Question About Working Out

[flynismo]

I know there's a lot of gym rats here, hoping that you guys can help me out.

I'm 5'9", 200lbs. I used to work out 4-5 times a week when I was in my early 20s, now it's down to twice a week. And my routine is very simple...

pushups - 10 sets of 50
bench press - 3 sets, 8 reps of whatever I can handle that day
shoulder press - same as bench press


this routine takes me an hour to go through and thats pushing it for me and all the time I really have.

Anyway, as I was saying, I'm pretty bulky...have a thick upper body and chicken legs. I really want to slim down, i would love to get down to about 175lb, and get the whole 6 pack thing going. That would be easy if I were a butterball lol...its easy to lose fat. But I'm not a fattie, just all that upper body work has made me thick. Is it possible to 'slim down' your muscles? Does that even make sense? Basically I want a slim and cut look, not a thick look without a lot of definition.

And if it matters, the guy I used to work out with said my body structure is the kind that likes to add mass, whatever that's supposed to mean.

Thanks for any help, as you can tell I have no clue about this stuff..

[hawkprey]

Body structure that likes to add mass -> probably means you're an meso- or endomorph. That means your body likes to store fat and has a slower metabolism but makes it easier to add/retain muscle.

Working out isn't going to get you leaner. A diet is going to get you leaner. If you work out with the wrong diet, you're going to add muscle and probably a lot of fat. If you do cardio with the wrong diet, you might just lose muscle. Eat protein and fats mostly, keep the carbs low, and continue to work out and do cardio first and foremost.

Anyway, I'd focus on doing mostly squats, deadlifts, and core exercises in your case.

Also, it's not possible to "slim down" muscles without losing strength. I don't know why you'd want to anyway. You can, however, work on endurance (lower weight, higher rep) which isn't going to add size that pure strength training will.

Hope that helps!

[flynismo]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1314309808' post='764237']Body structure that likes to add mass -> probably means you're an meso- or endomorph. That means your body likes to store fat and has a slower metabolism but makes it easier to add/retain muscle.

Working out isn't going to get you leaner. A diet is going to get you leaner. If you work out with the wrong diet, you're going to add muscle and probably a lot of fat. If you do cardio with the wrong diet, you might just lose muscle. Eat protein and fats mostly, keep the carbs low, and continue to work out and do cardio first and foremost.

Anyway, I'd focus on doing mostly squats, deadlifts, and core exercises in your case.

Also, it's not possible to "slim down" muscles without losing strength. I don't know why you'd want to anyway. You can, however, work on endurance (lower weight, higher rep) which isn't going to add size that pure strength training will.

Hope that helps![/quote]



you might be right about my body wanting to store fat -- I used to do crunches til i felt naseaus (literally) but I couldn't get a six pack no matter what. And my diet at the time; well I basically lived off of steak, salmon and salads (i know about 50 different salad recipes lmao)..

So basically you're saying I need to completely change the way I workout? I dont care too much about gaining or losing strength; I'll be honest -- my goals are pretty shallow. It's just for appearance and not health.


Is there a specific diet out there that you'd recommend? The South Beach diet recently caught my interest...is that compatible with what I would like to achieve?

[1/28/01]

TONS of cardio and low weight/high reps (as stated above)

Maybe P90X Lean? You know where to get it

[JO_75]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1314310861' post='764255']
TONS of cardio and low weight/high reps (as stated above)

Maybe P90X Lean? You know where to get it [img]http://content.boards.baltimoreravens.com//public/style_emoticons/default/wink.png[/img]
[/quote]

This is what I do, a ton of cardio and low weight/high reps to build up my chest/upper body. I have been just WALKING on the treadmill almost everyday for the past 6 or so months along with doing weights, and even some exercises on the Wii, and I have dropped a whole waist size because of everything I did.

[FerrariFan87]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1314310861' post='764255']
TONS of cardio and low weight/high reps (as stated above)

Maybe P90X Lean? You know where to get it
[/quote]

Took the words right out of my mouth. Cardio, cardio and more cardio, coupled with the high reps/low weight and lots of protein in your diet, should help.

[1/28/01]

[quote name='JO_75' timestamp='1314312484' post='764278']

This is what I do, a ton of cardio and low weight/high reps to build up my chest/upper body. I have been just WALKING on the treadmill almost everyday for the past 6 or so months along with doing weights, and even some exercises on the Wii, and I have dropped a whole waist size because of everything I did.
[/quote]

Did P90X about 6 months ago or so and I went from about 210 to 190.

[Romo Ravens]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1314312705' post='764282']
Did P90X about 6 months ago or so and I went from about 210 to 190.
[/quote]

That's nice. Always have wanted to try it, but I just go to the gym. Haven't been in though in about 6 months, lost 20 pounds lol. I was super serious about working out, I would never miss a day. But I've just been so busy lately, but I'm going back soon. You're cheating yourself if you don't drink protein. That's the most important thing; pre and post.

Sorry 1/28/01, that wasn't all to you lol

[hawkprey]

[quote name='flynismo' timestamp='1314310782' post='764251']
you might be right about my body wanting to store fat -- I used to do crunches til i felt naseaus (literally) but I couldn't get a six pack no matter what. And my diet at the time; well I basically lived off of steak, salmon and salads (i know about 50 different salad recipes lmao)..

So basically you're saying I need to completely change the way I workout? I dont care too much about gaining or losing strength; I'll be honest -- my goals are pretty shallow. It's just for appearance and not health.

Is there a specific diet out there that you'd recommend? The South Beach diet recently caught my interest...is that compatible with what I would like to achieve?
[/quote]

I don't really go by specific "diets" like the South Beach or Atkins, I just buy certain foods - eggs, chicken, cottage cheese, salads of course... not a lot of breads or pasta.I've never tried stuff like the P90X stuff but it seems so unnecessary. Just do high intensity running. If you ran a mile as fast as you could every day you'd burn a LOT of calories. And because it's high-intensity, you keep burning calories after you're done running. And it barely takes any time to do. Easy enough. Most of the work is just eating the right food.

[1/28/01]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1314313197' post='764291']

I don't really go by specific "diets" like the South Beach or Atkins, I just buy certain foods - eggs, chicken, cottage cheese, salads of course... not a lot of breads or pasta.I've never tried stuff like the  P90X stuff but it seems so unnecessary. Just do high intensity running. If you ran a mile as fast as you could every day you'd burn a LOT of calories. And because it's high-intensity, you keep burning calories after you're done running. And it barely takes any time to do. Easy enough. Most of the work is just eating the right food.
[/quote]

I am the type that needs direction when it comes to working out. I never needed to work out and could smoke 5 cigarettes (back when I thought it was "cool") in HS/College and run around all game. Plus, I "got" P90X for free

[bdravens]

I've been looking for an answer to a question for a while, but never found it, so here it is: I have skinny arms, but thick legs. I've been told a have a high metabolism (17 years old here haha), but go to the gym every week, 3 times a week. My question, how can I gain muscle and strength, and make these twig arms thicker?? I eat like a pig, but NEVER gain weight. Any tips from your end?

[1/28/01]

[quote name='bdravens' timestamp='1314318941' post='764706']
I've been looking for an answer to a question for a while, but never found it, so here it is: I have skinny arms, but thick legs. I've been told a have a high metabolism (17 years old here haha), but go to the gym every week, 3 times a week. My question, how can I gain muscle and strength, and make these twig arms thicker?? I eat like a pig, but NEVER gain weight. Any tips from your end?
[/quote]

Just mass? Big weight/low reps....literally to where you cant lift the 5th or 6th rep

[bdravens]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1314326630' post='766011']


Just mass? Big weight/low reps....literally to where you cant lift the 5th or 6th rep
[/quote]
Definitely mass, an also just to get a little more muscle definition. The thing is, I'm limited on what I can do bench press wise because of a shoulder injury.

[Purple Punishment]

diet diet diet and HIIT will get you cut up