Fitness help needed?

Question

I am 6'0" tall, I weigh about 200lbs, yet I have a flab stomach, huge strong legs (I walk a lot to college and home, and go up hundreds of stairs each trip)... I don't do much excercise, but while working at a Deli, my arms are of OK width yet no tone... I would like to tone my body, develop chest...and tone myself (Kinda like John Cena from WWE, but not so bulky)... I don't want to be afraid of takin off my shirt... I want to want to do so... can anyone recommend me a step-by step way to do this... I have the mindset, but no direction to be pointed in.... I am in North Carolina, if it makes any difference....(but I don't want to go to a gym cuz I feel weaker...) thanks for the help and time to read this

I forgot to add that I eat mainly carbs and protein, not much fried stuff...

I am in NC but I'm from PR...I will go back to PR in august, and I wanna look MAAD different..... I wanna b a stud upon return.... I got the looks, but not the body..... so I'm looking for QUICK results as well...

AND...lol...I wanna see these results like in, i dunno...2-3 months or so.... maybe not the goal result, but visible ones, u know?

Answer 1

The Three Critical Exercise Routine Success Factors

1. Consistent Progression: Needs 80% of your time and attention.
2. Sufficient Intensity: Needs 15% of your time and attention.
3. Intelligent Evolution: Needs 5% of your time and attention.

Simple huh?

But maybe you need some clarification, so here goes…

Consistent Progression Explained:

There are really just 3-4 workout parameters that even matter to the average Jane or Joe who wants a good body and excellent health: Rest Period, Load, Reps-Per-Set, and Total # Of Sets.

So your job is to simply pick one of these, hold all the rest constant, and improve your chosen workout parameter from week-to-week, workout-to-workout until you can no longer do so (just remember to hold everything else constant! especially total workout duration).

When you can't improve on your chosen parameter, pick a different one and repeat.

That's it. It really is that simple. Tools needed: 1 pocket-sized notebook and a stopwatch.

Of course, you might want some proven, superior methods to “improve on your chosen parameter." At the bottom of this article, you'll get your wish! But first...

Sufficient Intensity Explained:

Make sure you're doing resistance training folks. Not aerobics. Not LSD (long slow distance cardio). Or any other fitness fad that makes your lungs burn more than your muscles. If you're consistently getting 20+ reps on all your exercises, then you need to choose more difficult exercises. Period.

Cardio and aerobics have health benefits no doubt, but if you're really looking for “bang-for-your-fitness-buck", and you're short on time, then stick with resistance training. It's the only kind of exercise that builds muscle and boosts your metabolism permanently--not just during your workout.

Shoot for exercises that are so difficult, you can only perform between 1 and 15 reps. This could be weightlifting (if you lack the creativity and sophistication of a "Tao Of Functional Fitness" devotee who relies solely on portable exercise equipment--like Fitness Bands--and their own bodyweight), but it doesn't have to be. If you know how to manipulate leverage, even bodyweight only exercises can be made difficult enough.

Why just 15% of your time worrying about this? Because all you have to do is make sure most of your exercise (excluding a proper warmup of course) falls within this rep range. Not exactly rocket-science. Nuff said.

Intelligent Evolution:

This is just another term for “periodization" or “cyclic training." Basically it means that you need a strategy for changing your exercise routine over the long haul as you get stronger and closer to realizing your goals. Most of the time the Consistent Progression rule takes care of this, hence the paltry 5% of your noggin that's required to intelligently evolve.

But over the long haul, you sometimes need to dramatically change your workout protocol. There's not space here to explore all the ins-and-outs of doing this, but a simplified recommendation would be to cycle between phases where you focus on increasing the Average Load you handle during your workouts, and phases where you're more concerned with the Amount Of Work Per Unit Time you perform (i.e. “Strength" vs. “Density").

Conclusion

Consistent Progression (80%) + Sufficient Intensity (15%) + Intelligent Evolution (5%).

Find an exercise routine that gives you that, and you're on to something!

Answer 2

Hey im 5'11' 145 lbs, and was hard for me to get toned up for basic but i got it to happen...all you really need to do is push-ups about 15 a day. and if you can go to wal-mart or any store that sells weights and use those to curl..start out with 15 or 25's...heres a good site to get you started with a quick routine..http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=fitness&category=workout.plans&conitem=0d5576569aa6d010VgnVCM10000013281eac____&page=3...hope this helps..peace

Answer 3

http://fitnessknowhow.blogspot.com has good information on fitness and exercise programs for a healthier body.

http://fitnessknowhow.blogspot.com