How can I stay moderately fit?

[HarmlessThunder]

So I used to weigh 225 pounds at near 6ft in 2011. I currently weigh around 203 pounds and around 6ft 1in now. I need to get around 180 to rid my belly fat, but I would feel so much better about myself if I was able to get some abs. Not only would that be good for me, it'd also be nice for my future girlfriend to look at in place of a gut.

 

So if anybody has any types of tips, it'd be greatly appreciated.

 

Also, please keep in mind, i'm on a low budget, I only have 2 10 pound dumbbells and 1 25 pound dumbbell, that's it for workout stuff. I try to walk when I can, but around this time in Florida, it's been raining/thundering every day. I've also been more conscious of what I eat, have kept a food log on a site called webmd and was able to get under my calorie intake each day counting the fitness calories I lost.

 

I'm trying to do real life videos about it as well as general progress of my life on youtube.com/MrFalliorsLife

 

But yeah, any tips and such would really help me out. I really need this to feel better and help improve not only my health but also my very low self esteem and self confidence.

[Emilia]

Ok I'll bite.

 

Good, clean food and lifting heavy. 10 and 25 pounds barbells wouldn't take me far and I'm a 5'6'' 135lbs female.

[tman666]

While it won't get you real strong or real big, bodyweight conditioning training is, in my opinion, the best thing to do if you don't have the money or desire for a gym set up with heavy weights.

 

The only thing you really need is a pull up bar. Other than that, using your own bodyweight for things like push up variations (especially things like dive bomber push ups or handstand push ups), lunges, squats, and jumping are great for shedding fat and building up a high level of conditioning.

 

I usually set up my own bodyweight-only conditioning sessions to look something like this:

 

5 rounds of the following completed with as little rest as possible in between rounds and as little to no rest between exercises:

 

a) 10-15 pull ups

b) 30 forward lunges

c) 15 dive bomber push ups

d) 10 burpees

 

There are really endless variations that you can make up. I tend to alternate upper body movements with lower body movements, but you can do whatever you want.

 

I've been sent to certain places that don't have gyms at all for work, and in situations like this, the best thing to do is find a public park. You can usually find something to hang off of to do pull ups, and push ups can be done anywhere. You can turn it into a complete ass-kicker if you do something like:

 

5-8 rounds of:

 

a) 50 yard sprint

b) 10 pull ups

c) 15-25 push ups

 

Again, those are just examples. If your goal is to build a lot of muscle or get strong on barbell lifts, then yes, you'll need a good gym set up. If you simply want to be fit and stay lean, I'd look into bodyweight training.

[Emilia]

Again, those are just examples. If your goal is to build a lot of muscle or get strong on barbell lifts, then yes, you'll need a good gym set up. If you simply want to be fit and stay lean, I'd look into bodyweight training.

I suppose from what I've seen is that most people don't have the drive to get to a lean level with just body weight exercise only by themselves. I've seen it in boxing gyms but otherwise not

[tman666]

I suppose from what I've seen is that most people don't have the drive to get to a lean level with just body weight exercise only by themselves. I've seen it in boxing gyms but otherwise not

 

Oh absolutely. But I think this is true of anything. Most people don't have that semi-masochistic spark needed to push themselves to make much progress, whether it be bodyweight training or trying to lift heavy weights.

 

But yeah, OP, don't expect an easy route to getting fit/strong/big/whatever your goal is. Be prepared to suffer a little.

[GorillaTheater]

Every little bit helps:

 

To a reasonable extent, walk or bike instead of driving.

 

Take stairs instead of elevators.

 

Welcome an opportunity to push a mower, or help someone move, or engage in anything else that involves some exertion. Hell. get a part-time job unloading trucks. I was in some of the best shape of my life doing that, and they paid me as opposed to me paying a gym.

 

I'm no expert, and I'll concede any point on fitness to Tman, but I think part of the picture is awareness for opportunities to work those muscles.

[thefooloftheyear]

I cant add much, these folks have given you great advice..Ill only say that add muscle any way you can..Eat clean and focus on your look rather than your weight..Im 5'7" and 202# but have a BF level of around 12% which is "pretty" low...Im hard-but not shredded.

 

Also, dont get hung up on a "6 pacK" I have seen some pretty lean guys never get a 6 pack... A lot of it is genetics...

 

Regarding your budget..Due to competition most gyms are ridiculously cheap compared to other things in daily life we spend money on..The place I go to charges 300 bucks a year. Its nice, clean, convenient and very well equipped,.. Considering I am there almost every day, it works out to pennies a day..

 

What is your body type.. Ecto/Endo/Meso -morph?

 

TFY

Edited July 3, 2013 by thefooloftheyear

[HarmlessThunder]

Thanks for the great advice so far people. As for the pullup bar, here's no place in my house that can actually hold one, it's a trailer, so if you can imagine the ceiling dips in between rooms, they are very tiny, don't have any grip and are too weak to hold anything, I would say it's like a 7 1/2 foot ceiling. As with the gym, there's only one gym here and it's a gold's gym, however even $300 a year is out of the question seeing as I have 0 income atm.

Also for my body type, I guess it's mostly mesomorph, just slightly taller and I need to remove the hangy fat from my belly.

[tman666]

Every little bit helps:

 

To a reasonable extent, walk or bike instead of driving.

 

Take stairs instead of elevators.

 

Welcome an opportunity to push a mower, or help someone move, or engage in anything else that involves some exertion. Hell. get a part-time job unloading trucks. I was in some of the best shape of my life doing that, and they paid me as opposed to me paying a gym.

 

I'm no expert, and I'll concede any point on fitness to Tman, but I think part of the picture is awareness for opportunities to work those muscles.

 

I think this is huge. A lot of people have a mentality, whether they actively think about it or not, that physical work is "bad". If a person learns to relish the chance to use their body and enjoy the feeling of it, they'll be able to go much further.

[HarmlessThunder]

I agree that is pretty good advice to just do the little things that you don't even think about it being exercise.

[FitChick]

I remember seeing a homemade version of a pull up bar. I think you put a broomstick across two kitchen chairs, lie down on the floor under it and pull yourself up. Perhaps you could create something similar, although I think at your weight you'd snap a broomstick. Get a length of pipe across cement blocks and somehow hold it in place. You would be pulling up from lying on the floor in sort of a reverse plank position, keeping your body straight. I wish I could remember where I saw it but it was a clever idea.

 

There are always pushups and lots of other body weight exercises you can see on youtube. There was something else where a guy put heavy bands or ropes around a tree.

 

Your library probably has exercise DVDs as well.

 

You don't need a gym. In your case, diet will be more important than gym equipment. Of course, if you are older and have been fat for a while, you may always have loose belly skin like women get after childbirth.

 

And then there is always Prancercise.

[Casablanca]

So I used to weigh 225 pounds at near 6ft in 2011. I currently weigh around 203 pounds and around 6ft 1in now. I need to get around 180 to rid my belly fat, but I would feel so much better about myself if I was able to get some abs. Not only would that be good for me, it'd also be nice for my future girlfriend to look at in place of a gut.

You and I are same height. I use to weight about 215, but I guess it is how your body stores it (plus I'm convinced I have think bones as I've never broken any and I've always drank a lot of milk). I never looked fat and people were shocked at what I said I weighed

 

Right now I'm at 197 and you can tell a difference, only night and day if you do comparison shots. I still have a little "flab" but not a lot, I do lift so I do have some muscle tone too I guess...if I was to get to 180, I think I'd be incredibly underweight, but it depends on your frame...I do have kind of wide hips. I'd be willing to bet you're moderately fit now!

 

But running is free! Push ups and sit ups are free! I just started using one of my tree limbs for pull ups, so you might have that option!

 

Eating healthy helps! I use myfitnesspal app, its both iphone and android or you can use its website as well. I eat less and less processed food and thats helped a lot too! Eating healthy isn't too expensive. Frozen vegis, fresh fruits and vegis aren't too expensive either.

[krz12]

I lost 25 lbs (175 to 150. I'm 5'8") since March. Got pissed at looking at my stomach and made a change.

 

The solution is simple. Eat less move more.

 

I could barely jog a mile in March. Now I can go 3 with relative ease (my time stinks, but I'm getting faster), maybe 4 at times, and I hope to hit 5 by the end of the summer.

 

More importantly, I counted calories. Capped myself at 1800 per day. I ate the same garbage crap I always eat, just 20% less of it, and cut down on booze.

[krz12]

While it won't get you real strong or real big, bodyweight conditioning training is, in my opinion, the best thing to do if you don't have the money or desire for a gym set up with heavy weights.

 

The only thing you really need is a pull up bar. Other than that, using your own bodyweight for things like push up variations (especially things like dive bomber push ups or handstand push ups), lunges, squats, and jumping are great for shedding fat and building up a high level of conditioning.

 

I usually set up my own bodyweight-only conditioning sessions to look something like this:

 

5 rounds of the following completed with as little rest as possible in between rounds and as little to no rest between exercises:

 

a) 10-15 pull ups

b) 30 forward lunges

c) 15 dive bomber push ups

d) 10 burpees

 

There are really endless variations that you can make up. I tend to alternate upper body movements with lower body movements, but you can do whatever you want.

 

I've been sent to certain places that don't have gyms at all for work, and in situations like this, the best thing to do is find a public park. You can usually find something to hang off of to do pull ups, and push ups can be done anywhere. You can turn it into a complete ass-kicker if you do something like:

 

5-8 rounds of:

 

a) 50 yard sprint

b) 10 pull ups

c) 15-25 push ups

 

Again, those are just examples. If your goal is to build a lot of muscle or get strong on barbell lifts, then yes, you'll need a good gym set up. If you simply want to be fit and stay lean, I'd look into bodyweight training.

 

 

I don't think your average dude can do 10 pullups. Particularly if you don't work out.

[tman666]

I don't think your average dude can do 10 pullups. Particularly if you don't work out.

 

I think 10 pull ups for a guy is extremely average.

 

Obviously, a beginner can scale down things to suit their initial capabilities.

[creighton0123]

Try out myfitnesspal in lieu of webmd. It has better options for tracking a wide variety of food, including down to the specific brand. You can also track activities with that.

 

Anyhow, my thought is that while walking is great, your body gets used to it. When it comes to cardio, change it up a bit every six cardio sessions.

 

You'd also be surprised at what you can come up with in a pinch for weight training on a dime.

 

Although you might not know the exact weight, supermarket plastic bags tend to be pretty sturdy now. Fill them with books or any other non-breakable heavy objects. You can use those bags for bicep and tricep workouts as well as chest exercises. You can even sling them over your shoulder to do some dips.

 

Use the weights for situps. Use cinderblocks. Fill a long hose up with water and cap it on both ends with a nozzle, coil it up, and run it back and forth across your yard. Do squats with it. Just don't wrap it around your body or neck area :-)

 

Spare tire with your car? Use that as well. They're pretty heavy.

 

Have a pool? Get a bunch of clothing on, jump in, get out, run a few laps around your yard, jump back in, get out, run a few laps.

 

Variety is the key. Don't give your body a chance to adjust to one type of exercise.

 

Although everyone is different, I, myself, was at 235 at 5'10 and 29 years old. After seven months, I am now at 185.

 

Doing this, you can build some muscle - raising your BMR (how many calories you naturally burn without exercise). Combining that with higher intensity exercise, and a 1.8 to 2k calories a day healthy diet (low on dairy, empty carbs, and processed fat) and you will see your fat disappear. A good aim would be half a pound to a pound a week until you reach your target weight, then get into a routine that will maintain that weight while gaining muscle.

[RonaldS]

I would go this route:

 

A) eat healthy, and eat a lot less than you're probably eating. Sodas, super sugary food, beer (gasp) has to go. Portion size needs to be appropriate....not what it takes to make you full, but what it takes to run your body. It's a numbers game with calories, and you will never lose weight unless your caloric intake is less than what your body uses.

 

B) I used to do a lot of lifting with heavy weights, but I'm done with that crap. Now, I rarely go >25lbs/arm. And I'm 6'1" 205 and athletic. Lets just say guys are not lining up to fight me. In other words, I'm not built like a Kenyan marathon runner.

 

So, almost everything I do is centered around light lifting (curls, presses, etc) with 20-25 lbs. Then, I do lots of push-ups, pull-ups, etc. If you really want to get more out of those exercises, they can be done with weights (eg put your dumbells in a backpack and do push ups). And do pull-ups with different hand/arm positioning. I also have started doing a lot more TRX stuff as well as kettlebell. Kettlebell is great because it just bangs the crap out of your core.

 

For example, you could do goblet squats with your 25lb dumbell. Just google it to see how to do it. Killer core exercise.

 

You don't need to go in and start ripping reps with max weight to start to look really good. In fact, a lot of people are moving away from the heavy weights. Mix up your work outs, get some intense cardio stuff going, make sure you work your core, and be creative. Try to mix negative resistance with explosive movement (e.g. drop slowly on a push-up, hold it for 2 or 3 seconds, and then push up quickly and explosively)

Edited July 13, 2013 by RonaldS

[John316C]

you need more than 1 25 lbs dumbell

 

i suggest bodyweight exercising