Any help for a beginner, General toning / exercises
Discussion
I am after a bit of advice of anyone has some time to spare.
My OH currently goes to the gym 3 - 4 times a week and i am looking to join to keep her company and actually start doing some gym exercise as i have been meaning to for ages.
Are there any suggestions to just tone my muscles all over as i don't want to become muscle bound, my physique wouldn't suit it anyway, just a bit more definition..
I am in my early 30's (better late than never!) and am 5' 7" and about 10St 8lbs. My general cardio is not bad as i have played football at least once a week for about 10 years now and so am looking to work on my stomach/chest/arms mainly. I have a slightly podgy belly but i rarely drink, probably due to too much of the wrong kind of snacks rather than beer, i am partial to sausage rolls, pork pies etc
According to 'tables' although i know they are never particularly accurate i am just on the ok side of normal for BMI (24 i think?) but am nearly in overweight.
I am not really worried about going into the 'overweight' section so would protein shakes be good to give my body something to work with?
I know some people swear by routines with X sets of X reps 4 times a week on 15 different machines but that is not ideally what i am looking for, although as a complete novice i am willing to be told that is what i need to do if necessary.
I anticipate your recommendations, and thanks in advance
My OH currently goes to the gym 3 - 4 times a week and i am looking to join to keep her company and actually start doing some gym exercise as i have been meaning to for ages.
Are there any suggestions to just tone my muscles all over as i don't want to become muscle bound, my physique wouldn't suit it anyway, just a bit more definition..
I am in my early 30's (better late than never!) and am 5' 7" and about 10St 8lbs. My general cardio is not bad as i have played football at least once a week for about 10 years now and so am looking to work on my stomach/chest/arms mainly. I have a slightly podgy belly but i rarely drink, probably due to too much of the wrong kind of snacks rather than beer, i am partial to sausage rolls, pork pies etc
According to 'tables' although i know they are never particularly accurate i am just on the ok side of normal for BMI (24 i think?) but am nearly in overweight.
I am not really worried about going into the 'overweight' section so would protein shakes be good to give my body something to work with?
I know some people swear by routines with X sets of X reps 4 times a week on 15 different machines but that is not ideally what i am looking for, although as a complete novice i am willing to be told that is what i need to do if necessary.
I anticipate your recommendations, and thanks in advance
It's fairly easy really.
The best combo a novice can do is learn the basic lifts, i.e. the bench press, the squat, the deadlift and a few others.
Compound exercises (like the above) are great for adding all over mass and you've not got to worry about turning into a monster, its very unlikely to happen from your size in your early 30's and to get to monster level takes years of hardcore bodybuilding, its simply not possible to get there in a year or two.
Don't make the mistake of training just the muscles you want to improve, it wont work and at best if you gain some size in those areas your body will look silly with highly undeveloped parts. It like those silly folk that only train their upper body because they've apparently got strong legs already (they usually look like drain pipes) or they do CV on their legs or some other nonsense. All that comes of this is a stupid looking body.
A good diet, weight training and a little cardio will give you what you want. You really don't need to consider supplements at this stage, you're not ready and you'll waste your money. My advice is sort your diet out and maybe in the future consider them but they are wasted on a beginner who simply isn't going to need that much protein. All it will equal is extra calories you don't need.
The best combo a novice can do is learn the basic lifts, i.e. the bench press, the squat, the deadlift and a few others.
Compound exercises (like the above) are great for adding all over mass and you've not got to worry about turning into a monster, its very unlikely to happen from your size in your early 30's and to get to monster level takes years of hardcore bodybuilding, its simply not possible to get there in a year or two.
Don't make the mistake of training just the muscles you want to improve, it wont work and at best if you gain some size in those areas your body will look silly with highly undeveloped parts. It like those silly folk that only train their upper body because they've apparently got strong legs already (they usually look like drain pipes) or they do CV on their legs or some other nonsense. All that comes of this is a stupid looking body.
A good diet, weight training and a little cardio will give you what you want. You really don't need to consider supplements at this stage, you're not ready and you'll waste your money. My advice is sort your diet out and maybe in the future consider them but they are wasted on a beginner who simply isn't going to need that much protein. All it will equal is extra calories you don't need.
I would also consider circuit training. I'm in the rowing club at university and the circuit training is by far the most effective way of exercising your whole body. This paired with regular cardio and weights should see you losing weight. Also cut out the pork pies! I'm partial to eating everything in sight which is not good!
HIIT training which someone mentioned above is something I am going to try soon.
HIIT training which someone mentioned above is something I am going to try soon.
Build up your fitness before HIIT. I've been working my way up to 20mins HIIT and doing it for a month now. Legs still feel like they are going to fall off.
Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
obob said:
Build up your fitness before HIIT. I've been working my way up to 20mins HIIT and doing it for a month now. Legs still feel like they are going to fall off.
Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
Ah the chest takes a decent amount of time to build since the muscles are quite small. Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
Ordinary_Chap said:
obob said:
Build up your fitness before HIIT. I've been working my way up to 20mins HIIT and doing it for a month now. Legs still feel like they are going to fall off.
Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
Ah the chest takes a decent amount of time to build since the muscles are quite small. Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
obob said:
Ordinary_Chap said:
obob said:
Build up your fitness before HIIT. I've been working my way up to 20mins HIIT and doing it for a month now. Legs still feel like they are going to fall off.
Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
Ah the chest takes a decent amount of time to build since the muscles are quite small. Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
Ordinary_Chap said:
obob said:
Ordinary_Chap said:
obob said:
Build up your fitness before HIIT. I've been working my way up to 20mins HIIT and doing it for a month now. Legs still feel like they are going to fall off.
Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
Ah the chest takes a decent amount of time to build since the muscles are quite small. Try the stronglifts 5x5 programme. It looks fairly easy so a lot of people dismiss it but its great for beginners. Along with cardio have lost about 8lb on 3month but put on quite a bit of muscle so looking quite toned. Apart from the chest for some reason :s .
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