Awfully unfit (am 16), not sure what I'm doing wrong..

JJJohan · September 15th, 2009, 07:22 AM

I'm 16, and I feel that I've been awfully unfit over which seems to be well over a year now. I really want to do something about it now, since I get tired just walking to the other side of my school campus.

I don't do much activity in my spare time, but I've been going to the gym for about 30 weeks now, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I find it hard to go more often as it's around 20-30km from home, though I can of course do exercise at home in between these days.

Here's my exercise routine at the gym:
15 minutes on the treadmill
-2 minutes running at roughly 11km/h
-2 minutes walking at roughly 5.5km/h
(This alternates until I reach my 15 minutes)

5-10 minutes alternating strength exercises
-Nothing really specfically targetting anything here, but I do workout as hard as I can on whatever I end up on (arm, abs machines)
-Use this mostly as a rest between cardio exercises.

15-20 minutes stationary bike
-Alternate between effort levels of 5-10 (not specific, not sure how to describe)

Now I stretch these exercises for about an hour, and I'm wondering if that's enough to notice any improvement, about 3 hours a week total doesn't sound like much.

After noticing no improvement after about 15 or so weeks, I started doing stuff at home. I do half an hour of biking on a stationary bike at home on days I do not go to the gym but yet still do not notice a difference.

Am I just not doing enough? I notice i sweat considerably and get a high heart rate from this. Is it diet I should be concerned about? I'd have to record what I eat/drink if this is requested. I'm not overweight, (67kg/183cm) though like I stated, feel incredibly unfit and am trying to get rid of some excess fat.

**tidalwave** · September 15th, 2009, 10:06 AM

Welcome to the site!

I think the first question I would have to ask is: what are your goals? Are you looking to improve aesthetics, to improve for a sport, just to be healthier, etc?

At first glance, it looks like your routine is biased toward aerobic activities in such a manner that might sabotage an attempt to gain muscle mass. I used to workout like this too. If you are looking to make physique changes, I would A) get a more regimented lifting program on paper (some great ones in the Best Of part of this forum), B) use free weights almost exclusively for lifting, C) save the running/biking for the last 20-30 min of your workout. Believe me, if you are looking to get your heart in better shape, doing freeweight lifts with short rests between sets will get your heart stronger. If you're doing this and keeping track of the weights you use with the intent of progressively adding resistance and eating well, you should see some significant changes in a few months.

**pliny_2001** · September 15th, 2009, 01:29 PM

At 16, I think it may be easier to join a sport than to deal with the minutiae of exercise routines; programming a good routine is a skill that takes experience that adolescents are unlikely to have. Playing a sport takes care of that.

I'm also willing to bet that the "problem" isn't really due to lack of exercise, but rather lifestyle; if you eat healthily, you'll probably get healthy a lot faster.

Good luck! Ask away with specifics!

**IMFREAKZILLA** · September 15th, 2009, 04:23 PM

the first thing to do is see a doctor,your thyroid or something else could be off course,thats just
a suggestion to your problem.

**Hans_Rachid** · September 15th, 2009, 04:26 PM

you weigh < 150 lb for 6'0" and you want to lose some excess fat?

What happened this past year that made you incredibly unfit, as you say?

3 hours of gym per week is good, you don't need more than this to see improvements. That said, as you suspect, a healthy diet is the key. Working out won't compensate for a crappy diet.

DEALER · September 15th, 2009, 07:10 PM

Quote:

use free weights almost exclusively for lifting

I have to agree with tidalwave. I wish I began lifting earlier in life. Young people seem to put on lean mass a lot easier than us old fogies. The more muscle you pack on as a young person, the easier it will be for you to maintain a lean physique as you get older.

Good Luck.

**wildstang** · September 15th, 2009, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hans_Rachid

you weigh < 150 lb for 6'0" and you want to lose some excess fat?

What happened this past year that made you incredibly unfit, as you say?

3 hours of gym per week is good, you don't need more than this to see improvements. That said, as you suspect, a healthy diet is the key. Working out won't compensate for a crappy diet.

im with hans on this observation on the weight height ratio. also give us an example of your diet say for 5 days as an example also.

JJJohan · September 16th, 2009, 05:24 AM

Slightly late reply, whoops. Anyway, let me just clarify what I meant with weight loss.

I'm not necessarily desperate with loosing weight, but I wouldn't mind loosing some stomach fat that appears to be quite noticable.

How did I get unfit? Well, basically doing absolutely nothing. TV/PC/PS3, you get the idea.

I've recently started drinking no more Coke, as I had a fair idea it wouldn't be helping at all, and have gone from the usual 4-5 cans of Coke to only before I exercise or so, and water in all other situations (beforehand I barely drank water).

My main goal is to simply get fitter. Nothing else really concerns me so far. After I have a half decent endurance I'll consider moving on to muscles and such.

Here's a rough idea of my food plan, excuse the lack of detail as I haven't recorded it precisely.

-Small breakfast - toast
-School morning tea - Peanut butter sandwich, Fruit juice and Pop-top
-School lunch - Apple
-Occasional afternoon snacks (once or twice a week at the most), not really the whole snacks and lollies type of guy but licorice mostly.
-Dinner - Steak, fish, vegetables and such (alternates)

A big difference in my eating (and drinking) scheme is I've dropped Coke completely, hoping this will get me some results.

**Steel_UK** · September 16th, 2009, 08:09 AM

Additionally you could undertake a hobby that involves physical activity, nothing major. For instance, working on a car can be hard work sometimes, as can be stripping paint off an airframe ready for repainting.

**pliny_2001** · September 16th, 2009, 11:31 PM

First: Hans, thanks for telling us how much 67kg actually is, I assumed it was a lot, and not a little.

Second:
OP: here's the problem - you've got flab. It isn't fat. It isn't muscle. It's just flesh that kind of hangs on you. The good news is that a huge proportion of the population has it. The bad news is they shouldn't, there's no reason for it to be there, etc. The cure's easy: physical activity. That's it. You're young, it'll cure itself with good eating (I won't even discuss your current diet, you know it's crap, so no reason to) and physical activity (sports, exercise, even apparently stripping aircraft pain, though I have no direct knowledge of that one).

If you want to look like you don't live a sedentary lifestyle, then don't live a sedentary lifestyle. That's it, problem solved.

**helpmespock** · October 16th, 2009, 01:25 AM

this guy is actually nearly 6 foot 4 inches and under 150?????? You must be a bean pole dude....how is there any room for fat with those numbers?

**IMFREAKZILLA** · October 16th, 2009, 06:22 AM

The numbers don't add up,all I can say,but thats my opinion.maybe the laws of nature
cease to exist on your body,I am not trying to give you a hard time but 6 ft something
and 150 and you fat?I must have missed something friend.Excuse me if I am wrong and
I been wrong many times.