Needs Workout Routine Help

Hey guys,


Before i state my situation, please refrain from telling me to search around the forum for my answers. Many people haven't individual goals, and navigating through a mass of posts is a bit aggrivating, and time consuming.

With that said, my goal is to reach a more lean body.

Stats: I weigh 165 give or take a couple. 5'8. I don't consider myself to be fat the least bit, but i do have a problem with the pudge pouch on the lower belly. I'm also relatively low on muscle mass.

As far as my diet goes, feel free to opt that topic in. But, ill post in this section for workout routines mainly. Currently, i figured being the gym 5 days a week, working out the abs, arms, pecs, back, etc would be good. Following with some sort of cardio routine.(running, punching bag) If one of you could give me or point me in the right direction as to where i can find an effective workout routine for this goal, i would gladly appreciate it.

As i said, i am looking to burn some fat, while effectively gaining some lean muscle mass.

I look forward to your comments and hope you can be very helpful!

Full body 3x/week and alternate with cardio. This will allow you to build up some muscle mass which will increase your metabolism overall. Splits are okay too, but full is the way to go until you get more advanced, then you can realign as you see fit.

m fb
t cardio
w fb
th off
fr cardio
sa fb
su off/cardio

Fullbody should look something like squats, lunges, deadlifts, pull ups, military press, press ups, bench, (if you have a spotter) dips. Major lifts that work multiple muscle groups are super helpful. As much as I hate to say it, there are quite a few workout suggestions around, but hopefully this gives you some idea (:
Cardio should be 15-45 minutes. If you opt for a shorter w/o you can consider HIIT, though I would suggest that if you are not currently "heart" healthy, you opt instead for getting a nice fit heart then ease into it. Same goes for working up to the 45 minute point.
Protein and a veg every time you eat. You cannot eat enough veggies (: Opt for high fiber complex carbs where possible, and if you have a soda habit, see about kicking it. Same goes for the booze. Alcohol interferes with insulin response, so especially if you have a few beers then some pizza, you are gonna store extra fat.

Good luck to you!

again, thank you lesplease. you were very helpful!

By the way, i was wondering if there was any suggested ammount of reps, sets, and if i should be using a comfortable amount of weight or constantly build up, even though i'm not trying to bulk up like crazy.

Depends. i like 3 sets of 5-8 reps. Some people will go higher, more like 10-15 reps. Depends on your comfort zone. Bulking is *very* hard, and it is not going to happen on accident.

hi try the stronglifts 5x5 web site,its a great workout for adding muscle and easy to follow and it works,
it also has info on diet ,good luck

thanks!