[Saint Baller]

Well as you guys may or may not no, I did not make the basketball team last November due to a coach who chooses his favorite A team football players to play on the basketball but it's all good. He asked me to be a manager and I got to play in one game where I had 3 points, 4 rebouds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 hustle points, and 1 turnover.

Well as a manager I did not work out at all since November. I have let my self go, literally. I was 170 pounds of muscle and now I am 180-185 pounds of fat, no muscle at all. I have a buddha belly now and I can't lose it for some reason. I want to be fit again and I have no idea how to start, I have been lifting weights and doing crunches and push ups for the past 3 days so I guess thats a good start but what else should I do? I'm looking to lose 30 pounds by Summer time which seems realistic to me.


I need to lose weight, I am not obese but I am not fit, I am pretty fat now and frankly it scares the crap out of me.


Help?!

I will do anything, the hardest work outs to the toughest diets, I just need some help.

[edwardcyh]

You are not that far off. Lose 10-15 pounds? That's not bad at all!

Bottom line: Aerobic exercises....

That's what burns fat. You can lift weight all you want, that won't burn any fat. Yes, you'll gain muscles that would burn more calories during the day, but the actual lifting doesn't do much to reduce the fat....

.... unless you do conditioning workout.

For example, you normally bench press 4 sets of 10 reps at 175lbs. Scrap that and do 200 reps of 75 lbs. 200 consecutive reps without a break. That would get your heart pumping and define your muscles at the same time.

What I used to do was "burn-out" exercises with weights. Using bench press as an example, I would start with 95 lbs and do as many reps as possible. I mean you do it until you cannot push up the bar any more. Step the weight down 10 lbs and hop right back on to do the same thing again. No breaks between sets. Continue on until you are pressing only the 45 lb bar....

Most likely people will be making fun of you b/c you'll look like you can barely bench the bar, but you'll definitely feel it for couple days. Hence, burn-out!


.... still, nothing burns fat better than aerobic exercises, like running.

[Saint Baller]

Okay, I dont have access to a bench press or anything. All I have is 10 lb weights, 2 of them.

I know running is important so how long should I run each day?

[edwardcyh]

Originally Posted by Saint Baller

Okay, I dont have access to a bench press or anything. All I have is 10 lb weights, 2 of them.

I know running is important so how long should I run each day?

Try 3 times a week with a target of 6 miles in 1 hour.

You'll see your pounds just melt away after couple months.

[xray]

Ed's right, cardio exercises will get your heart pumping. Consider running, stair stepping (machines or the real thing), stationary bike, etc.

Pick up a heart monitor, it charts your status much faster and accurately than a finger on the wrist. A good measure of fat burning is that your heart rate must be fast enough. Here's what I was tought:

The heart rate you should maintain to improve CR fitness is called your Target Heart Rate, and it is generally considered to be 60 to 90 % of your maximum heart rate.

There are several ways of arriving at this figure. One of the simplest is to first determine your maximum rate based on your age.
Use the following formulas:

Men: 220 minus your age
Example: If your age is 20
220 - 20 = 200 beats per minute (bpm)

Women: 226 minus your age
Example: If your age is 20
226 - 20 = 206 beats per minute

Step two:
To find your zone, take this maximum HR and multiply it by 0.60 and 0.90 to get the 60% and 90% range.

For example: If your maximum rate, based on age, is 200 bpm, multiply this in this manner:
200 X 0.60 = 120
200 X 0.90 = 180

Your training rate is 120 to 180 bpm. This is the range you will see the greatest results.

As you know, use good technique or else you risk injury or lack of full benefit.