Guy With Big Fat Belly Needs Stomach Workout Advice - Page 3

It's worse than pointless, it's counterproductive. Building stomach muscles underneath fat is just going to make your belly stick out further.

No. There is nothing to tone in fat. As everyone has said, all you'll do is build muscle under the layers of fat.

Seriously, crunches are a glorious waste of time unless you already have a base of conditioning and core strength. You'll build FAR MORE of a washboard stomach by doing squats and deadlifts than by doing crunches. Exercises like squats force you to use nearly every muscle group in your body, including keeping your abs/core very tight -- meaning you'll get a total body workout just by doing squats. I've never done a crunch or situp in my life (probably since high school PE anyway) and I have a strong core from compound full-body workouts.

Hasn't everyone said the same thing? Concentrate on cardio and full body conditioning. Start investigating local gyms -- every single one will give you a free work out session and some of them will even give you a trainer for that session. Use those freebies until you find a gym you like.

This is me going from 235 lbs fat ass to 180:

No.

You can't turn fat into muscle. Nor can you spot reduce.

When you see a fellow who looks "toned", what you're seeing is low body fat. If that's your goal then you need to lose fat. For the most part, that's a diet issue. The gym and a non-idiotic weight routine will help, but it's your diet that made you fat.

There a a million ways to change that; from a sensible reduction in calories to a full-out PSMF. It's up to you to decide what best suits your lifestyle, but more importantly, which approach you can stick with.

You can do a little reading here:

http://www.lylemcdonald.com/

Good luck.

lefty

If you really want to to crunches, do em! They're not going to interfere with anything... as long as you do them after your REAL work out.

"Toning" is a myth. It is does not exist. Exercise, done correctly, can only build muscle. Resistance training (weight lifting) combined with excess caloric intake will build muscle. The amount of muscle built depends upon a number of factors, including resistance routine, genetics, diet, and body type. People losing weight can add some muscle because there is a sufficient store of excess calories on the body so long as the loss is gradual. People losing weight and doing resistance training will also appear to add muscle because (1) they are often newbies to lifting and newbies often experience noticable gains quickly and (2) the disappearing fat reveals muscle underneath.

For you, you need to burn calories. Do cardio (with interval training thrown in at least one time per week) and resistance training. Limit calories. Get lots of sleep. Within time the stomach will appear.

I am not a big fan of leg weights.

As to equipment necessary, technically you could do fine with nothing else. However, if resources and space permit, consider:

- an adjustable bench -- this will enable you to do a full range of exercises;
- an adjustable set of DB's. There are different choices depending on price and space needs. I prefer plates, but that is just me. I would think you would eventually want to go up to 75 lbs per DB;
- really good sneakers (so you can add running, walking, etc. into the cardio mix as you get into shape); and
- a good basic book on weightlifting techniques as well as a jornal to chart your progress.


As you do more, you may wish to add more.

Or a reputable gym with a personal trainer and dedication of 1-2 hours per day for exercise.

I was assuming that the OP preferred or needed to work from home. A good gym and trainer can be extraordinarily useful.

I do not think that more than 1 hour per day is necessary. If the OP does cardio, for example, 4 days per week, he is unlikely, considering his conditioning, with stretching thrown in, to need to exceed 45 minutes to one hour total per session. As to weights, he certainly will not want to spend more than one hour 3 times per week. Later, as his conditioning improves, he can consider adding more time during the day for additional cardio -- a long walk, a bike ride, that sort of thing.

Well, I was budgeting time for a gym, meaning driving there and back, changing, showering, etc... a lot of people don't take that into account when thinking about how much time they spend on exercise.

Very fair point. Considering the amount of time some guys spend on their hair at my gym, maybe 3 hours!!

I lost 75 lbs in two years, I think it has stopped....kind of like the Hoff, I went from 250+ to 180.
The belly fat is the most difficult to get rid of. Nature uses it to protect the internal organs (or kill them when you get too fat), from cold and is the closest to the organs that will use the excess energy being stored.
I lost my weight by controlling my diet (carb free, then I introduced whole grains and fruits) which, after say 4-6 months will alter your metabolisim, if you add exercise to this, you will really alter your metabolisim.
A few other things to keep in mind, when you alter your metabolisim and excersice, you will also stimulate your hormones, which will make adding muscle easier (according to my father who is a doctor).
Working out will get easier. I do not belong to a gym, so I devised a work out that I can do anywhere.
Three different kinds of push ups in sets of 30, I shoot for 3 sets of each in a day.
1. Normal, hands under the shoulders with my hands facing straight ahead
2. With my legs elevated above my head. This will work your back and abs while you keep your body straight
3. The killers, the triangle push up, I have gotten strong enough to do these with my feet elevated.
crunches in sets of 50, I do 3 sets, I do them with my legs off the ground
Leg lifts, sets of 25, 3 sets, on the edge of the bed.
Oblique work out, with a tee shirt above my head, I twist 45 degrees from center, I do sets of 50. If I skip these a few days, It really hurts to get back on these, this will give your sides alot of definition, even if you are fat!
Then I walk, starting to jog, swim, and controll the diet.

I am now at the point where doing abs will visually make a difference (from a 42 waist to a 34), but there is still a little fat left, that I fear will only go away if I start running or get liposuction!
Point is, you will feel so much better, be less tired, feel more alert when you change your diet and lose the weight.

Yep.

If this isn't really a possibility though, (if the gym is a long drive away, or money is an issue, or you don't feel comfortable going at this stage), then you're best friend is going to be the elliptical. I find that many people with at-home equipment, however, seem to get bored quicker with their setup and subsequently stop working out. This is one of the reasons why paying for a gym can be great. Firstly, I feel pretty damn bad when my $100 a month is going down the tubes because I'm not taking advantage of my membership. Secondly, there are alot of great looking people in the gym and alot of people working their butts off: this can be excellent motivation. Thirdly, and most importantly, you simply have access to 1,000 more elements to exercise with than you would at home.

In regards to cardio, make sure you implement some variance. Ride a bike 1 or 2 days a week; do a slow jog for some, switch it up. Also, it should be said that whilst the elliptical is good, I have never come across a person who thought that they got better results from an elliptical than from simply running everyday. Running is certainly alot more strenuous/difficult, however, if you are at a higher weight. The elliptical should be fantastic for now.

The other MAJOR thing to focus on (even more so than your workout) is your diet. Try to completely cut out simple carbs (bleached flours, potatoes, pasta, etc.) and substitute them for whole wheat products, oatmeal, etc. Learn to LOVE chicken and fish. Lots of veggies and tons of water, and stick with it.