getting rid of the gut - advice please

[SuperFLY]

as this nice new forums popped up i thought id offer up a question...

got a bit of a gut going on and would like to get rid of it and tone up my stomach

i was going to the gym but stopped a few months ago, though im forcing myself to start going again.

the gym i goto has running machines (dont really like 'em), cross trainers (which i really like.. can spend ages on them without getting bored) rowing machines, bikes, steppers and the old crunch/sit up frame things etc.. and the weight machines obviously

what would be the best thing/routine to get rid of the gut as quickly as i can?

cheers guys :)

[mid_gen]

Play a sport :P

I had a gut form during my last year at university. Started playing hockey twice a week (one fitness training, one match), and it was gone in two months :D

[Dilbert]

Weights + CV + Diet

Weights = More muscle = your body burns more calories doing nowt or owt

CV = Good way of burning lots of calories/fat in a short time plus improves your overall level of fitness.

Diet = Essential for whats around your mid section, you could have the biggest ab muscle going but unless you have a fairly low body fat % you wont be able to see it.

If your aiming purely for physique and how you look most people will point you towards mainly weights and diet with a bit of CV thrown in for good measure ... I myself though do a lot more CV as the overall fitness level is more important to me than the physique that all these pretty boys are aiming for :)

[Dilbert]

p.s. I was the same with the cross trainers/running machines early last year, couldnt survive long at all on the running machines at any sort of decent pace but could manage an hour on the cross trainers going along at a fair pace... same with the bike.

Built my CV capacity up this last year though as well as losing the weight and dont feel half as bad on the running machines any more .... although its still the hardest thing I do at the gym (besides pull ups :cry: )

Just started really working on my running as I wanna smash my castle to castle race time from last year when I do it again in June

Current best times for the running machines at the gym on a 0.5% incline

10km = 46mins 30secs
5km = 21mins 46secs

Standard running pace of 13.5kmh and then I build up for the last 1km up towards 15kmh which is about as fast as I can manage atm for anything other than a short sprint...... tis a long way on compared to where I was this time last year though !

Its good to have a nice physique but its also good to have very good CV capacity tbh, just silly things like being able to run for a few mins without breaking into a sweat is great when your with other people and they look like they are about to die on their feet :)

[SuperFLY]

so what you're saying is that to help loose the gut you'd go for weights mainly and cv? surprising.. i woulda thought a lot of cv would help get rid of the gut quicker.

also what would you say is better for my situation.. high resistance and lower reps or low resistance and many reps?

obviously overall fitness level is important, when i used to go regularly (3 times a week) id do 1/2 cv then 1/2 weights, a good mix. fitness wise i definately felt a lot better, but the old tum didnt move at all.. then of course i stopped going around sept and over xmas i've eaten soo much crap i really need to get going again :D

i eat generally healthily anyway.. im not perfect, but id choose a good salad over a packet of crisps any day (had a chicken ceasar salad for lunch actually :)) but my job doesnt help.. sitting in front of a computer or sitting in the car isnt being very active, so if im not exercising im not doing anything to burn any of it off.

so basically, fitness aside my main objective atm is to get the bodyfat down, then i'll concentrate on getting my fitness level higher. may not be the best way round, i dunno but thats what id like to do

[storm^phat]

Diet+CV+Weights

read my post on the previous thread. Sort diet out first before doing anything. 2-3 cv sessions a week. cut out the crap, most important thing!

[SuperFLY]

dont worry about that i started today :)

nice chicken salad for lunch, nothing else to drink but plenty of water all day.. and im just about to leave for the gym

im on a mission! :E (just hope i can keep it going.. need more willpower!)

[Dilbert]

Disagree with sorting diet out first before doing anything Phat, I know what you mean because it has a huge effect but for most people its just too big a change in their life to change it all at once, better to kick off the exercise and start tweaking your diet as you go along imo.

When I started mine a year ago I was in terrible shape and the diet was a big part of the issue but changing from what I usually ate back then to what I knew I should be eating would have caused me to give up pretty quickly I reckon cos It would have been too much of a change.

Portion control on what I was already eating, cutting back on the very bad things like chocolate and then slowly introducing healthy stuff is what really worked for me..... and even doing that the weight fell off.

My diet now is very different to what it was a year ago when I started dieting and exercise and if you had told me back then I would be eating porridge oats for breakfast I would have told yah to feck off :) but the more effort you put into your body/fitness the more interest you take in what you eat .... I still have my treats now and again of course but on the whole I tend to eat for my training schedule these days.

Best food book I have bought this year is this one by Anita Bean
http://www.everitt.nildram.co.uk/images/fitnessonaplate.jpg

[=RAGE=]

I got this book recently, makes interesting reading.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762106050/qid=1105553816/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-9885547-0621268

[Dilbert]

I got this book recently, makes interesting reading.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762106050/qid=1105553816/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-9885547-0621268
Looks like an interesting read rage, lots in there about the super foods and what to eat with what etc ?

Will have a loosie for that next time I am out.

[SuperFLY]

ok im officially knackered! :D

but its nice to get back there again and say hi to a couple of the regulars.. just gotta keep at it

may have to have a lookie at that book, i know i had a couple of decent ones too, must dig them out.

[Badger]

What gym you go to? Whats the cost?

[SuperFLY]

one at charters leisure centre (no its not like when we were at school, its about 4 times as big ;))

technically i pay fek all as mum and i have got some 2 for one sign up deal thing. but its normally about £20 per month for unlimited use or about a fiver per session

[cem]

I pay 30 quid a month for fitness first membership. Altho over xmas ive lost 8 pound,, after all my 3 weekly sessions at the weights. takes the pish :(

Running and anything CV will burn fat

[[KIA]Rapt0r]

diet is extremely important to losing fat or gaining muscle in my eyes

my workout was tough and i went 5 times a week with differently muscle groups each day

i made -very- slow progress because i couldn't give a flyin gone about my diet then...

as it goes i quit fitness first today, i dont have the time anymore

[Oddy]

just play soccer ;)
I can eat whatever whenever i want am still v slim :)

[SuperFLY]

unfortunately i dont have any graphs ;)

but just an update.. since this thread i've been going to the gym 3 times a week doing a mainly weight loss cv workout and weights after that

as far as diet goes, i have been drinking a lot of water (often have a fruit smoothie with lunch too) i've cut out all the coke, etc.. and for lunch i've been eating mainly full salads with tuna/chicken/prawns/etc.. and a normal dinner.

my big problem was snacking late at night so i've stopped doing that as well.. dinner is the last food i have that night

i weighed 82kg the day i started going (12th) and i weighed myself friday just gone and i was down to 73kg :D

muscles are regaining their definition and the belly is definately shinking :)

i've always been quite lucky in that i have an athletic build and my body always reacts very fast to exercise.. just a shame i'm such a lazy sod! lol

[[KIA]Rapt0r]

the loss is fast at first... and a lot of it is your digestive system losing all the food it was digesting... it will slow down but dont let it demotivate you

[SuperFLY]

aye, i know initial loss will be faster, but im not just gauging my improvement on weight loss, as im doing weights as well i doubt i'll loose any more physical weight as my muscle mass will be increasing but i can see the gut is shrinking so im happy :D

[Tolon]

I've read that a structured meals schedule helps. Eating at around the same time each day and drinking plenty of water gave me the most benefit in the past. I was a snacker type of person and it did me no good. Christmas dont help for that, Its the time of the year when snacks are most available, I must of put on two stone over crimbo :( :( :(

As far as weight loss goes, I've found that CV exercise helps the most. When i was last on a "programme" 2-3 years back, I did CV exercise only, for three months, and lost three stone in weight. I used mostly, the exercise bike. I started off at five mins (i know its pathetic) and worked my way up to one hour. The weight dropped off then.

Good luck btw!