Need Quick Advice on Bodybuilding!

[Adrenaline Junkie]

Hey, basically i have just the one question that needs answering because i am a little unsure, basically i want to work on my abs over the next few months, however i want to take precautions before hand. The one thing i am worried about it that i will show no results. Basically my worry is that muscle will build underneath my belly fat. I have not an obese belly but when i am sat down it will hang over quite a bit, now if i started working on my abs would this fat be turned into muscle and i'd see results eventually? Or would muscle just build underneath the fat and i'd look like i have a huge belly? I am completely confused. Thanks alot for any help, i plan to start tonight!

[Spartiate]

Theoritically, it's your eating habbits that determine stuff like fat, so eat like you want good abs and you'll be in business. Exercise will burn a little fat though. Also, it's surprising how little you need to get good abs. When I was training for martial arts, we had these bars on the walls (kind of like these http://rozcawley.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/gym_1.jpg, they would doube as pull-up bars) where we would hang from one of the top bars (so that our feet didn't touch the ground) to do our exercises. Your back would be pressed against the wall (or the other bars) and you could do stuff like lift your knees, your legs, try and keep them in the air, rotate your waist (we found some pretty creative ways of punishing ourselves :P)... Anyways, I still have my six pack and abs of steel :P...

[Oneironaut]

You are going to have to put in some fat-burning (mainly cardio) excersizes, along with your resistance exercizes. Building your abs will give you more defined muscle-tone, but it is getting rid of the fat that surrounds the abs that is going to make them visible. Get a good - at least 20 or so minute - cardio workout, maybe 3 times a week, and work on muscle-building exercizes like crunches or bicycle kicks as often as possible, maybe only letting a single day go by, between work-outs. The abs are known to heal between workouts (thus growing stronger) faster than most of the other muscle groups in the body, so it is important to keep them constantly working.

Eat within the first 30mins to an hour after your workout, and keep your eating schedule down to small portions every few hours. Instead of eating a really filling breakfast, lunch and dinner (if you do), break that down to a small breakfast, lunch and dinner with small "between-meals" throughout the day.

[Adrenaline Junkie]

Thanks for the advice, i'm not aiming for a full on 6 pack, i just want to slim out my belly and make it a bit more pretty to look at, it will take time but i must warn, last year i was going to the gym everyday and i would burn maybe 400 cals on the running and cross trainer, but then i gave up because christmas ruined it for me since i ate loads. Now i am wondering that three 20 minute workouts of cardio exercise a week will even help reduce my waste. This is my typical eating pattern below.

Breakfast - Shreddies cereal
Lunch - Tuna Sandwitch with a diet bar or something like that
Dinner - Maybe some noodles or chicken nuggets, maybe toast even

I will often snack at night, how can i best change my diet because i find i am constantly hungry througout the day + should i do exercises and ab work outs in the morning when i wake and then eat my breakfast? Sorry, i just want to be sure :)

[Spartiate]

I will often snack at night, how can i best change my diet because i find i am constantly hungry througout the day + should i do exercises and ab work outs in the morning when i wake and then eat my breakfast? Sorry, i just want to be sure :)

Drink loads of water, it makes your brain think your stomach is full, plus it flushes out your system. I used to work out whenever I wanted during the day, it didn't really matter to me. Then again, there wasn't much "structure" to my exercise :P...

[Oneironaut]

I will often snack at night, how can i best change my diet because i find i am constantly hungry througout the day + should i do exercises and ab work outs in the morning when i wake and then eat my breakfast? Sorry, i just want to be sure :)

That would be a good idea. I often find I have the best results when I workout in the morning (though I don't work out in the morning very often, because I'm not what you'd call a "morning person" :P ). Also, snacking at night is definitely not a good thing. They say you want to try not to eat anything (except maybe some fruit, or something otherwise nutritious), after about 8pm.

Maybe space out your Tuna Sandwhich and your diet bar, by about an hour or two. The main goal, when it comes to gradually burning fat, is to keep your metabolism high. You do that by constantly giving your body small portions of food to process. Your food will sit in your stomach for less time and won't be able to break down into fat, as easily.

[Edit: And I agree with Spart. Drinking a lot of water is very important.]

[Adrenaline Junkie]

You could say i drink too much water during th day, seriously i drink tons, i drink about 5-8 glasses when i come back over the period of the afternoon and night, thats not including morning drinks. I agree with spacing out the food, i will try it. I still have a few more questions, sorry to keep asking more, you guys seem to know what your talking about.

Before when i exercised alot i saw little results to be honest, if i take this in moderation do you think i may lose weight more sucessfully and faster than i did before? I will try and wake up tomorrow and exercise though, it would be good. Thanks alot for all the advice, i really appreciate it!

[R.D.735]

Don't be afraid to build up muscle on your body either. Muscle is more metabolically active, and each pound of muscle burns around 40-60 extra calories per day, without even exercising it.

[ThePhobiaViewed]

I don't like old fashioned exercise. My way is to flex my muscles (in the shower is a good time because all you do is stand there in the warm goodness, plus then you don't feel as horrible doing it). Flexing is just about as good as lifting and allows for variable tension. 5 minutes a day can make a huge difference. As far as the belly fat, just don't be lazy and add some exercise, it doesn't have to be running all over town but just pacing around the room while on the phone. Also for eating I prefer not to eat fake, diet food because it tastes bad and being fit is about feeling good. As you get into shape you shouldn't even want to east junk food as much. A candy bar for dessert is fine in my book and if I feel myself going overboard I just pop some gum into my mouth and I forget about it quickly.

Don't worry about getting an expanding belly at first. Even if you do it's just like going into debt top start a business, it will be better in the long run. Another way to help your abs is to just flex them as you sit anywhere throughout the day. It really doesn't take long to see results and you will want to continue as you see the results. Strong abs are important because they are the core muscles that are involved in anything we do pretty much.

Basically small changes here and there mean big changes in body. A couple minutes a day is all it takes.

[dodobird]

Thanks for the advice, i'm not aiming for a full on 6 pack, i just want to slim out my belly and make it a bit more pretty to look at, it will take time but i must warn, last year i was going to the gym everyday and i would burn maybe 400 cals on the running and cross trainer, but then i gave up because christmas ruined it for me since i ate loads. Now i am wondering that three 20 minute workouts of cardio exercise a week will even help reduce my waste. This is my typical eating pattern below.

Breakfast - Shreddies cereal
Lunch - Tuna Sandwitch with a diet bar or something like that
Dinner - Maybe some noodles or chicken nuggets, maybe toast even

I will often snack at night, how can i best change my diet because i find i am constantly hungry througout the day + should i do exercises and ab work outs in the morning when i wake and then eat my breakfast? Sorry, i just want to be sure :)

Thats doesn't sound like so much food in your diet.
Maybe replace some of the food with food that contains more fiber ( check out http://www.nutritiondata.com/foods-000006000000000000000-1.html )
Or even add food with fiber to your current meals, and will ease your hunger without adding much calories.

Also, I think that once you built some muscles ( anywhere on the body ), then you will lose weight ( if you don't eat more than you do now ) because the new muscle cells will need more calories.

[Adam]

Okay I will add my 2 pence worth.

First off fat wont turn to muscle, believe it or not, under the fat you and everyone else already has geat muscle definition in the abs, it is because they are one of the most used muscles on your body! If you want to get a more defined stomach, you need to loose the fat on the stomach. Low carb diets are good, so avoiding things like pasta and bread and eating hi fibre and carbs like Nuts, Chicken and Fish.

Excercise is important but you really dont burn that many calories with cardio, weight training is important too! So if you can get to a gym, work on weight training, and a little cardio if you must but eating well and regular is important.

Try to have breakfast at least 30 minutes after you wake up, something like poached eggs, this is kick start your metabolism and make fat burning throughout the day a lot easier. The longer you leave it to eat the more fat your body stores as it prepares for stavation mode.

Also drinking ice cold water burns calories, and I think I read somewhere you should try drinking 3 litres a day! Your body burns calories warming the ice cold water, 3 letres is a big ask but you should try for that.

As for eating try eating every 3 hours like:

Beakfast: Poached Eggs
3 hours later: Mixed nuts (very good for you)
Lunch: chicken salad
3 hours later: mixed nuts (they are good to snack on)
Dinner: Fish or chicken, something high in protein
Evening snack: Something like cottage cheese and celary or something like that.

Eating regular keeps your metabolism working hard and burns off fat easier, and eating a low carb high protein diet means there is less calories to burn and more fat goes.

Not really sure what more I can add, good luck :)

[Adrenaline Junkie]

You see i love it when i get tons of replies :D Thanks alot everyone, well basically i don't know who's advice to follow but basically this is how i did things today and i just want some input on whether it is good enough.

- Wake at 6:30
- 20 minutes later go out back for a short run, like 5 minutes, then do about 10 minutes of step ups (i may reconsider this step and skip it out, i do tons of walking during the day.)
- Go and do a 3 minute ab workout, this consists of three ab exercises, one per minute and it really makes me feel the burn.
- Eat Breakfast
- Go to college
- Eat Tuna Sandwitch with brown bread and low fat flora spread
- Wait an hour
- Eat my Low fat cereal bar
- On the bus home eat Apple or choice of fruit
- Eat my tea at 6
-Then eat anything else i want before 8

Just want to let you know that today i spaced out my eating so i ate like every 3 hours, i am proud because i went into town, saw doughnuts and sweets and i was really really tempted but i said no. What do you guys think of this? Ireally appreciate the advice so far though from all of you! :)