Need Some Exercise Advice

[ANC]

OK here goes a little background. I was always a little chubby growing up. When I went to college I gained a shitload of weight. Basically it just came down to eating shitty food, drinking a lot, and not doing anything physical. I was up to about 265 lbs and felt like shit. After graduation I decided I needed to do something for myself because I had zero confidence, so I started the Atkins Diet. This worked very well and helped me lose about 45 lbs in about a year and a half. Then my weight just stayed the same. After this I decided to just eat healthy regardless of carbs. So I started my whole grain, veg, fruit, etc. balanced thing. This took me down to 180 lbs which has been my consistent weight for about a year.

I have a weird work schedule and try to work some exercise in so I basically do about 100-150 crunches and 50-100 pushups in the morning before I go to work. I have been doing this for about 8 months. Regardless of the ab exercises I do, I've hit a point where the toning stopped and I still want to tighten up not for a six pack, just to look more in shape. Does anyone have any ideas on what other exercises or other ways I can do this? (Sorry for the novel)

[nate1000]

OK here goes a little background. I was always a little chubby growing up. When I went to college I gained a shitload of weight. Basically it just came down to eating shitty food, drinking a lot, and not doing anything physical. I was up to about 265 lbs and felt like shit. After graduation I decided I needed to do something for myself because I had zero confidence, so I started the Atkins Diet. This worked very well and helped me lose about 45 lbs in about a year and a half. Then my weight just stayed the same. After this I decided to just eat healthy regardless of carbs. So I started my whole grain, veg, fruit, etc. balanced thing. This took me down to 180 lbs which has been my consistent weight for about a year.

I have a weird work schedule and try to work some exercise in so I basically do about 100-150 crunches and 50-100 pushups in the morning before I go to work. I have been doing this for about 8 months. Regardless of the ab exercises I do, I've hit a point where the toning stopped and I still want to tighten up not for a six pack, just to look more in shape. Does anyone have any ideas on what other exercises or other ways I can do this? (Sorry for the novel)

If you are looking to tighten up, not build muscle mass, there are 2 ways to do it: cardio and diet. Sounds to me like what you are looking to do is trim body fat percentage, which will give you a leaner, cut look. You can do all the sit-ups you want and have rock hard abs, but if they are hidden under 20% body fat, no one's gonna see them. Treadmill, elliptical or swimming are all great for cardio. Personally, I prefer swimming as there is considerably less joint stress. With the diet, fads are fine, may even work, but at the end of the day you've gotta eat less calories than you burn- simple as that. Unfortunately, beer/ alcohol is a killer- a ton of empty calories that make it really tough to shake the love handles.

Also, you should shake up your routine every couple of weeks. Your body develops muscle memory and will get used to your exercising routine- this leads to those plateaus that seem so tough to work through.

Finally, it sounds like you don't necessarily want to bulk up, however, I'd recommend some time in the gym for toning at least- the more muscle you put on, the more calories you will burn and the quicker that fat will come off.

Good luck, ANC.

[envirogator]

if you can't make to the gym keep up your morning activities but add to the exercises. Add squats and lunges to build up the legs and your core (you'll be amazed at the results) which will also help with your abs. Also put some variety in to your push-ups (triangle, close grip, wide grip, one-armed) and your ab work (leg lifts, bent-arm push-up hold, reverse crunch). If you can invest in some dumb bells you can do just about everything you will need at home.

[Thebazile78]

Yoga and Pilates will probably help, too.

You can get a video for less than $20. Most beginner videos are broken up into multiple sessions, like two 15-minute practices for yoga, etc.

Pilates focuses on your core muscles.
Yoga focuses on self-study and lengthening your muscles...this helps tone but not bulk.

I know a few guys who are intimidated by yoga and Pilates because they see it as a chick-thing, but it's helpful for everyone.

[ANC]

The tough part will be the beer, but I'll see how I can do. Maybe I'll steal my girls exercise dvd's and add more cardio..