more advice needed from fitness gurus

[Blue_Tires]

I wrote before back when i was 251 lbs...now I'm 239 (treadmill every day + diet), and I feel I'm on the right track...my question is what to do with the gut, which still sticks out pretty far and has not improved much...any advice on exercises??

[gospelized]

1. sounds like

you should stay on the same track you're on now. running and diet is the best way.

don't let anyone tell you crunches. they only affect stomach muscles. they won't lose any fat at all.

[mark414]

3. not true

the more muscle you have BEHIND that fat, then said muscle helps to burn off that fat

crunches will help tremendously if you just do a couple sets everyday

you should also check out menshealth.com

they've got lots of good solid (and free) advice and tips and exercises and recipes etc. etc. etc.

[wildeyed]

2. congratulations!

Sounds like you are making progress. I have no advice except try to be healthy and happy.

[jrthin]

4. So far, so excellent...

but about the abs, keeping working them (crunches) to develop and strenghten the muscle underneath the fat, and as you lose more weight (fat) from the area you'll then start to see those fabulous abs muscle.

[Dastard Stepchild]

5. first of all, great job!

For myself, I tend to lose weight more efficiently when I combine weights and cardio. I have a system that's kept me in shape for many years.

Day One: Cardio
Day Two: Weights (Upper and lower body at home with free weights)
Day Three: Cardio
Day Four: rest
Day Five: Cardio
Day Six: Weights (Upper and lower body at home with free weights)
Day Seven: Cardio
Day Eight: rest
Day Nine:Cardio

and so on down through the year....

It seems to work well because the cardio burns the fat and gets the heart pumping, but the two days of weights seems to get the muscle building. And the rest days are important, too. Helps the body recover.

I do a handful of upper body exercises: chest press, pushups, military press, shoulder raises, back flys, bicep curl, tricep kickback
and then a few lower body exercises with ankle weights: leg lifts, leg raises, and then some squats and lunges without weights.

Like I said... I've been able to maintain this for a while now, and it keeps me in pretty good shape.

Best of luck to ya!

[Poiuyt]

6. You cannot spot reduce

You can do 1000 crunches a day and it will not give you a flat stomach. Cardio, diet and resistance work (weight training) will get you in shape. Weight training is important because as you add muscle, your resting metabolism will increase.

All that said, you should look into strengthening your core muscles, especially your transverse abdominus, which is what holds in your gut. You might want to take a pilates class.

[Blue_Tires]

7. little more info

i primarily started running because dropping weight was my highest priority, and i wanted to build up some consistency...so far i've been pleased with the progress (about 2 solid lbs per week)

so is there any kind of crunch you suggest? regular? reverse? side?

thanks for the advice

[Braden]

8. get one of these, stat

and one of these



"body bar"

12 or 18 lb bar, sit on physioball with crossed arms firmly holding the body bar and crunch away. continue to use the treadmill and you wont have to worry about diet too much.

cardio and weights are the key.

[VOX]

9. Good work, BT!!! You are doing everything right -- keep plugging! Also...

Since there's really no such thing as "spot-reducing," the gut will take some time to shed, as men tend to store up a lot of fat there -- and men's fat isn't subcutaneous, like women's -- we guys have ours marbled through our muscle (disgusting, isn't it), so it takes work to burn it out of there.

BUT, you can get a good start on gut-shrinkage by doing a couple of things:
1) Core Exercises: Start doing some "core" exercises -- crunches, leg lifts, "prone-iso-abs" (lie on your elbows, and, with your toes on the mat, push up or "bridge" your middle up off the mat, back straight, hold for 20 secs. at first; do a set of three). These will strengthen your abs and lower back, which will allow you to also start working with weights (resistance), without injuring your lower back.

2) Resistance Training: Go into this **carefully**. Always make sure that your back is not at risk, and is protected by "firing the core," or tightening your abs. Do not strain, do not lift an unreasonable amount of weight. Lighter weights and more reps are better than the other way around, IMO. The idea here is to build muscle, which is more efficient at burning fat overall. Work with machines or free weights, whichever is easier or more convenient for you. Work on your shoulders, arms, legs, etc. Again, use **slow** movments, rather than yanking the weights. If you feel any kind of pull or twinge, STOP. (Apply ice ASAP to anything that feels pulled, and keep putting ice on it every hour for a day or so.)

3) If there is any kind of activity that you are drawn to -- swimming, walking, bowling (but lay off the suds), hiking, biking, whatever -- do it in addition to your exercise.

Also, watch your intake of simple dietary starches: potatoes, straight sugars, etc. Eat smaller portions. If you continue with the cardio exercise, like you've been doing, and add in some resistance, and shoot for, say five hours of hard exercise per week (with seven hours being your ultimate goal), I guarantee you that you will be downsizing the slacks in your closet within weeks.

Sticking to it is the main thing. Find whatever it is that you like to do, and stick with it. The more you do it, the more you'll want to do it (like most things in life). Keep up the good work -- dumping 12 pounds is no small deal!!! (Note that when you start to build some muscle, it will seem like your weight isn't dropping as quickly -- but you will notice that the shape of your body is changing -- for the better!)

Good going -- :thumbsup:

[mark414]

13. but to most effectively and efficiently burn muscle

don't you want to user heavier weights with less reps?

[Dastard Stepchild]

16. To bulk, use heavier weights and less reps...

to tone, use lighter weights and more reps.
But when starting a lifting program, a trainer advised me that everyone should start light with lighter weights and more reps.

Of course, one glance at the millions of fitness pages on the web, and you'll prolly find about 400 contradictions to the above information :)

[flvegan]

10. Check your cortisol

Stress hormone, helps store fat in the "spare tire" area.

No such thing as spot reduction. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. You're on the right track, keep it up.

You've lost 12 pounds, and that's a great accomplishment. Make sure you keep mixing up your routine in the gym. Try a different aerobic activity like an elliptical machine or stair climber for a couple weeks. Shock that body into a fat-burning furnace!

[onebigbadwulf]

11. The muscle tone in your stomach wont make any difference

until your body fat is in the teens. If you're at 239 I suspect you're in the high twenties.

You could do a million crunches a day and it wont make a difference.


Remember, adipose tissue (fat) is stored not only in your skin, but around all your muscles and organs. You have a giant mass of yellow fat clinging to the instenstines in your abdomen which is distending your stomach.

keep up the diet and exercise!

[Blue_Tires]

12. ok...so the way i understand it now,

i shouldn't even be worried about crunches until i lose a LOT more weight???

[flvegan]

14. Well, a lot being subjective

14% bodyfat before you see squat...

Remember, the bigger the stomach muscles, the bigger the stomach area...

Please, please, please don't stop exercising, though. So good for you...

[Kenneth ken]

15. replies so far are divided

I would say you should be doing some crunches / abdominal exercises; but not a lot.

Ab work will strengthen the muscles there and stronger muscles will help to "hold" the gut in a little bit, so it won't stick out as much - even if you can't see the rippled six-pack under the fat.

The reason I say not a lot of ab work, is because until more of the fat is gone, you won't be able to see the rippled six-pack; so it can be discouraging to do a lot of work and see very little result.

So, do some ab work, but don't think of it as something that will get rid of the gut. The cardio and diet will do that part; but as it goes, the ripply muscles underneath will start to show through more and more.

You need to hit all the various abdominal muscles, so crunches, reverse crunches, and side-crunches (or some variant of each that works upper, lower and oblique muscles) - say one set of 10-15 of each on a daily basis.

oh, and another reason to do ab work; your abs and lower back muscles work to stabilize the torso while you are standing, so weak abs force the lower back to do more work to counter-balance, thus leading to lower-back strain.

[Surf Cowboy]

17. Walk 3 miles per day, every day, followed by light weight lifting.

And be patient. The Appalachians were once larger than the Rockies, but after some time....

[mrboba1]

18. the more muscle you have in your body, the faster the fat will burn away.

It doesn't matter so much 'where' it is, just that you have it. More muscle means higher metabolism, which is what you want so it will burn your fat away.

Keep with crunches, but don't aim for having the flat stomach because of them. I would do 75/day (25 each straight up/left/right) just to keep your stomach area strong and to build muscle in another area of your body.

Light weight work may be good too for the upper body...

Good Luck!