4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

[MagicBucsWsoxFan]

Ok I have exactly 4 weeks and im going on vacation to florida for a week. I want to do anything and everything necessary to feel comfortable about my weight when going to the pools and after eating out every night. Im about 5'8 and 153 lbs right now.

I know its hard to accomplish a lot in 4 weeks, but im not completely behind (or atleast hope not) I have a pretty flat stomach, but theres a bit of flab on the sides and theres not really any tone of definition. If I sort of stick out my chest and "suck it in" I feel comfortable and look fine (flat stomach and you can see the increases from my ribs and hardly any fat), but when I dont suck in and sort of "droop" you can tell just how much "fat" and "flab" i really have and thats what im judging this on and thats what i want to get rid of.

I know crunches is ideal for getting a good stomach, but any recommondations on a good amount to do everyday? Also whats better the "triditional" crunch, or using one of the equipments I have (Ab roller and exersize ball)

Also this is probably bad, but ive thought about looking into diet pills or some sort of toning help pills (if they make those?), I wouldnt get addicted I know that for sure, but id just use them for this 4 week plan until my vacation comes as sort of a boost then I completely drop them. I was thinking about these only because I dont always have the time to work out everyday with working full time and then spending time with my girlfriend and brothers baseball games or whatever else comes up during the week.

Also is it better to workout in the morning or at night? or does it not matter?

(BTW) I am on a strictly diet, I cheat here and there with little stuff, but i never go overboard. Ive went from 160 to 153 in the last 3 weeks, but i dont really see any difference yet.

Any help, advice or suggestions would be appriciated.

[MachoMyers]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

In my experience I find it best to do explosive weights (squats, the deeper the better or snatchs, can do these as with one dumbell) to tone up. Abs are nice but when your pushing weight your powering up your core and toning up.

Also pylometric exercises are great for toning up. I mix them in with my running. My running:

Monday - Multi-directional warm up (PM me If you want my warm up)
-60 meter Strides 80-90%, jog recovery.
-Power skip for height 80m, Power skip for distance 80m x3 (Skip as high, then as far as you can)

Wednesday Stairs - Find some bleachers, or nearby stairs, at least 20 steps
Do 2sets of 3
Every step, Everyother step, hops every step, hops every other step, single leg (each leg once), finally do as fast as you can.

Friday - Multidirectional warm up follwed by A,B,C,fast feet x4
A skips, B skips, C skips (buttkicks), ankle step overs (think fast feet) 20 meters each followed by forward acceleration 20 meters (jog recovery)
-In between each set put hands on the wall and sprint for 30 seconds (high knees)

This workout as helped me stay strong without getting 'skinny and slow' by just running around the track as fast as you can.

[pk500]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

Call Barry Bonds or Victor Conte. They can help.

Take care,
PK

[ndeezlo]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

Can all the 5-8 150 pound guys take it easy on wanting to look good, us fat guys just laugh.

[RubenDouglas]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

its all diet and cardio... i wouldnt even involve heavy lifting right now.

no sodas and watch the fastfood. dont eat after 8pm.. walk after eating to increase digestion.

focus on the little things.


if you eat 100 calories of fat" daily, try to quadriple your calorie burnoff. whats your diet like now? if it consists of sodas and fastfood, from experience, youre looking to lose atleast 10 lbs. alone from the sodas

[Gilateen]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

Spend 4 weeks in the Cook County Jail, youll be buff/tone/whatever in no time. What else do you have to do but lift, fight and watch your ***. The diet will be good for you cuz nothing will be worth eating except the bread, dry cookies and water.

hope that helps...LOL

[mjb2124]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

I don't see you getting the results you want in 4 weeks.

It's all about cardio and diet as RubenDouglas stated. However, it's nearly impossibly to trim up that fast regardless of the amount of cardio you do in a single day.

At least from what I've seen. Those little bits of flab on the side are sometimes the most difficult to get rid of.

[MagicBucsWsoxFan]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

its all diet and cardio... i wouldnt even involve heavy lifting right now.

no sodas and watch the fastfood. dont eat after 8pm.. walk after eating to increase digestion.

focus on the little things.


if you eat 100 calories of fat" daily, try to quadriple your calorie burnoff. whats your diet like now? if it consists of sodas and fastfood, from experience, youre looking to lose atleast 10 lbs. alone from the sodas

No I dont drink soda. I only drink water all day at work and then some fat free ice tea at home (also has low calories). Im not a fast food hog but ill occationally have some maybe once every two weeks.

Lately and continuing today I eat a small bowl of cerial for breakfast, then salad with eggs for lunch then I eat a healthy tv dinner (lean cousine or those kind of brands) then ill eat strawberrys for a snack.

this was for the last month, ive went down from 160 to 153 pretty much without any exersize and ive cheated with granola bars, and pasta and chineese food occationally in the past month too.

But in these next 4 weeks, no cheating, and a little more exersize. Im motivated lol

[MagicBucsWsoxFan]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

I don't see you getting the results you want in 4 weeks.

It's all about cardio and diet as RubenDouglas stated. However, it's nearly impossibly to trim up that fast regardless of the amount of cardio you do in a single day.

At least from what I've seen. Those little bits of flab on the side are sometimes the most difficult to get rid of.

yea thats what I was afraid off. Im not too bad off how I am right now, im just a little flabby and self conscious although I could be much worse off. I have love handles and undefined stomach, but im definatly not "fat" I figure I couldnt get a six pack or anything, but just to feel comfortable and not feel so selfconscious with flab when taking my shirt off was what i was going for.

[RubenDouglas]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

nice. it seems like youre on the right course for success. 8 lbs a month is quite good... if you think about it, over a course of a half year, its about 50 lbs... you hear all these success stories on tv and hear 150 lbs. lost, but many dont realize it was 18 months worth.

do what youre doing and increase your workout pace 20%. you should see another 7lbs of fat off, and 3 lbs of muscle added

[Dallasin2K3]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

Just remember that you don't get abs in the gym, you get them in the kitchen.

Watch the calories you eat, not just fat. Calories are the key for you. The bottom line is to lose weight, calories burned must be more than calories taken in. Additionally, you should eat 6 small meals a day as opposed to 3 regular size ones. Eat the same amount of food, but spread them out over more meals. Eat at 7AM, 10AM, 1PM, 3PM, 5 PM, 7PM.. This will help to speed up your body's natural metabolism. Given this eating schedule, I'd recommend working out around 8AM. You can also consider getting a short run in during the afternoon at some point depending on what your schedule is like.

If your goal weight is 150 lbs, you should shoot for about 2300 calories a day or less. This of course depends on your age and muscle mass, though. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your natural metabolism will be, because muscles burn calories 24/7 for maintenance.

The "diet pills" that you refer to are most likely what are called thermogenic drugs. Essentially, it's a cocktail of different substances (including caffeine) that causes your body to raise it's natural temperature a little bit. Essentially, your body burns calories to maintain it's body temperature. The higher that temperature is, the more calories your body will burn.

These supplements are ideal for use in spurts of 5 weeks or less (your body will develop resistance after that, and possibly dependence if you continue to use for several months), but they do work. They are not without side effects, however (I've heard of insomnia, excessive sweating, etc..). If you're sensitive to caffeine, forget about it, because these things are loaded.

If I were you, I'd do a google search on it, see if it is something you'd be up for. It will work for you but make sure you know what kind of side effects you may have and whether you're willing to deal with 'em. I'm sure you can find these products at your local GNC or equivalent..

Anyway, good luck!

[MagicBucsWsoxFan]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

heres what were working with....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/danwsoxfan/dabody4.jpg

I was about 175 lbs 2 years ago and in a year I droped down to 145, then over the course of 3/4th of a year I went back up to 160 which I started this diet about a month and a half ago (cheated here and there) and im back down to 153 trying to get to 145 or 147, but the weight number means nothing to me, its how I look. Through all of this I was never toned though.

[MagicBucsWsoxFan]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

Just remember that you don't get abs in the gym, you get them in the kitchen.

Watch the calories you eat, not just fat. Calories are the key for you. The bottom line is to lose weight, calories burned must be more than calories taken in. Additionally, you should eat 6 small meals a day as opposed to 3 regular size ones. Eat the same amount of food, but spread them out over more meals. Eat at 7AM, 10AM, 1PM, 3PM, 5 PM, 7PM.. This will help to speed up your body's natural metabolism. Given this eating schedule, I'd recommend working out around 8AM. You can also consider getting a short run in during the afternoon at some point depending on what your schedule is like.

If your goal weight is 150 lbs, you should shoot for about 2300 calories a day or less. This of course depends on your age and muscle mass, though. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your natural metabolism will be, because muscles burn calories 24/7 for maintenance.

The "diet pills" that you refer to are most likely what are called thermogenic drugs. Essentially, it's a cocktail of different substances (including caffeine) that causes your body to raise it's natural temperature a little bit. Essentially, your body burns calories to maintain it's body temperature. The higher that temperature is, the more calories your body will burn.

These supplements are ideal for use in spurts of 5 weeks or less (your body will develop resistance after that, and possibly dependence if you continue to use for several months), but they do work. They are not without side effects, however (I've heard of insomnia, excessive sweating, etc..). If you're sensitive to caffeine, forget about it, because these things are loaded.

If I were you, I'd do a google search on it, see if it is something you'd be up for. It will work for you but make sure you know what kind of side effects you may have and whether you're willing to deal with 'em. I'm sure you can find these products at your local GNC or equivalent..

Anyway, good luck!

alright thanks for the advice man, yea id go on like a 4-week plan on the pills if I did resort to them. What I need to do is start waking up earlier and jogging and lifting weights at night. I get kinda lazy when it comes to exersize. I dont have much time in the afternoons since I work 9-5 and i typically hang out with my girlfriend after work from like 6-10.

[Husker_OS]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

mine is simple.



-workout on a rowing machine for 20 minutes/4 days per week

-drink lots of water

-limit sodas and gatorade

-don't do the workout in the AM. do it around 4-5 hours prior to sleep



a rowing machine is a great workout machine. you use basically your entire body and the workout only takes 20-25 minutes.

[MagicBucsWsoxFan]

Re: 4 weeks to tone up, looking for help

I dont have any machines. I only have an exersize ball and an ab roller. Along with 1 weight bar.