Getting FIT for the summer.

I'm doing P90X and having a better diet to get fit.:icon_bigg

 

I just eat what I want and work out 6 days a week. Abs don't really show through as much as I'd like. How do I get them to show? Do I have to do more cardio for that or change my eating habits?

 

I'm in the process of changing my diet a little towards something a little "healthier". It's a slow process. Haven't quite started working out yet, although I'd like to.

 

My goal for this summer is to get to my ideal weight of 160 lbs and lose the fat around my waist, thighs and butt as well as get fit. Currently I am 5'9" at 180 lbs, with most of my weight being in the areas I want to slim and tone. Also I want to strengthen my core and improve my stamina, I've got the speed but not enough stamina to sustain it for long.

So I've been doing crossfit twice a week, planning on doing tennis with my sister on weekends and if I can get myself to, jog in the morning. As far as eating goes I am snacking less and just being a bit observant of what I eat.

So far from this I have noticed less tiredness and increased stamina. I am still working on my problem areas though. Best of luck to everyone.

 

From what I understand, getting abs to show isn't a case of not having enough muscle on your abs, but rather having too much fat around your abs. And seeing as you can't really pinpoint fat loss in specific areas, you need to reduce your overall body fat %.

As for myself, I was planning on picking up running regularly (since it's finally nice out). But then I had the brilliant idea of getting a bike, so I might do that instead. Far more options and far more fun (for me).

 

I definitely need to do something about my shape, I'm way too self-conscious about my body, finding the time do exercise however will be difficult.

 

Ah, yes biking is something I've been waiting to do since last fall. It was what kept me at 170 lbs and as a vent for my excess energy.

 

I have never been in good shape in my whole life and I want to change it.
Currently 6'5 175lbs. My goal is to be around 170 with lean muscle definition.

I have p90x collecting dust, I could really use a buddy to do it with for motivation if anyone is interested. Currently I bike 15-20 miles a week, play racquetball 2-3 times, and eat a low carb diet.

 

Since I'm probably going to end up with a ridiculous amount of free time this summer, exercise and/or outdoorsy stuff would be brilliant.

I'm now ~76kg, which is probably my heaviest ever, but I'm at a nice and healthy 21 BMI, and even that's probably because I'm more muscley than I used to be. I stopped growing at 190cm when I was about 14 - I was a lanky freak.

 

I'm not really doing anything special. What I really need to do is do better at staying physically active year round. It's too easy to let exercise slide in winter.

Right now, I've been swimming fairly regularly. One perhaps vain hope is to improve my swimming ability this summer.

 

Whoo yeah I feel you. While my weight is decent (it hasn't much changed) I still need to build up more muscle and then burn off a bit of fat. It's difficult to get into a routine when everything's still changing around you though; stress from school is making it difficult.

I literally have like two weight sets I haven't touched in months, sitting right next to me. Darn. With luck I'll get back that motivation and have my 5% BF and a better look so I don't feel so subconscious hanging around at CL or wherever I go this fall.

Just an FYI, you don't have to have 5% body fat to look and feel good but my body just slims up instantly. It's not hard for me, but you should do what is healthy for yourself.

 

Yes, bodyfat is most important, although how muscular they are does have a significant impact. The more muscular they are, the higher your bodyfat is 'allowed' to be before your abs will become visible.

How hydrated you are also affects how visible your abs are (and your other muscles too). The more hydrated you are, the plumper your skin will be and the less defined your muscles will appear. When you eat your stomach swells which also makes them less visible. I can see mine nicely in the morning after I've gone for about 9 or 10 hours without drinking or eating anything, but then they slowly become less defined throughout the day.
Models will intentionally dehydrate and starve themselves before a shoot to make themselves look like that, even doing things like drinking alcohol beforehand (as that dehydrates you further). You are very unlikely to ever look a like a guy in a magazine does, because he himself doesn't look like that normally.
Here is a nice article about what male models do to themselves: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/diet-fitness/article2506898.ece
Obviously I'm not suggesting you do these things!

Lighting is also incredibly important. A person with perfect abs in bad lighting will look less defined than someone with no abs in good lighting. Abs only become visible when the light is coming from such an angle that it casts shadows in the right places. Those shoots have perfect lighting - if the model moved at all then their abs would start to disappear.

And of course there's genetics. Some people will just find it impossible to healthily get rid of enough fat on their stomach for it to show, because that's where their body naturally stores it. Others might just have thick or 'loose' skin in that area.


So don't be too disheartened if they aren't as defined as you'd like, because you've got literally everything going against you.

 

I worked out a lot last summer. By the end of it, I was running several miles and biking 10+ miles. I was in the best shape of my life, by far. I'm gonna try and do it again this summer, but I'm not sure how successful I'll be since I'm going to be a lot busier with school this time.

 

I'm participating in the National Bike challenge. I'm personally planning on biking to work 2-3 days/wk (15 miles each way)

 

I'm currently 6', 170lbs, and started walking ~4mi every day after school in addition to fencing multiple times a week. I'm not overweight, but I would like to slim down a bit.

 

I have up on muscle is rather stay skinny! Building muscle is to hard and painful, plus I don't eat a lot so building muscle is harder when you eat 700 calories a day! Just saying

 

lol getting fit for summer...


brb, leveling my lv 20 some class and some build

 

Hmm, this thread gave me an idea based off the many bike comments. My friend got a cheap road bike off Craigslist. I may do the same, especially now that I am not rowing and I do absolutely no cardio. I mean, most every cyclist I pass I go like :eek: at their calves. :icon_bigg