[qwerty]

High all. Do you any exercising, lifting weights, training, etc.? The reason I ask is because I do weight lifting and I would like to hear from someone who knows more than me the best techniques so I am not wasting my time. I consider myself to be in great physical condition, as I was a wrestler in high school, and a damn good one, among other things. However, I strive to be in optimum condition. Specifically abdominal training is of interest to me. I strive to look like the men in the Bowflex commercials. Fit yet well-defined muscles. I know it will take a lot of work to get there, but I am not afraid of the path. If you are one of those men, please share some of your techniques and opinions. Should I just buy a bowflex? I'd rather not. I have a weight bench and curl bars. Thank you.

[Guest423]

whats up bro? i workout 5 nights a week....i did this for a year straight last yr then fucked up my ankle and missed about 7 months....i'm back on track now though...been going strong for about a month and a half.

you probably already know this but if you don't what you eat is the most important part, i eat eggs, tuna, steaks, wheat bread, fruits, veggies, kashi cereal, nuts, small amounts of peanut butter,yogurt,and protein shakes after you workout, ect....i'm not the super strict type so i sneak in a couple meals a week that isn't the greatest for you like pizza,chips, and other fattening foods. to burn fat and get leaned and ripped like your talking you want to try and eat about 6 times a day....even you ladies reading this if your trying to lose weight eating more times a day helps your metabolism burn fat faster then starving yourself....so you actually eat more but you eat smarter and more healthy.

i'm not ripped and lean like the guys your talking about but i'm healthy and very athletic....i was almost there before i got hurt with my sports injury....but then i sat around for 6-7 months straight and started to go back to an unhealthy diet....put on about 10lbs all on the gut too....but since i've started going again and eating right i already dropped 4% off my body fat....another month of hard work and a good diet and i'll have my 6 pack ready for spring forsure.

i find it for me anyway that it's easier to stay motivated if you have a membership at a gym instead of working out at home....i have an universal gym here but when it's set up all i say to myself is i'll do it later since it's only right in the next room....but when i go to the gym i just have more motivation and i keep my schedule going easier.

also you have to decide if you want to build muscle mass or do you want to just get lean and ripped...or a combo of both....you can't skimp out on your cardio work either....i run on the eliptical every night and jump rope....jumping rope is the meanest workout you can do...you'll get lean quick and gain mad stamina quick jumping rope.

qwerty

Was a Phys. Ed major in college & on the wrestling team also. I'd say screw the bowflex type of crap. Sounds like you are young and highly motivated so, I'd go with free weights as much as possible for your strength training. For cardio work I personally like to run hills.............prefer to be out doors myself.

Have fun.

Bh

[Uncle Jesse]

I lettered in wrestling also where they encouraged weights, all kinds of good benefits
from it, a long time ago i set a school record weighed 126 Lbs my JR yr and benched 200.
alot of kids can probly do that now but back then , not many , my best to date is
270 Lbs 3 reps then i racked it.

if your younger stay with free weights it improves balance and coordination.
i rode and still ride bicycle, use a heavy bag,
if you want definition higher reps with lighter weights if you want mass lower reps with more weight but always use perfect form and i would also suggest sets of five the first being a liter warm up, don't over do it and hurt your self, set small goals you can achieve , then you won't look at it as a chore, and about three times a week for weights like mon , wens, fri, then tues thurs for cardio .
theres alot of good info out there , good luck UJ

[Guest423]

make sure not to over work your muscles too..in order to build they need a break.

here's an example of what i do...everyone has a different way but here's mine.

sun- upper body, mon- lower body and abs, tues- upper body, wed- lower body and abs, thurs- upper body....then i take fri and sat off...then sunday it would be lower body and abs, mon- upper body, ect, ect,....i do cardio everyday before i lift....atleast 5-10 minutes worth to get warmed up and stretched out.

another important thing...don't forget to stretch before and after each workout.

[fr33th3w33d]

try not to drink too much protein either. i used to until my brother got kidney stones from that crap.

other than that, lift what you feel is right for you. don't overdo it and EAT as much NATURAL protien as possible. eggs, steaks, nuts, and pretty much any meat.

[TrichomusCaesar]

All I know is that free-weights will give you the best muscle tone and strength than any of those crappy weight machines....reason is because you completely control the motion of the weight...thus using the small, yet significant stabilizer muscles that don't get worked out using machines.

[James Morrison]

free weights cant be beat..iron if you can, they last a long time, and the sand filled ones can get damaged and messy....

diet is extremely importent

your protien should be at least 1.5 grams per pound of bofy weight a day, spaced out if you can....good protien too, try to get weigh protien like that found in meat and fish

creatine supplements either in drink or pill, or in meal replacment shakes..whatever) , amino acids taken dailey either in liquid form or pill before work out (I like the orangy liquid taste)

also a dailey vitamin C pill or whatever for an antioxident

As for workouts....its best to rotate and rest your mussles....also VERY IMPORTENT: do different areas different days..
EX:
Day 1 = chest, biceps, back, abs
Day 2 = shoulders, triceps, legs,
Day 3 abs
Day 4 off
REPEAT

I also like to stack, meaning start off light and increse weight

remember to incline the bench when bench pressing to work entire chest...butterfly free weights laying down TEARS my chest to shreads!!!!

If i think of something else I'll let you know...

[sm0kateer4204]

Abs are muscles you can work every day. just go to google.com search for ab work out videos. do you have an idea of your body fat percentage? a male has to get down to 10% body fat for his abs to show through.
the bowflex guys are at about 8 % body fat. just make sure you have a good amount of muscle of you'll look like a skeleton that skinny.

I workout... I do cardiovascular, leg weights and pilates and in warmer weather I walk about 4 miles/day and bike 3-4 times a week... not sure how far I bike ... I go on some bike trails.

My workout consists of 15 min./stair stepper... then pilates (mainly abdominal stuff) and 20 lb leg weights... doing various leg lifts ... for quads, hams & gluts... like everyone else says you want to rest your muscles... they need time to heal with the workout they are getting... I generally do this workout every other day... when the weather is nice I walk daily... My upper body gets plenty of workout with my job...

Like everyone has said what you eat is very important... I eat alot of fresh fruits/vegetables... avoid things made with white flour/white sugar... I prefer brown rice to white rice too. I drink ALOT of water... pretty much all I drink ...oh except for milk on my corn flakes!
also eating smaller more frequent meals... I eat about 6 small meals a day ... speeds up your metabolism and you have more energy... I snack on fruit throughout the day pretty much ... and when you are stoned... damn fruit tastes the best