New and wanting to get in shape

Which workout routine or program is best for your fitness goal? Post your programs here!

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Hankj
STARTING OUT
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:15 pm

New and wanting to get in shape

Post by Hankj »

Hello, name is Hank. I am 19 years old, 6 foot tall, and about 185 pounds (don't know exact weight). To most people I look very skinny and they would guess weight to be much lower. I guess I look slender but I have extra weight in chest, stomach and love handles that isn't very visible with a shirt on. I would like to lose this extra weight and have more stamina. I am attending a university with a full rec center. I would like to take advantage of this. I think I can fit in at least an hour a day there Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. However, I will have to miss a few days of course if things come up. A buddy of mine got me going to the gym with him a little bit last year but that did not last long with our jobs and conflicting schedules. diet is pretty poor. I eat a lot of fast food and frozen pizza haha. Also, father likes to cook a lot of steak, ribs, and potatoes. I usually eat with him twice a week. I am willing to find proportion there but not give up his cooking all together. The fast food and other junk I will be willing to cut back on drastically. I enjoy bike riding. So this would be good cardio again when it gets warmer. Can you guys give me some workout routines that would be good for this situation and some good things to eat that will be easy to come by at school (I eat 1-2 meals there a day).

Thanks in advance!
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fitoverforty
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Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:47 pm

Re: New and wanting to get in shape

Post by fitoverforty »

Hankj wrote:I would like to lose this extra weight and have more stamina. I am attending a university with a full rec center. I would like to take advantage of this.
I think that is a great idea as a way to get some exercise.
Hankj wrote: diet is pretty poor. I eat a lot of fast food and frozen pizza haha
really gotta try to cut back on those things if you want to shape up and have more stamina. That kind of food robs you of energy. I know it is hard being on the go so much to eat healthy, but it can be done.
Hankj wrote:Also, father likes to cook a lot of steak, ribs, and potatoes. I usually eat with him twice a week.
Nothing wrong with steak and potatoes - just as long as the meats are lean and you don't go overboard on a bunch of butter, sour cream or cheese on the potato. If the potatos are fried, try instead - baking sliced potatos in the oven with a bit of olive oil and seasonings like pepper & garlic.
Hankj wrote:Can you guys give me some workout routines that would be good for this situation and some good things to eat that will be easy to come by at school
do you have access to weights? If not, you can do a standard bodyweight workout with pushups, pullups, bicycle crunches, burpees, step ups, etc. and mix in some cardio. Indoor cardio could be jumping rope (a great cardio workout that's often overlooked) or dvd workouts similar to p90x or crossfit kind of stuff.
If you have access to a gym with free weights then that would be great. Doing upper/lower sets of bench press, tri-cep dips, deadlift, squats are good. There are alot of other people here who can help you in that department better than me. You can google "strength exercises" or "beginner weight workouts" or just research here on this site - there are alot of workout routines on this site.
Try packing your a few meals the night before (I know it is a pain, but worth it). Things like lean meat sandwiches on whole wheat, apple, LF cheese stick, tuna, salads with lots of veggies, etc. Try to stay away as much as possible from pre-processed frozen stuff like hot pockets, frozen pizza, etc. - all that stuff is tempting to get cause it's fast and easy, but it is not good for you and will hinder you in getting the results you are wanting.
Good luck to you!! Hope to hear how your progress comes along. :D
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