Best exercises to build muscle and lose fat?

zforgc
zforgc Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
Currently down 32 pounds in my diet, have about 18-28 more pounds to go and I think it's time I start working out instead of running everyday so I can build muscle. anyone have any tips on which exercises I should begin to do, still have mainly stomach fat left but I know I shouldn't really focus on one single part of my body but instead focus on every part.

Replies

  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Highly doubtful you will do both at the same time. You don't really build mass and lose mass at the same time unless you're A) Morbidly Obese B) Severely Undertrained or C) the Returning Athlete.

    You can put it on by eating TDEE with an on point exercise regimen and diet, but those gains are extremely slow.

    Right now you should look into a progressive lifting program with your deficit and running to ensure you maintain the LBM you have so you lose mainly fat from your deficit.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Just start doing Stronglifts
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    You're going to have a hard time of it eating 1000-1200 calories (per your other thread). But sure you get your nutrition and calories sorted along with the new exercise routine.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    You're going to have a hard time of it eating 1000-1200 calories (per your other thread). But sure you get your nutrition and calories sorted along with the new exercise routine.

    ^^^Yep, I just assumed as an 18 yr old male you were doing better than that with calories.......
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    You're going to have a hard time of it eating 1000-1200 calories (per your other thread). But sure you get your nutrition and calories sorted along with the new exercise routine.
    Wut? There are grown men eating 1000 calories per day?

    On purpose?
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    You're going to have a hard time of it eating 1000-1200 calories (per your other thread). But sure you get your nutrition and calories sorted along with the new exercise routine.
    Wut? There are grown men eating 1000 calories per day?

    Well 19 year olds anyway...
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Just start doing Stronglifts

    This. Lift things with the goal of them getting heavy sooner rather than later.
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
    Get your diet in check first, sorry but it is horrible.
  • zforgc
    zforgc Posts: 8
    You're going to have a hard time of it eating 1000-1200 calories (per your other thread). But sure you get your nutrition and calories sorted along with the new exercise routine.
    Wut? There are grown men eating 1000 calories per day?

    Well 19 year olds anyway...

    Lol relax, congratulations on being born 20 years before me. Were you not 19 at one time? Crazy how when people age they forget how they were at certain points in their lives. I'm here because I'm asking for advice, not your useless criticism. If you would provide constructive criticism I wouldn't be complaining
  • IllustratedxGirl
    IllustratedxGirl Posts: 240 Member
    Ignore all of the comments that don't help..

    If you are workin out you'll want to eat more than 1200 calories. Netting 1200 is fine.

    Someone else mentioned stronglifts 5x5. I recommend that as well but it might be difficult to start if you haven't been doing body weight exercises yet. I had a hard time starting it after 4 months of body weight! Now that I'm on it, I'm making progress much faster

    Try the basics.. Push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, planks are really important and I regret not focusing on them more

    Tribe sports has cool graphics with routines on them that have some body weight routines

    When you start looking at lifting or if it makes sense now, then stronglifts 5x5. If that is too difficult now, then start with body weight
  • zforgc
    zforgc Posts: 8
    Ignore all of the comments that don't help..

    If you are workin out you'll want to eat more than 1200 calories. Netting 1200 is fine.

    Someone else mentioned stronglifts 5x5. I recommend that as well but it might be difficult to start if you haven't been doing body weight exercises yet. I had a hard time starting it after 4 months of body weight! Now that I'm on it, I'm making progress much faster

    Try the basics.. Push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, planks are really important and I regret not focusing on them more

    Tribe sports has cool graphics with routines on them that have some body weight routines

    When you start looking at lifting or if it makes sense now, then stronglifts 5x5. If that is too difficult now, then start with body weight

    Thanks, it's stupid how people comment thinking their opinion really matters and affects people, as if they are so important to the world haha, everyone here is looking for help. Seriously lol the fact that a 19 year old is telling off other grown men about immaturity, great world this is.

    In regards to strong lift, does strong lift help get you big or more defined? I'm not trying to get big as I have been playing soccer for over 10 years and usually it's better to be quicker than it is to be freakishly large on the field, so that's why I've limited my exercises to running.
  • Dean649
    Dean649 Posts: 39 Member
    Squats. Your largest muscle mass. Muscle burns calories even when you are not using them. And Squats are the best exercise to get that great looking back end ladies.

    Jump rope. I think simple jump rope is one of the best exercises on the planet. Yet only us boxers seem to take advantage of it.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    lose fat? - plate pushbacks

    preserve muscle? - resistance training of all sorts.
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
    Ignore all of the comments that don't help..

    If you are workin out you'll want to eat more than 1200 calories. Netting 1200 is fine.

    Someone else mentioned stronglifts 5x5. I recommend that as well but it might be difficult to start if you haven't been doing body weight exercises yet. I had a hard time starting it after 4 months of body weight! Now that I'm on it, I'm making progress much faster

    Try the basics.. Push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, planks are really important and I regret not focusing on them more

    Tribe sports has cool graphics with routines on them that have some body weight routines

    When you start looking at lifting or if it makes sense now, then stronglifts 5x5. If that is too difficult now, then start with body weight
    Sorry but if 1200 even net is stupid if it is below his BMR. OP what are your stats? Height, weight age etc?
  • FitTassie
    FitTassie Posts: 2 Member
    Just had a quick flick through the post, and you actually need to eat to to loose weight.
    If you eat to less, your body goes into starvation mode and actually stores fat.
    Protein is your friend, depending on your training regime you need to consume 1.2 - 2 gm per kg of body weight, you also need good fat in your diet as this regulates testosterone and clean carbs, look into macros, perhaps as a starting point 40, 40, 20, always keep the fat at 20 % and play with carbs and protein.

    My diet consists of 45, 35, 20. And a calorie target of around 2100 per day, I weight train 5 day per week and mainly do heavy compound exercises ( dead lifts, squats, bench press). I am currently at 10% body fat and weigh 78kg, I am aiming for 4-5% and around 74-75 kg by September.
    You need to aim to loose Round approx 500gm per week.

    If I can offer any assistance feel free to message me.
    Cheers.
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
    Ignore all of the comments that don't help..

    If you are workin out you'll want to eat more than 1200 calories. Netting 1200 is fine.

    Someone else mentioned stronglifts 5x5. I recommend that as well but it might be difficult to start if you haven't been doing body weight exercises yet. I had a hard time starting it after 4 months of body weight! Now that I'm on it, I'm making progress much faster

    Try the basics.. Push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, planks are really important and I regret not focusing on them more

    Tribe sports has cool graphics with routines on them that have some body weight routines

    When you start looking at lifting or if it makes sense now, then stronglifts 5x5. If that is too difficult now, then start with body weight

    Thanks, it's stupid how people comment thinking their opinion really matters and affects people, as if they are so important to the world haha, everyone here is looking for help. Seriously lol the fact that a 19 year old is telling off other grown men about immaturity, great world this is.

    In regards to strong lift, does strong lift help get you big or more defined? I'm not trying to get big as I have been playing soccer for over 10 years and usually it's better to be quicker than it is to be freakishly large on the field, so that's why I've limited my exercises to running.

    They weren't being immature or rude, they're just pointing out the fact that 1200 calories for a 19 year old male is far too low, especially if you play 'soccer' and run a lot like you say. Also, if you do want to build muscle you'll have to increase your calorie intake significantly.

    As others have said, look into stronglifts 5x5 but make sure you research diet as well. Hope this helps.
  • rachelfrancoise
    rachelfrancoise Posts: 10 Member
    I think the absolute best exercise on the planet - power ropes. You'll blast fat, build muscle and you'll sweat like never before. Great workout. Painful but worth it.
  • jackielou867
    jackielou867 Posts: 422 Member
    Ignore all of the comments that don't help..

    If you are workin out you'll want to eat more than 1200 calories. Netting 1200 is fine.

    Someone else mentioned stronglifts 5x5. I recommend that as well but it might be difficult to start if you haven't been doing body weight exercises yet. I had a hard time starting it after 4 months of body weight! Now that I'm on it, I'm making progress much faster

    Try the basics.. Push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, planks are really important and I regret not focusing on them more

    Tribe sports has cool graphics with routines on them that have some body weight routines

    When you start looking at lifting or if it makes sense now, then stronglifts 5x5. If that is too difficult now, then start with body weight

    Thanks, it's stupid how people comment thinking their opinion really matters and affects people, as if they are so important to the world haha, everyone here is looking for help. Seriously lol the fact that a 19 year old is telling off other grown men about immaturity, great world this is.

    In regards to strong lift, does strong lift help get you big or more defined? I'm not trying to get big as I have been playing soccer for over 10 years and usually it's better to be quicker than it is to be freakishly large on the field, so that's why I've limited my exercises to running.

    Don't know if this helps but I have a friend who is a triathlete. She just did a bulk cut cycle to increase her muscle mass, and has beaten last years run times. A little muscle and strength could make you a formidable opponent on the footy field. Our local swim squad sends the teenagers for workout sessions in the gym.
  • wayneharrington1
    wayneharrington1 Posts: 73
    In my experience, cardio alone is not good, get yourself down to the gym and a personal trainer.

    Personal trainers are really good, they will push you hard and help you burn fat and build muscle.

    Once you have been to a few personal trainer sessions it will give you some extra knowledge and eventually you will be able to workout without the use of a personal trainer. They can workout really costly, but it will be worth it.

    With regards to your diet, ensure you eat lots of protein to help repair your muscles after your workout sessions.

    I have been there in the past and eating 1200 to 1500 calories a day works great I can lose a stone a month, but as soon as I start eating a normal calorie amount again I put the weight straight back on. Like it has been mentioned your body goes into starvation mode and thinks to itself, if it carries on like this, I will need fat reserves.

    With losing weight it is true diet is 70/80 % of the battle, however the 20/30 % of exercise is important to maintain a healthy body.

    If you do start to lift weights please do not be put off by the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) the first time you start to use all of the muscles you do not normally use you will be very sore. Just make sure you stretch before and after your workout.

    Your muscles may seem for the first few weeks like they are really sore and you may struggle to do things like brush your teeth or get out of bed. However eventually this will wear off as your body gets used to the changes.

    Please do not get disheartened by any comments on here, people are just trying to help,
  • TheMotivator123
    TheMotivator123 Posts: 194
    Ok you can either cut to loose weight or bulk to gain. cannot do both. Now if you are a non lifter once you start lifting you will add muscle as u are leaning out
  • GillianMcK
    GillianMcK Posts: 401 Member
    People are advising to get your diet sorted, because you need the calories to build the muscle, you asked about building muscle and cutting fat, but you need the calories to do this.
    It's valid advice, it's up to you if you want to take the advice or not, but you won't build muscle on 1200 calories, so you need to pick one, do you want to build muscle or keep on the 1200 calories a day and then ask for advice once you know what you want to do!!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    ..... instead of running everyday ......

    So what distance are you running every day, and at what pace? Are you only doing steady paced runs or are you including other types of sessions?

    I'd also ask why you're running every day?

    That said, I think you have a number of conflicting objectives, particularly given your calorie intake being very low, well under the recommended minimum for men.

    Essentially while you're eating in deficit you're unlikely to gain significant muscle. If you're doing quality running sessions then you'll see increasing strength there, but you'd need to balance that out with other activities.

    The caveat on this is that I run and cycle, so my thoughts are biased towards supporting that performance, rather than anything else.

    Resistance training of some kind will help you retain lean mass while losing weight, so help mitigate for the very low intake. That could reasonably be bodyweight work; press ups, dips, box jumps etc but you could do it with weights and Stronglifts is very heavily evangelised on here as an initial programme.

    When you reach your goal weight you're then in a position to start trying to build muscle, in which case you'll need to go into a bulk/ cut cycle and whilst bodyweight work will help, the gains are much slower than if you use additional weights.

    Essentially you can't both build muscle and lose fat at the same time. to lose fat you train whilst in deficit, in order to retain lean mass and improve bodyfat percentage, to gain muscle you train whilst in surplus, but that will add both muscle and fat. Essentially it bcomes cyclic until you reach your goals.

    But as upthread, this is all predicated on eating adequately to meet your goals. If your deficit is too extreme then your ability to retain lean mass is significantly hindered, similarly if your protein and fat intake is inadequate then the resistance work won't have the desired effect. fwiw when I was eating as low as 1600 cals per day I was really struggling to function adequately, completely underfuelled and my training wasn't effective.

    All that said, from predominantly running and cycling I've reduced my bodyfat from about 30% to 20% in just over year. only I do some bodyweight work once or twice a week, depending on whether I feel like it or not. My running tends to be in the 10-16km range, four to five times per week with a combination of long steady runs, fast tempo sessions and high intensity intervals.

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