Hi guys, need some tips?

[Sm00th]

Hi guys, I'd just like to introduce myself onto this awsome forum. My name is Jake,
I'm 16 and need some help here for MINOR weight loss.

So a little bit about my body in general. From the outside, I look VERY THIN, but deep down I have some fat...The fat is within my abdominal/belly region and I need your guys's help/tips on how to lose it. It "should" be easy (kinda contradicting myself) after I tell you my embarrassing weight.

Height: 5ft 7in
Weight: 118
Age:16

First of all, I put this in the cardio section, cuz everyone says "Do cardio" but I hardly have time or I am exhausted after I come back from school and I honestly don't see results within a month or so. My situation isn't even that bad, although my belly does pop out alot, you wouldn't be able to see it with a sweatshirt on but you could with just a thin half sleeved shirt.

Currently I "occasionally" do Jump roping, its the only thing I can do, and I hear its also the best, but sadly I can hardly do 2minutes without stopping. So please guys help me out, if not gaining a 6 pack then just a flat tummy.

P.S-If I posted this in the wrong section let me know, I won't make that mistake again since I am very familiar with many forums. I don't make the same mistake twice...

[sleepyles]

Well hello Jake aka. SmOOth aka Young One! Okay in all seriousness here it goes.

You are still very young, normally for guys the tummy/ belly is the last place to lose fat. That means there is fat around the rest of your body.

I see that you said you do, do cardio. Well have you considered lifting weights to build/ tone your muscles. I am not saying lifting weights to become a bodybuilder or anything like that, but building muscle burns fat.

Also how about doing crunches, squats, pushups, just the basic exercises instead of jumping rope. I don't want to go into too much detail about weight lifting exercises, but doing basic exercises help. Also since you are fairly young, I wouldn't say "watch your diet" just yet, since your metobolism is still high.

But try doing basic workouts at home or start lifting weights. Doing crunches alone and cardio won't help flatten your tummy, it is the whole body that has to be worked out. If you decide to start lifting weights, lift light weights, and higher repititions for muscle toning. Lifting heavy and lower reps for muscle building is the general rule of thumb.

If you want more info, just ask and post questions. I hope what I provided thus far makes sense to you.

PS - I am only 3 inches taller than you and have about 100 + (220) pounds over you! LOL

[theatrain]

You're 5'7, 118 and want to lose weight?

I'm only 2 inches taller than you and about 55lbs heavier :x

But idk how your body is, maybe you're unhappy with a little extra flab? if its just small amount of body fat, because you did say its MINOR weight loss. Then I would reccomend you look into weight training, mix that up with a little cardio and you'll be golden. Oh yeah and a clean diet would do wonders.

[tooncesthecat]

I want to give props to the advice already given, but I have a few questions...sm00th, what do you want to look like? Do you want to lose the "belly fat" so you have a nice six pack (I assume so). At 5'7" you are quite thin. Are you cool with that or are you looking to put on some muscle?

[wildstang]

as everybody mentioned weight training with cardio. with both you will be making your body burn more calories as opposed to just one item. still cardio is the key to ones health. if we dont have a fit heart we dont have a fit body. from what youi list about not being able to go more then 2 minutes of jump rope tells me you need more cardio. a more active lifestyle now. good luck.

[sleepyles]

Originally Posted by wildstang

as everybody mentioned weight training with cardio. with both you will be making your body burn more calories as opposed to just one item. still cardio is the key to ones health. if we dont have a fit heart we dont have a fit body. from what youi list about not being able to go more then 2 minutes of jump rope tells me you need more cardio. a more active lifestyle now. good luck.

Yes I agree with wildstang, if you can only jump rope for 2 minutes that is not a good sign of cardiovascular fitness. How about start doing cardio by a brisk walk for 30 minutes. If that is too easy, then do jogging, if that is too easy, the run! As you can see what I am trying to get at is increasing the intensity as the exercise gets easy for you.

Jumping rope is a really good exercise, however, I don't do it as much since my knee injuries as it is heavy on the knees and shins. But there are other types of cardio.

An example for me is the following: I would do 30 minutes on an elliptical (moderate intensity say Level 5, maximum is Level 10) and that would burn about 400 - 500 calories for a person with my weight. At your age, do you have any extra curricular activities? How about joining something like soccer? That developed my legs as well helped with a better cardiovascular fitness.

[cujo-1]

for me when i first started out as a young teenager i couldnt do much cardio and i kept at it and now i can run like forrest gump!....lol

[Sm00th]

sorry guys, think I mis-said some of the stuff. I don't want to lose weight, as most people said, their a couple inches taller and a WHOLE lot heavier lol. But I am indeed unhappy with my "shape" I guess I should say. Let me put this into a perspective.

-My arms are thin, almost women like
-My legs are thin, hairy
-My tummy, like a girls with most if not all of my fat resides in this place

but yeah good tips. I do indeed do push-ups (about 20 reps) and crunchs (about 30 reps with correct form) (recently started) and have been lifting "weights" for about 2 months now. The reason I put " around weights is cuz all I have is 10 Ib dumbbells sadly, but for a person of my stature I think its good enough for now. Arm definition has increased their but am very sad about my tummy .

I'll take a more thorough look at the posts, tomorrow, just skimmed through it right now. Thanks for the help and support guys! Trust me, I will use your tips! I'm sick of convincing myself with weird exercises. I think I'll start with elliptical since my cardio is really off, then work my way up. Add that with weight training, I think I got it down.

And a question: How important is stretching exactly? It reduces injury so it has some point, but when and/or how frequently should I stretch before/after/or during exercise?

To tooncesthecat: yeah toon, 6 pack would be awsome, but personally I'm not cool with being extremely thin. I would ind33d love to put on some muscle. From what people said, weight training is the way to go.

BTW: thanks all, good advice

[wildstang]

you have to realize to put on muscle that meens you have to sacrifice a little and put on a little fat with it. they both go hand in hand. diet is the main thing when trying to add muscle along with weight lifting. without the diet right you wont go no were either. roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight and good complex carbs from veggies and such even rice. try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible either cause theyre loaded with all kinds of crap our bodies dont need.

[tooncesthecat]

Originally Posted by Sm00th

I'll take a more thorough look at the posts, tomorrow

This is the best advice of all. In EF is all the knowledge you need to
1. Get a six pack
2. Put on muscle
3. Learn to stretch
4. Improve you diet

Do searches for specifics in which you are interested. I'll offer the following advice from a good site that you'll come to know very well in addition to EF:

Bodybuilding.com - Huge Training Bodybuilding Article Database!

Bodybuilding.com - Training At Home Articles!

It will be easy to get overwhelmed at first, so just try to learn the basics of workouts. You'll be able to start at home and get a decent workout, but eventually you'll probably want to get access to a gym. Do you have one at school or somewhere else?

Remember, knowledge is power. Working out can change your body, but first you'll need to change your MIND! Your brain is the single most important and interesting part of you. LEARN, LEARN, LEARN and you'll achieve anything you desire!

[zayyaz]

Biking and swimming are always good cardio. Plus they are low impact so even beginners can get a good workout.

Keep in mind with all cardio you have to pace yourself. If I bust my ass on jump rope for 2 minutes (300 or so jumps) I am going to be tired. That doesn't mean I can't slow my pace down and continue jumping. Also, why do you stop at 2 minutes? Are your calves and forearms burning? Side aches? Chest pounding? Checking your pulse is a good way to determine if you are working too hard. For your age and experience I would say anywhere from 110 to 130 bpm is a good target. As you get more fit you can bump that up to around 150 or so.

As for stretching if you are just doing moderate cardio I would say just stretch after to avoid cramping and to feel better the next day, and there is little chance of pulling anything. For strenuous exercise strectch before and after, but be sure to warm up and cool down before stretching.

Finally, IMO you should just focus on gaining a little mass on the rest of your body since you are saying you would like to so that as well. My guess is at the very least your stomach will be proportionally smaller and that will be good enough. There are a lot of workouts that include parts of both cardio and strength training. Many places call them "curcuit training".

Good luck!

[pliny_2001]

You'll be inundated with advice, but I'll just reiterate some points, and add a few more - it's stuff that I wish I had learned at an early age:

1- Health - both exercise and diet - is all mental. So exercise the brain, and take some time to read Schwarzenegger's "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding." (it doesn't matter if you want to look like that - it's just a tremendous resource about how to exercise, eat, etc, and gives you insight into what it takes to be successful)

2- At that age, you're able to muscle up with very little - if any - fat gain. You've got a couple "easy" years of growth, so don't worry about dieting away your pooch - just eat well and exercise well, and it'll go away on its own.

3- The brief version of diet: if what you're eating doesn't resemble something natural, stop eating it. Cola does not flow in rivers, so stop drinking it. While gummi worms appear to be worms, they in fact are not - stop those, too. Vegetables are your friend. Whole grain pasta is tremendous, white/processed pasta is the devil. Just do that analysis for all your food -- you'll thank me as you age.

4- The brief version of exercise: The Encyclopedia has a ton of exercises, but first you need to "get in shape to get in shape." Pushups, pullups, running, bodyweight squats, burpees, etc - a good base there will serve you forever.

Good luck and have fun! (And remember, weight loss is all diet - if you just want to get rid of a belly, just eat healthier).

[Sm00th]

Originally Posted by zayyaz

Also, why do you stop at 2 minutes? Are your calves and forearms burning? Side aches? Chest pounding? Checking your pulse is a good way to determine if you are working too hard. For your age and experience I would say anywhere from 110 to 130 bpm is a good target. As you get more fit you can bump that up to around 150 or so.

I stop at 2 mins mainly cuz of yeah, calves and mid/side belly burns alot. To be honest with you it starts burning after like 15seconds, but I keep going. Currently I'm thinking about switching off jump roping and do elliptical (like sleepyles said) until I gain that "endurance level" for jump roping or just overall nice cardio workouts.

Thank you all for advice, I registered at my local GYM too. I took some pics of my body, and if my training is a success story (in time it will) I will post pics. Rememba the name! Honestly would be an amazing transformation.

Toones thanks for the articles/sites they helped, been reading em all day

[manic_monkey79]

Originally Posted by Sm00th

I stop at 2 mins mainly cuz of yeah, calves and mid/side belly burns alot. To be honest with you it starts burning after like 15seconds, but I keep going. Currently I'm thinking about switching off jump roping and do elliptical (like sleepyles said) until I gain that "endurance level" for jump roping or just overall nice cardio workouts.

Thank you all for advice, I registered at my local GYM too. I took some pics of my body, and if my training is a success story (in time it will) I will post pics. Rememba the name! Honestly would be an amazing transformation.

Toones thanks for the articles/sites they helped, been reading em all day

If your calves are burning after 2 minutes then you might want to try a decent warm up. stretch them out properly before running. As for the side/belly pain, sounds like a stitch to me, normally caused when your beyond your limit. when you first start running, the most important thing you have to learn is how to pace yourself, and keep a steady speed. Start SLOWLY, at a speed that doesnt leave you too breathless. It might feel easy in the begining, but after 5-10 minutes you'll really start to feel it.

[Sm00th]

yeah manic, thats what how I do it. I got up to 5 minute intervals this past week. So I'm proud of it.

I had a question to anyone who can answer. I'm also trying to lose some neck fat. Are there any good exercises for it? If so what? And how to do them?

[wildstang]

Originally Posted by Sm00th

yeah manic, thats what how I do it. I got up to 5 minute intervals this past week. So I'm proud of it.

I had a question to anyone who can answer. I'm also trying to lose some neck fat. Are there any good exercises for it? If so what? And how to do them?

diet is the key to losing fat anywere on the body teamed with cardio excercise in general. main thing is watch what you eat in the evening restricting carb intake evening meals.

[gunshowbabe]

Well, I know you said you dont' have time to "do cardio" but if this is a priority you will have to invest some time in order to get some good results. You will not see any changes if you only do cardio/lift weights just when you feel like it. I would suggest lift weights... you can do it two ways... you can either lift weights (try doing drop sets so you can get your heart rate going).... or lift some weights and do some cardio afterwards. It's not going to magically appear just because you want it really bad.... Been there done that lol

Good luck with your routine though- I'm glad to see people get interested in fitness at an early age

[wildstang]

usually after my workouts done im breathing heavily like i just ran a couple miles and i go home feeling like im dragging my arms behind me.....lol or looking like a drunk guy walking on wobbly legs.

[Sm00th]

Originally Posted by wildstang

diet is the key to losing fat anywere on the body teamed with cardio excercise in general. main thing is watch what you eat in the evening restricting carb intake evening meals.

Yep, I agree. I stopped eating some stuff that I crave for everyday. I use to have atleast 3 soda cans a day, now..hardly 1 a week. Replaced it with pure water and sometimes G2.

Originally Posted by gunshowbabe

Well, I know you said you dont' have time to "do cardio" but if this is a priority you will have to invest some time in order to get some good results. You will not see any changes if you only do cardio/lift weights just when you feel like it. I would suggest lift weights... you can do it two ways... you can either lift weights (try doing drop sets so you can get your heart rate going).... or lift some weights and do some cardio afterwards. It's not going to magically appear just because you want it really bad.... Been there done that lol

Good luck with your routine though- I'm glad to see people get interested in fitness at an early age

Yep, I agree gunshowbabe, consistency is key. Researched it on google as I was trying to find more plans a couple weeks ago. You are right though, I personally did do that, exercise when I wanted at an even earlier age but..that has changed. I'm also trying to go with a different mindset, rather than results I want to be doing this to just stay fit but that will take some time.

Thank you all for great tips. I use most if not all. When I have free time I'm always browsing this topic and others and trust me...I have learned ALOT. Great forum, great people, I love it!!!