alright, i've been working out per Ethnocide's suggestions for about a week. It feels good, but it's really tricky for me to manage stuff like diet, routine, getting enough rest, etc. I actually am thinking of splitting this thread to give the diet stuff it's own topic - that's a complex enough topic on it's own.

I also think I injured my heel doing the cardio on those stairs I posted a pic of. I would go up them two or three steps at a time. I felt good doing this because I was exerting my whole body to get over the steps (running only seems to involve the legs). I'm guessing what happened is that the front of my foot came down on the step, leaving the rear heel hanging, which put too much stress on it. I could be wrong, but that seems the most logical explanation. Now I can't walk without a limp. Of course, I can ride a bike without pain. We have some hills around here that are a lot like HIIT by default. Not quite San Francisco, but close. One route I like gains about 700 feet in the last mile (bonus points to the first math nerd that can tell me the average grade of that). You pretty much have to give it your all for 30 seconds, then walk the bike for a bit. Repeat till you get to the top, and an awesome view. ;o

As for the lifting, I've tried deadlifting my bed. It feels good, though the cramped quarters of my room make it hard to maintain the correct form. One day after doing some deadlifts I was feeling it in my lower back. I'm not sure if that's a good thing. The last thing I want to do is injure myself.

The other main thing I can't figure out, is if my body type would be "fatter" or "skinnier". I think I'm somewhere in between. I've not weighed myself in a while, but I'm certainly not obese, and if you saw me with clothes on you'd automatically think "skinnier", but I do have some flab going on. My main concern is that I seem to carry a lot of extra weight around my abdomen (the classic beer gut). It's not huge or anything, but it's there and it annoys me. I measured it at about 35 inches (I'm 5'8"). I feel I need to get rid of it before I can seriously expect to gain muscle mass. Or am I wrong on this? Will the HIIT cardio help here, or just have negligible benefit compared to something else? Also, would going hog wild on protein in this state with the lifting just be a waste of money? That's the impression I'm getting for fatter body types.

damn, I wish I could be more coherent. ;o

Go to a proper gym and stop being a cheapskate.

The problem with body fat is that there is no way of choosing where in the body it is stored. Men naturally store excess fat in the beer gut and women in their tits and arse. When a woman puts on weight her tits get bigger (wahoo) but when she diets her tits shrivel but her arse stays the same size - this drives them crazy.

Burning fat and building muscle are two different processes and cannot be combined. To build muscle you need exercise and a calorie surplus. To lose fat you need exercise and a calorie deficit.

To get rid of the beer gut you need to:

1 - Cut down on the booze (sob). Every calorie in booze goes straight to your beer gut. If you can get pissed just once a week that helps.

2 - Split exercise between cardio days and muscle building days. On cardio days go running, walking, swimming, chop down trees whatever but take in fewer calories than you expend. On muscle building days do the opposite. Does not have to be days - one, two, three.

It is a good ide to try and measure your body fat index. If you want the rippled abdomen you see in some mens magazine you need a BFI the same as an elite athlete which shows you how much work is needed.

Epicbleedin, about this....



It is right, but only for someone who has been training for a while and is starting to reach peaks. There is a "noobie" period where you can both lose fat and gain muscle. This usually lasts for the first few months, you will be losing fat and getting stronger at the same time. Eventually you will start to peak and have to focus entirely on either bulking or cutting.

People just starting out don't have to worry too much about bulking or cutting, just getting the routine of regular exercise and managing food is enough to worry about for the first couple months. Everything else is bang on. (Except lotsa people here have social phobia, making the gym impossible. It's not necessarily a money issue.)

I achieved huge results from working out purely at home or at a playground for my first 6 months.

EC - Your ankle is fine, just keep cycling till the pain goes away. Sounds muscular.



Make sure to keep your back straight. It's possible that there are small, minor muscles being worked out in your lower back that need to strengthen up before the main muscle area will get worked out properly. The first month is usually just strengthening the small tendons that support the major muscle groups.

Sounds like you have a normal sized body, not real skinny, not fat. Just keep doing what you are doing, cardio and diet is the only way to grind down the gut. Because you are in between, I suggest eating high protein meals, lifting heavy, and eating 6 meals/day. Go about it as though you are bulking up. The extra muscle you pack on will help you lose the belly fat when doing cardio.

Just train, basically. You are still in the noobie period, you will gain strength and lose fat. When you start to reach peaks (you will know), then get into more detailed specifics, right now your priority should be focused purely on getting to those workouts.. This is where 90% of people fail. Just get your routine going, do it at your own pace. Get the diet going. Get regular about it for a couple months, don't stress about details. Take it easy too, your minor muscles and tendons are weak, too weak to support the full strength of the major muscles yet. Get the form down. Don't skip sessions.

I'll start training this afternoon. You guys, especially NewHope, have convinced me. I'm sick and tired of this incel/LS shit and I'll do whatever it takes to get a decent girl.

I'd really like to start building some strength in my arms and abdomen, because right now I'm ridiculously weak - it's just embarrassing. My build is tall and very skinny, with little muscular strength. I have a very high metabolism, and I'm very flexible. However, I don't have access to much equipment, and the exercises I do absolutely cannot cause me to lose any weight. I need to gain weight, and put on some muscle. I don't care about muscle definition, just strength. Also, some cardio would probably be healthy because, as of now, I rarely exercise and that can't be good for me or my heart.

I have 3, 5, 10, & 15-pound weights, and ankle weights. With a bit of work, I could set up a pull-up bar. I can't afford to join a gym. So, that's my limited equipment. I have lots of free time, though, so time is not an issue. Also, I'm very willing to add specific foods or supplements/vitamins (as long as they're vegetarian-friendly) to my diet to help me keep up with calories burned, and hopefully even gain some weight.

So, Ethnocide (or anyone else who can help)... could you make some recommendations for exercises for me, and maybe some specific foods or supplements that can help me put on some weight and muscle? Some type of day-to-day exercise schedule would be absolutely fantastic. Bear in mind that, since I'm female, I don't put muscle on as easily and probably need to do more to get the same results as a man. I don't want to be "muscular" or anything, just not an unhealthy weakling.

Thank you in advance for the help!

Telling us you are "very flexible" has got everyone excited but leaving that aside, I will have a butchers through my bodybuilding mags and see what they say. There is always a section on lady fitness people. The veg. may limit your options but we shall see.

I highly suggest you buy some whey protein. Take 1.5X your body weight in protein daily, spread out over3-4 shakes. Any regular multivitamin should suffice as well.

The pull up bar would be awesome. Pick 3 days of the week to train, train 2 muscle groups each day. Take a couple weeks just to get form down (watch youtube videos for form). After your body gets used to the form, start lifting heavy.

You have:

Pull ups
Push ups
Squats
Deadlifts
Shoulder shrugs

I found filling garbage bags up with stuff (like water, or snow) could work as weights. You can do curls, military presses, shrugs, lateral raises, everything with them. You never know the exact weight, but that doesn't matter. If you can't do more than 8 reps, it's heavy enough.

I would avoid cardio almost completely. Maybe do a little bit here and there, don't work it into your schedule while you are trying to get strong.

Eat eat eat eat eat. The whey protein is going to be the main factor, followed by the training. There's no way if you do this you won't gain strength.

What do you mean by 1.5x my weight in whey protein per day? You couldn't possibly mean that I have to eat 150 lbs of anything in one day, right? And is there a specific type of food I should eat extra of? Bread (carbs), leafy greens (iron)?

For each type of exercise, how many should I be doing, and which ones each day? I really have no clue when it comes to exercising so... I need help. As specific as you can be without becoming annoyed with my ignorance.

By "muscle groups" do you mean groups like "leg muscles," "abdominal muscles," and "arm muscles"? Or is it more specific than that? And would it be unhealthy to go for 4 days a week instead of just 3? If I don't make this enough of a routine, I know I'll wimp out.

Also, is whey protein lactose-free? I know it's derived from the production of cheese, but I'm mildly lactose intolerant and not sure if that's an issue.

1.5x your body weight in grams, sorry forgot to say that. 150-160 grams of protein/day. One shake usually has about 30 grams. You can double these up. You can get whey protein without lactose. No specific foods, just whatever you normally eat, but more. I guess tofu infused with more protein would work. Humus is good, I don't know what you like. Beans. Organic peanut butter. Just eat a lot. I'm not an expert in vegan diet at all, but what I just said should suffice.

There are 6 major muscle types in regards to resistance training:

-Chest/pecs
-Bicep
-Tricep
-Shoulder
-Legs
-Back

Abs can be worked every 2nd day, abs are kinda different than the other muscles in that they recover quicker and don't require as much rest.

You can move it to 4 days if you want. I wouldn't go over 5.

Example routine: (First off, find something you can use to substitute for heavy weights. Use paint cans/water garbage bags/knapsacks with books/whatever. Also, find a bench you can lay flat on. You want to do 3-4 sets 6-10 reps)

Monday: Chest/back

Push up: 3-4 sets of however many you can. Some can do more than others.
Flies:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffCBFT1OmgY
Back workout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knpcLNRkreA

Tuesday: Legs

Squats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRnGI3c5Jjs

Lunges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ95qwNaD78

Thursday: Bicep/Tricep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UheCchftswc (Remember to use something else if you don't have the weights to do the workout. You can use a knapsack filled with rocks/books. You don't need to know the exact weight you are using to get stronger. If you really want to, just get a gym membership or buy weights for home)

Friday: Shoulder
[url]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT8A7Vc-2SI[/url]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnPOuwt-tY8


For abs just do crunches, weighted situps, leg lifts (http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Leg-Lifts), weighted leg lifts. Every 2nd/3rd day.

OK, thank you so much for the help! I'm going to finally get into shape

Most people fail. The reason most of the time is quitting. Quitting happens because of mental weakness. Making the choice to continue when the urge to quit is at it's strongest is the only way it will work.

I'll take note of that. I've quitted before in the past, but this time I'm committed to continue for at least three months. So far, I'm now entering my third week of training and my motivation remains very high.

Okay, I have a question? Has anybody tried following the workout plan at nowloss.com?
If so, would you care to share your experience?

Also, have you ever felt like you've reached a plateau, e.g. you cannot lift more weight for a significant period of time? How do you deal with that?

I've been lifting on and off for about 3 years. This year I've been lifting continuously since April -- however, currently, I'm not following the workout plan quoted above.
I'm looking at my workout notes and see that on a lot of exercises I haven't been able to increase the weight for a month or so.

I followed something almost identical to this to go from 300 lbs to 190 back up to 240 again (in muscle this time).

Plateau is the hardest thing to deal with because it's so totally dependent on your body. I found increasing my protein intake, along with lifting heavier, less reps worked to push me past 230 lbs and get me to 240. You have to figure out what's gunna work for your body. I would suggest eating more first of all.