RyanSxi
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Registered: 26th Jul 06
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I'm after some advice 
What i'm wanting to do is get in shape by july as im off on holiday. I can do all the cardio I need at home (have a bike and can go jogging) also play football a few times a week so cardio is sorted.
What I want to know is, is it possible to get a decentish workout for a n00b like me with only a set of dumbells? I ask this because I have some at home but am unsure whether to use them or just wait till Feb and join the gym?
p.s. Also looking for a website with pics or vids of different "things" that people do at the gym. e.g. deadlifts etc as im nopt altogether clued up.
Any help is appreciated 
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SetH
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Registered: 15th Jul 01
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ryan,
Get yourself a copy of "muscles and fitness" and or "mens health", always have good articles on various exercises with photos etc. "Flex" is also a good mag but possibly a bit hardcore for a beginner, although i guess at the end of the day the weight training principles are the same.
Its possible to improvise and train at home with little or no equipment but the big problem here is keeping motivated, i wouldnt reccomend it.
Id join your local gym but more importantly i would invest some money in 4-6 weeks worth of personal training. If you take their basic gym induction you will probably forget most of what they teach you (most people do) as they only demonstrate an exercise, write you a program and kind of leave you to it. Thus its easy to train with incorrect form as its not possible to remember everythign they have shown you.
with PT, you will have a trainer that stays with you throughout your workouts and guides/corrects you as well as pushing you. After a few weeks you should be good to go on your own. When picking a personal trainer id go for someone that practices what he preaches. Ie if you see a big lump lol pick him, not some young skinny ass lad that has gone and done the 2 week course. I always think a lot of bodybuilders are only as good as their mentors, specifically in the early days.
What about diet, have you researched or planned this?
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Marc
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
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I'd say bike and running would be your best bet. And maybe the use of a rowing machine too.
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AdZ9
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Registered: 14th Apr 06
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http://www.exrx.net - This is good for exercise images to show how to do it etc
http://www.coopersguns.com - Same as above
http://www.bodybuilding.com - American site with alot of info, transformations also can be motivating. Sign up to the forums etc
http://www.rosstraining.com - Very good website with training info and how to train at home etc, again sign up to forums
I personally avoid mens health and muscle & fitness as its full of alot of shit most of the time. Like "HOW TO GET ABS LIKE RYAN REYNOLDS IN 12 WEEKS!" but Flex is good but like Seth has said it could be a bit hardcore and daunting at first.
My tip to start with, dont get caught up with numbers and working everything out etc, start with the basics otherwise you'll be falling at the first hurdle.
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RyanSxi
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Registered: 26th Jul 06
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Cheers for the advice there Seth will look into these.
Yeah ive looked into diet, been on bodybulders.com many a time. Only problem for me is the dact I dont like veg  but I think im just gonna have to bite the bullet as it were and eat it.
Before I start (14th Jan - when I come back from Dublin) im going to write out a diet plan and stick to it.
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RyanSxi
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Registered: 26th Jul 06
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quote:
Originally posted by AdZ9
http://www.exrx.net - This is good for exercise images to show how to do it etc
http://www.coopersguns.com - Same as above
http://www.bodybuilding.com - American site with alot of info, transformations also can be motivating. Sign up to the forums etc
http://www.rosstraining.com - Very good website with training info and how to train at home etc, again sign up to forums
I personally avoid mens health and muscle & fitness as its full of alot of shit most of the time. Like "HOW TO GET ABS LIKE RYAN REYNOLDS IN 12 WEEKS!" but Flex is good but like Seth has said it could be a bit hardcore and daunting at first.
My tip to start with, dont get caught up with numbers and working everything out etc, start with the basics otherwise you'll be falling at the first hurdle.
cheers for the links
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SetH
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Registered: 15th Jul 01
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If you ever need any juice, i mean diet advice get in touch
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Marc
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
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Seth offering juice 
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RyanSxi
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Registered: 26th Jul 06
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cheers will do
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AdZ9
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Registered: 14th Apr 06
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quote:
Originally posted by SetH
If you ever need any juice, i mean diet advice get in touch
mark i'm thinking of starting a cycle in the winter this year, i don't trust the guys round here as most of them are dodgy polish guys, so i might be in contact 
You on a cycle at the mo?
Ryan, if you want to do this properly i'd recommend going to somewhere like ukmuscle.co.uk and paying one of the guys who work there to d oa tailored plan. Saves you the hassle and confusion of working one out etc.
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RyanSxi
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Registered: 26th Jul 06
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quote:
Originally posted by AdZ9
quote:
Originally posted by SetH
If you ever need any juice, i mean diet advice get in touch
mark i'm thinking of starting a cycle in the winter this year, i don't trust the guys round here as most of them are dodgy polish guys, so i might be in contact
You on a cycle at the mo?
Ryan, if you want to do this properly i'd recommend going to somewhere like ukmuscle.co.uk and paying one of the guys who work there to d oa tailored plan. Saves you the hassle and confusion of working one out etc.
I think to start with im just going to cut out the crap and get as much cardio etc in as I can. I should loose a fair bit of fat with that.
Then i might take it a step further as do as you say
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AdZ9
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Registered: 14th Apr 06
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remember if you just do cardio the chances are you'll burn muscle aswell. Try to do heavy weight training 3 times a week and keep the protein intake high to minimalise muscle loss
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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I am wanting to gain a bit of extra fitness (i swim almost every day for 30 mins and play footy at least once a week), i also want to build some muscles in my arms as they are diproportionately small compared to the rest of me and get a slightly more toned stomach... suggestions? nothing too hefty as i only want to go to the gym 2/3 times a week, i prefer to swim
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Marc
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
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Swimmings good for all round and running will sort the stomach out, as will rowing.
Dumbells for biceps and shoulders, bench press etc too.
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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Will have a proper gym induction at some point lol but always good to get some pointers... for fitness i will probs do treadmill/exercise bike and rowing machine... not keen on x-trainers tbh
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SetH
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Registered: 15th Jul 01
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you need to put some thought into your cardio. For fat loss you need moderate intensity over long periods of time.
effectively you want your body to be burning calories from fat stores hence cardio first thing in the morning is more effective then the evening when you have had a whole days eating.
work out your max heart rate which is 220 minus your age.
you want to exercise at 65-75% ish of your max heart rate. Dont go above this intensity, sure it will do wonders for your cardiovascular fitness but the high intensity will impact your lean tissue mass.
for example when i do cardio for fat burning will keep pulse at around 130-140bpm and exercise for 30-45 mins.
its all about getting into that zone where you use energy from fat stores, it can often take 15-20 mins to reach that zone so if you only did cardio for 30 mins you would not spend much time in that zone. However if you do it straight after your weights you will get to that zone much quicker or might already be in it depending on the intensity/speed of your weights workout.
As Adz has said keep protein intake high. get some whey into you straight after exercise, some people myself including take a protein shake 30 mins before training and then again after.
you want to metabolise your fat cells but not at the cost of catabolising your "lean" muscle tissue.
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RyanSxi
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Registered: 26th Jul 06
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im 20 so i need to keep my pulse at around 135-150 then? thanks for the info. will hav to see what it is the next cardio I do
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SetH
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Registered: 15th Jul 01
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yes the principal is relatively simple. of course there are other factors and variables that creep in but ive trained 2 females before on a weights/cardio program using that intensity level for 45 min-hour durations and they saw good steady reductions in body fat and some lean tissue development from the weights.
im not a big cardio man, my aerobic fitness is poor but i manage to control my body fat levels almost exclusively through diet.
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Marc
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
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quote:
Originally posted by SetH
ive trained 2 females before on a weights/cardio program
Is that what you called it?
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RyanSxi
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Registered: 26th Jul 06
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Im not really wanting to get big arms etc like just get tones and loose fat. Also alot of cardio as I play football so wanting extra fitness for that.
Although will still take everything into consideration
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Carl
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Registered: 9th May 04
Location: Jimmy Bennett's la la land.
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Ryan, it will be very easy to get your heart rate upto that level, but don't be put off, the hardest part of that type of exercise is not getting bored as the actually intensity of it will be VERY low. Remember the heart is a muscle and is trained using the same principles.
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SetH
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Registered: 15th Jul 01
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craig will probably agree here, there isnt really any such thing as 'toning' in my eyes.
you are born with X amount of fat cells and X amount of muscles cells.
you never gain or lose muscle/fat cells.
they either get bigger or smaller.
overload a muscle through weight training it will break down and become bigger/stronger. dont train it, it atrophies.
burn energy stored in fat cells and they will get smaller. eat more calories then you burn and they will get big.
hence i struggle to find where 'toning' fits in. I know what you mean by it but i dont think you could do a regime to 'tone' so to speak.
hopefully someone will catch my drift lol.
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Carl
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Registered: 9th May 04
Location: Jimmy Bennett's la la land.
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quote:
Originally posted by SetH
craig will probably agree here, there isnt really any such thing as 'toning' in my eyes.
you are born with X amount of fat cells and X amount of muscles cells.
you never gain or lose muscle/fat cells.
they either get bigger or smaller.
overload a muscle through weight training it will break down and become bigger/stronger. dont train it, it atrophies.
burn energy stored in fat cells and they will get smaller. eat more calories then you burn and they will get big.
hence i struggle to find where 'toning' fits in. I know what you mean by it but i dont think you could do a regime to 'tone' so to speak.
hopefully someone will catch my drift lol.
I catch your drift, and I agree. The only thing I ever think something like toning in the sense people imply, would be to boxers who have to keep at a certain weight but have optimum power and strength for that certain size.
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AdZ9
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Registered: 14th Apr 06
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its not toning, its maintaining is what they do.
As Seth has said theres no such thing as toning in my eyes, when people saying toning i immdeiately think they just like to lift a few light weights, make it look like they are doing something and call it toning so it makes it sound like the trip to the gym is worth it
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RyanSxi
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Registered: 26th Jul 06
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What i mean by it is I want to get slimmer but no alot more muscular. Although I see what you lads mean
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