Exercise for my pecks...

[savage]

Hey guys -

I just started working out - I would like to get more toned and ripped than bulky and beefy. I used to play a lot of sports but with my old age I have become lazy, and never really been to the gym before.

I am interested in any exercises that would work out my 'pecks', and make them flat, not so wo-man like. Also anything to help my arms, and stomach - I hate crunches so bonus points if i don't have to do them

 

[vanity]

Concentrate on getting bulky and you should attain the toned physique you want. If you try to just "get toned", you'll never work hard enough to change your shape. No one woke up one day suddently bulky and thought "oops, how'd this happen? I just wanted tone. I'm all bulky instead"

Chest:
Flat Bench
Incline Bench
Decline Bench

They'll work your shoulders, pecs, and triceps. Stay off machines, free weights force you to balance and control the movement. If you have "man-boobs" and are looking to rid those, then you need to diet.

If you don't like crunches, purchase an inflatable abdominal ball. It'll come with a manual of exercise to use with it that will strengthen your core.

 

[Valgar]

If you want to get toned you are going to have to make sure to eat a clean diet to lower body fat %.

I don't know how fit you are but you may want to build muscle first and then tone.

Make sure to work your legs. Most guys skimp out on this and it shows. If you are doing core exercises like deadlifts, squats, and pull ups, you can probably skip crunches.

 

[Soph]

There really isn't anything such as tone.

Muscles only do one of 2 things:

Hypertrophy: They grow
Atrophy: They shrink

*The I want to be Tone look, I assume what the majority of society is discussing, is actually a lower bodyfat which allows muscles to be displayed and not excessive hypertrophy (society's bulk/mass).

Genectics/body type play alot in to it.

You can build muscle and lower bodyfat at the same time.


Here's my diet and exercise program most of the time.
http://styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=13130

Also If you can manage it not eating carbs at night and only a protein shake (no carbs) after 7pm does help to lean me out(tone) alot despite some research that may say otherwise, I'm convinced thru experience if you want a lean, look this helps tremendously.

Also, I would recommend complete abdominal work every other day.

Originally Posted by vanity

They'll work your shoulders, pecs, and triceps. Stay off machines, free weights force you to balance and control the movement. If you have "man-boobs" and are looking to rid those, then you need to diet.
If you don't like crunches, purchase an inflatable abdominal ball. It'll come with a manual of exercise to use with it that will strengthen your core.


I would agree with Vanity and also recommend you use swiss balls and 2 small medicine balls to do pushups with a slower eccentric movements. The destablization of swiss/medicine balls recruits more muscles to stablize yourself.

 

[pdizzle]

Soph is right

Hit the weights to grow, diet and add cardio to cut down.
As a beginner (if you are one) you can do this great thing where you actually put on muscle whilst losing fat.

I'd pick a couple of major exercises (squats, deadlifts, dips, chins, bench, rows) and hit them 2-3 times a week, for a couple of high rep sets... Your body has a great way of keeping things in a general proportion, so you will find it hard to put on muscle strictly in one area (ie just your pecs). 70% of your muscle mass (which is 70% of the muscle responsible for increasing your metabolism) is in your back and legs, so you gotta work them too.

Improve your diet, and keep at it. And get back into sports!

Personally I'd recommend against the swissball work/medicine ball for chest.

As a beginner, an investment in time learning correct form in the basic compound excercises will be more fruitful. You'll have time to learn the other things/experiment later on.

 

[savage]

Do the amount of reps/ sets I do have an impact on muscle mass/ build?

I do 3 sets of 10 (like 10 w/ 15lbs, 10 w/20lbs, and 10 w/25lbs) - Would doing sets of 20 w/ less weight have a different/ better impact?

Thanks for the great advice too!!

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by savage

Do the amount of reps/ sets I do have an impact on muscle mass/ build? I do 3 sets of 10 (like 10 w/ 15lbs, 10 w/20lbs, and 10 w/25lbs) - Would doing sets of 20 w/ less weight have a different/ better impact? Thanks for the great advice too!!
You're talking about dumbbells, right? I would personally cut the reps down a bit, and do a bit more weight. 15 lb dumbbells isn't going to do that much, and doing more reps at lower weight is going to do less. The high rep low weight for toning advise is a myth. There are different strategies but in the end muscle building is about microteardown and repair. Reading some fitness sites or books may not be a bad idea for you. There have been plenty that have been posted on other similar threads. You may also want to use a traditional bench press, if you have access to one. 5x5 is a pretty tried and true rep method, and I think lower reps with higher weight will help you progress a bit faster. This may be a good setup... 5 reps at 10 lb above what is comfortable and easy to do then add 10 lbs for each remaining set of 5 (4 more sets, for a total of 25)