Hi guys, I'm brand spanking new to this message board and I guess I'll get started on my story.

[Donutz The Duke Fan]

Hi guys, my name is Tyler and I just registered 2 minutes ago. I did this after hours of frustration, but let me go back to the very beginning.

I'm 16, probably the youngest person here, and about 5 monthes ago I decided to do something about my weight. Now let me tell you guys this firstly, I'm not fat or overweight or obese, but just unhappy with my weight. I'm a little over 6 feet tall and before I decided to solve my problem, I weighed 160 pounds. Again, I wouldn't consider myself "fat", but I had sort of a round belly, a faint resemblence of breasts, and an overall hinting toward being pudgy. I had tried diets before that, off and on, losing and then gaining weight, it was really driving me nuts. So I told myself thatt this would be it. This would work and that I would go my own path and I wouldn't give up, no matter what. So I started off slow. I cut down on the soda, chips, candy, and the whites (bread, pasta, etc) and I started working out. The work outs were meager at first as well. I ran maybe half a mile, then went out on the punching bag for 10 minutes. After a few monthes, that evolved into running a mile, punching bag for 15 minutes, exercise bike for 10, weights for 20 minutes, and push ups and sit ups for another 10. So that was an hour of exercise everyday. That first month is the hardest because I still saw no results, but I kept at it, and after a while, I had dropped down to 150 and was pleased, but not yet satisfied with my results. I had had a taste of what it felt like to be happy with myself, but I wanted more. I didn't want to stop at looking ok, but instead I wanted to look good, great even. They're was sort of a break in my workouts unfortunately due to some excess partying at my brother's place and that sort of feeling that I didn't need to workout more, but after looking in the mirror 2 weeks ago. I said to myself, "What am I doing?", and got right back into the thick of things. So I've been back at it, and as a matter of fact, I'm writing this only 20 minutes after working out. I came in a little frustrated because I'm still not seeing any good results. I explained to my mom that I don't just want a flat chest, I want a ripped chest. She suggested I go online and try to find anything, but as I'm sure you all know, that when you type anything related to diet and exercise in google, you get a lot of stupid products and false ads. So, I told myself I'd find a good forum and ask for help here. And here we are, and here's my questions pretty much.

I don't care about weight now or some gland I've never heard of, I just want a nice looking chest. Please help! I'm not looking for some fancy gadget or pills, I just want some honest answers. I've been putting myself to the test for the past few months and I'll gladly put forth many more in order to obtain my six pack. I need advice on dieting and exercise.

I want to know what to eat, rather than what not to eat!!! I want some quick and helpful tips, I want to know If I'm on the right track and I'f I should just stick to it. I want to know what works, not what worked for you.

I'm tired of looking and doing all of this on my own. I want help and I'm asking for it from you guys.

If you took the time to read all this, I'm greatly appreciated and I thank you.

Thanks guys, Tyler

 

[Cynical Simian]

Re: Hi guys, I'm brand spanking new to this message board and I guess I'll get starte

First, general props for being more intelligent and articulate than at least 99% of the population.

Second, unless you're severely obese (which, from your description, you're not), DON'T try to decrease bodyweight at your age. It sounds like you've already moved from thinking about bodyweight to body composition, which is a good step. Eat healthy foods in large enough quantities to grow and, especially with extremely favorable natural hormone levels and a good exercise program, you'll be happy with what you see in the mirror. Drastically cutting calories would be a great way to miss the opportunities of what should be a period of growth.

Third, the good news is that the type of program that'll get you there is a lot more enjoyable and simple than killing yourself with back-to-back sessions of every type of cardio imaginable. You can build a great foundation by putting together a routine built around a few compound lifts and adding weight to them (with cardio on off days if you want). Take a look at the Rippetoe 3x5 in the sticky.

 

[cuthroat]

Yeah pushing some iron is the first step to getting a bigger chest.

 

[s8nlilhlpr]

At 16, I would stop with the dieting and start eating a lot more "healthy" food. Do not try and restrict calories, just try to keep em nutritious. Anything over 6' tall can probably handle 200lbs without looking "fat".

For a ripped powerful looking chest...its hard work. You mention 20 mins of weights during a bunch of cardio. The weights will be your focus for 3x a week, with solid compound movements, none of that iso garbage. Anything in the training sticky is good, 3x5, madcows 5x5 sf, etc.

It is easy to understand though, start your training with 2-3 heavy compound moves, (squat, dead, bench) then (squat, overhead press, row) or (squat, row, chinup) etc. If you really must do curls/tbar pushdowns/ reverse lat bs..... then do it after your 5 reps of 5 sets of the other stuff.

You'll notice I put squats first everytime. This was not a typo. If you aren't already, learn how to squat deep, straight between your ankles, ass to floor. If you are new to barbell squatting, stick with the back squat until you get comfortable in the "hole" (deepest squat position). DO NOT USE THE SMITH MACHINE.

Learn how to ramp your weights, and progressivly load them heavier. Deadlifting 225 a few times is alright, but learning to pull 230, 235, 240, 245, etc is better. Do not settle for using the same weights. Add the smallest plate if you have to, just make sure the weight increases each time you go to the gym.

Video tape your deadlift and squat, and post them in your training journal. No matter how bad, you have to start somewhere, and this will get you lifting correctly from the beginning.

 

[fortunatesun]

I certainly know the feeling of being entirely too sedentary. Being motivated enough to give an honest effort to changing yourself is a least half the battle, which you appear to be, though patience is something you have to deal with. Even an experienced person has to constantly go through this. Maintaining that positive mental outlook makes your job easier.

Another part of the picture is planning your exercise schedule. Getting the right information is key here, and Cynical Simian has done his usually excellent job of pointing you in the right direction. The more you understand about what you're doing the quicker you will acheive your goals.

http://www.fitday.com is a good place to get the basics of what your diet is know and what it should look like. The diet forum here is very good. For sports-related nutrition I also like johnberardicom. An Idiot's Guide To Dieting and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs are good introductory articles. There's lots more info there as well ranging from the simple to the more advanced. It will take so much of the guesswork out. One of the things beginners underestimate is the importance of a proper diet. People will say it's anywhere from 50% to 90% of the reason for success in a workout program. Not something to be ignored.

Congratulations and best of luck.

 

[Donutz The Duke Fan]

Thank you guys, all of you. I'm still stunned by the sheer amount and obvious time put into your posts. These are all very helpful tips and I appreciate them very much, but about what you guys mentioned of weights and such. I've got to be honest with you, it's all really confusing to me. The talk of squats, compounds, deadlifts, presses, etc. is quite hazey to me. I'm still a novice, you could say, when it comes to weight training. You see, all of these exercises I talked of were done at my house. I run the mile in my backyard, do the weights,punching bag, and push ups and sit ups in my garage. And the weight set isn't exactly state of the art when it is in fact, more of a piece of junk. So I see what needs to be done, I need to learn a lot, and not to mention join a gym. It was sort of a problem because I live in North Carolina and my area isn't exactly compact, in a manner of speaking, and it doesen't help that I've yet to get my licsense. But luckily, I will be getting mine in less than a month and I've got a feeling I'll be joining a gym as soon as possible.

This advice has been truely helpful and I appreciate it very much you guys. I can see now that I'm focusing too much on cardio workouts and that I need to start really get into weights, but not to over do it, corrrect? About 3 or 4 times a week will do rather then my everyday workouts and maybe even getting a trainer if possible (although by the looks of it, you guys appear to be all the trainers I need). I'll definently try to eat more nutritional foods in more quantities, while still cutting back on calaries. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens in later updates, and I'll probably reply again the following morning.

Thanks again guys, Tyler

 

[heavy_duty]

Stick with "multi-joint" movements and when you do join the gym there is nothing wrong with paying a trainer 2 or 3 times to teach you how to squat and deadlift properly.

Learn to love:
Squat
Dead Lift (DL)
Flat Bench Press
Chin-ups
Dips.

Good luck.

ps. Tyler, you dont write like the other 16 year olds here.

 

[fortunatesun]

I wouldn't worry about your lack of equipment. Even just pushups, chinups, and lots of squats are enough to start. All the running and heavy bag you do will pay dividends in conditioning if you start on a full program.

 

[carlsuen]

before u actually go out and hire a trainer, ask him what is a squat and if his answer his 1/4 and half ass squat then don't even waste your money.

ask him how to DL and if he says it's too dangerous or the gym doesn't allow it then find another gym pls!!

other than that caryy on..

 

[c3bodybuilding]

These bro's have you covered. Stick around though and welcome to Elite. It takes a lot of dedication to stick to a fitness program at your age, so don't get down on yourself for straying a couple of times. Just try your best to keep with it for a while. And once you get on a proper program like 3x5 or 5x5, you'll be having so much fun seeing the progress each week in your log book that you will want to stick with it. Good luck lil bro.