unless your 100% commited. if u wanna lose fat u need some ephedrine/ clenbuterol/dnp if u wanna put mass on u need steroids . your advice is sound cpt crunch. but the results will never be as good as expected.

Sony - This is terrible advice. Not only can you achieve a lot naturally, I think it is plain stupid to even underhandedly suggest DNP and Clen and steroids to people who most likely are not prepared for anything these drugs have to offer.

DNP can kill you, cook your insides up. Thats not so cool.

There are tiems and places for everything and I dont think these substances should be taken lightly...

 

[qwe]

\

1. Could be a nerve pinch but its hard to tell, see a doctor if you're worried about it or if it gives your any problems.

2. Pain is definately not a good thing, thats something you should get checked out by a doctor. I wouldn't do any more leg presses until you have.

The doctor sent me to a physical therapist, who told me to do a bunch of stretches every day, for my upper leg muscles and my elbows

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

Good move, hopefully it will be cleared up soon and you can keep training

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Hello Cpt.Caveman!

Hey man,

Muchos respect for starting this thread

i twated my leg in a car accident 3 years ago (fuxed my legs up pretty bad), spent a long time in hospital, then spent lots of time not being able to move much... i became depressed and hammered comfort food (tons of ice cream, pizza, burgers, kebabs, mars bars.. shit.)

In 2 years i put on 7 stone (not fucking good!), but i managed to lose 3 stone in a year by just eating rabbit food like salad and fruit. I FUCKING HATE VEGETABLES AND FRUIT, ARGHH!.

I'm now fairly mobile and ready for exercise!!, how ever because of my wonky fucked up legs a lots of exercises tend to do more damage than good. ie trampolining/hurdles.

So i have a few questions.

What exereses are good for losing weight that are low impact on the knee?

The more weight i lose, the more prominent my man bewbs become, what exercise will get rid of them (they are not a bad pair of tits... bigger than my ex girlfriends Argh!)

Does an exercise exist that can get rid of a double chin (or in my case triple)

I'm pretty happy with the results of my diet, and would like to get rid of the rest of this unwanted weight... any tips you have would be greatly appreciated.. thanks :D

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

Re: Hello Cpt.Caveman!

Hey man,

Muchos respect for starting this thread

i twated my leg in a car accident 3 years ago (fuxed my legs up pretty bad), spent a long time in hospital, then spent lots of time not being able to move much... i became depressed and hammered comfort food (tons of ice cream, pizza, burgers, kebabs, mars bars.. shit.)

In 2 years i put on 7 stone (not fucking good!), but i managed to lose 3 stone in a year by just eating rabbit food like salad and fruit. I FUCKING HATE VEGETABLES AND FRUIT, ARGHH!.

I'm now fairly mobile and ready for exercise!!, how ever because of my wonky fucked up legs a lots of exercises tend to do more damage than good. ie trampolining/hurdles.

So i have a few questions.

What exereses are good for losing weight that are low impact on the knee?

The more weight i lose, the more prominent my man bewbs become, what exercise will get rid of them (they are not a bad pair of tits... bigger than my ex girlfriends Argh!)

Does an exercise exist that can get rid of a double chin (or in my case triple)

I'm pretty happy with the results of my diet, and would like to get rid of the rest of this unwanted weight... any tips you have would be greatly appreciated.. thanks :D

Thanks man, I suppose it works both ways with me exercising my brain and you guys getting tips for free

Sorry to hear about the legs man, sounds like it was painful. Low impact exercises are what you want. I would recommend swimming and possibly the eliptical runner if you're going to a gym. With the eliptical I would get an okay from whoever has been treating your knee first though, it wouldn't be worth the extra damage if you could just jump into a pool.

To lose that excess weight you just have to be exercising a lot and eating well. Try and do some good cardiovascular workout about 4-5 times a week. Try and train for at least 20mins in a setting, right up to 60mins if you can. On the days that you don't workout try and fit in 30mins of some light exercise as well just to keep the energy burning.

There are some good tips above in this thread about what intensity to do your cardio training at. Look for the 75-85% of max heart rate tip.

With your diet, it sounds like you're on the right track. You just have to be eating foods low in sugar and fat, eat snacks through-out the day as needed instead of one large meal as lunch, have a good breakfast and try not to drink any alcohol with dinner.

Its unfortunate but there is no way to be able to localise weight loss to a specific part of the body. It just comes off from different places at different rates so you just have to be patient and work down that body fat until you're at a lean weight.

Good luck Let me know how it goes

 

[ez_555]

Hey Cpt.Caveman, I was wondering if you could tell me how many calories I should be consuming a day? I need to lose a lot of weight.

I am female, 179cm and weigh around 70kg.

I do Taekwondo 3 times a week for an hour. This is very intense cardio work. I also do 4 hours of bike riding a week. I'm going to start running again also, probably once or twice a week.

Thanks

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

Hey Cpt.Caveman, I was wondering if you could tell me how many calories I should be consuming a day? I need to lose a lot of weight.

I am female, 179cm and weigh around 70kg.

I do Taekwondo 3 times a week for an hour. This is very intense cardio work. I also do 4 hours of bike riding a week. I'm going to start running again also, probably once or twice a week.

Thanks

To tell you the truth I don't really aggree with the method of losing weight by eating less calories than your body needs to function. Doing it this way is really depriving your body of the valuable food that it needs. Its pretty hard to gain fat from eating healthy foods and carbohydrates.

Fat is a fuel source when you use your bodies aerobic energy system (running, cycling, high intensity endurance stuff) independant of how much food you are eating.

My advice is to keep up the high amount of exercise that you are doing and make sure that you are eating healthy foods low in sugar and fat. Instead of lunch try eating snacks as you need them and space out your meals. Of course a good breakfast as well. Try to avoid drinking alcohol with food as well.

If you stick to this you will definately lose weight while eating a healthy amount of food.

 

[markusgoneawry]

Caveman,

Not to pick a fight, but how is it you determine the minimum amount of calories needed to function? I mean if you are 300 lbs than the amount of calories you need to maintain that body weight is much more than if you are 150lbs. In addition, you can overat on healthy and nutritious foods. Like fruit, nuts, lean meats, etc.......just like anything else, if you overeat with them, and dont exercise to create some sort of caloric deficeit, or at least get your body to utilize your stored body fat for energy, you will not lose weight!