Chest and stomach excersise advice please....

peteruk · 17 Jun 2006 at 19:53

Hey all,

Although I'd consider myself quite health-conscious, I don't really have a great deal of knowledge of the various muscles and how best to work them.

I have for a long time, done a great deal of lower body excersize on the legs such as running, and more recently on the arms through weight lifting in various forms.

However, as of late, I've gained the urge to work my chest and stomach area muscles and would like to develop these more. Apparently, it is benificial to try and work the body evenly, which I haven't really been doing over the past year or so. Time for change.

As I said, I don't do much on these muscles at the moment, maybe about 30 pressups and 50 crunches a day if they count

. I understand, however, that these muscles are 'supporting' so get used to a degree during most upright excersise, but I still doubt this is particularly significant.

I guess the main problem is that I don't have much equipment, except pairs of 2.5lb (1.1kg), 5lb (2.3kg) and 10lb ( 4.4kg) dumbbells. For the record, I do also have this 'running with skiis' style excersise machine, but that's not relevant.

As you'd think, there is a slight element of 'oh I'd love a six-pack' in here

, but as I've been told many times, 'six-packs are made in the kitchen', and as a result I monitor my diet carefully.

From past experiences on this forum, I can say there are some very knowledgable experts on the subject, so would love to know what you recomend.

Your thoughts please.

Thanks to all who post!

Morba · 17 Jun 2006 at 21:15

firstly, ready gordyr's sticky.

secondly. if you want to train chest, you will also need to train your back... and your shoulders... and your triceps.. and then to be even you also need to train your legs, with weights ;]

your lacking in equipment which wont help, you will outgrow those weights very quickly (if you havent already). you dont mention that you have a bench, which would help.

In all honesty you might be best off getting to a decent gym for some instruction, if you have been just training your biceps then your knowledge is low (as you have admitted), so for people to start giving advice it would be best that you go and learn the basics in terms of form for each movement.

if you still want to train at home then you want ot be getting some equipment that will allow you to do some compound movements. a bench and a barbell and some more weights for a start. this will give you loads more exercises that you can do.

most of the time it wont matter how big your abs are if you are carrying a high percentage of body fat. head to a gym to get yourself checked, anything around 15% and you will be starting to see your abs, less is better. are you just doing crunches? make sure your working your obliques as well.

Chong Warrior · 17 Jun 2006 at 22:20

peteruk said:
I guess the main problem is that I don't have much equipment, except pairs of 2.5lb (1.1kg), 5lb (2.3kg) and 10lb ( 4.4kg) dumbbells. For the record, I do also have this 'running with skiis' style excersise machine, but that's not relevant.

Your thoughts please.

My thoughts are you won't be making any difference to your physique with those dumbells!

You need a barbell, a bench, a pull-up bar and around 80kg+ in weights... or just join a gym. Stick to compound exercises and with a good diet you'll hit your goals no problems...

Deadlifts,
Squats,
Bench Press,
Pull-ups.

That's all you need, maybe throw some military presses in there too if you think your shoulders are lacking.

Other exercises you can add at a later date are:

Dips,
Barbell curls,
Incline and decline Bench Press,
Bent over barbell rows.

All are fantastic but just stick with the basic heavy compounds for a month or two, you'll make faster and better gains that way :cool:

If you're wanting to burn bodyfat then leave yourself just 90 seconds rest between sets... no need for cardio, at the very least a lot less need

Start off with a weight you can hit 3 sets of 12 just short of failure and then just add 1kg or 2kg every workout, keep adding until you can only do 3 sets of 8, then add another set but keep adding weight until you can only hit 5 reps. Add another set do them for a week ( so you're doing 5 sets of 5 reps then take a week off )

You could workout either 2 or 3 times a week, which would you prefer? Twice I'd do them Monday and Thursday, if doing them 3 times then you could vary them:

Monday = Deadlifts, Squats, Bench Press, Pull-ups (close grip)
Wednesday = Sumo Deadlifts, Front Squats, Incline Bench Press, Pull-ups (Wide grip)
Friday = Deadlifts, Squats, Bench Press, Pull-ups (close grip)

You WILL make huge gains doing this I guarantee you!

Then you can look at what you goals are again and think of adding more exercises like the second bunch I recommended.

* EDIT - don't worry about the none ab exercises, pretty much a waste of time. Deadlifts and Squats will strengthen your core better than any amount of sit-ups or crunches

ExRayTed · 18 Jun 2006 at 00:00

I was going to add my pearl of wisdom here but I can't really add anything to what the gentlemen above me have said.Keep to it and you will notice a difference in as little as 2-3 weeks

peteruk · 20 Jun 2006 at 01:20

Thanks for your replys people. Some very inspiring stuff here.

Morba said:
firstly, ready gordyr's sticky.

Sure thing.

Chong Warrior said:
You need a barbell, a bench, a pull-up bar and around 80kg+ in weights... or just join a gym. Stick to compound exercises and with a good diet you'll hit your goals no problems...

To be honest, I enjoy working out at home much more due for several reasons: A) the cost, B) the fact a gym is quite a distance from me, and C) I can fit it in conveniently to my life style.

That said, I understand it's pointless saying that if my work-out is not doing any good. This is probably a strange request, but how much would you estimate they will cost, and where would you advice purchasing them from?

Chong Warrior said:
(description of workout plan)

I like the sound of that. I usually excersize in the evenings daily, but if you think longer sessions less often are better, then I can adapt.

Morba said:
you dont mention that you have a bench, which would help

Unfortunately I do not.

*adds it to list of things to get*

Morba said:
head to a gym to get yourself checked

May I ask what that involves, and how much it costs?

Morba said:
are you just doing crunches? make sure your working your obliques as well.

Erm, a bit lost there, better read the sticky

On a final note, until I do manage to improve my equipment, is there anything you can recommend with what I've got?

Morba · 20 Jun 2006 at 11:46

******* laptop is doing my head in!

oliques are the musles to the sides of your abs. try some of these, the side crunch and side bends would be a good start

I would imagine a lot of gyms are doing summer specials, hopefully a local one to you will do a free consultation, should include bf% (with calipers) / heart pressure etc.

there are a lot of exercises you can do from home even with just barbell / dumbells / bench (one that allows incline and decline). Its just a case of the weight that your using.

Could do military press (shoulder press), lateral raises, dumbell lunges, bicep curls, tricep extensions, skull crushers, quite a few really.
have a look here that should be quite a few dumbell exercises, it will list the ones with a bench tho, but thats not a bad thing as you can see the other exercises you could do once you get a bench

list then by compound first of all, see what you can do there. then move onto the isolation ones.

peteruk · 24 Jun 2006 at 23:48

peteruk said:
This is probably a strange request, but how much would you estimate they will cost, and where would you advice purchasing them from?

Don't mean to quote myself, but can anyone help with this question?

Thanks

Euro_Hunter · 25 Jun 2006 at 13:23

peteruk said:
Don't mean to quote myself, but can anyone help with this question?

Thanks

Take a look here they have some really good equipment:
http://www.gymratz.co.uk/weight-training-gym-equipment/

I just took delivery of a Power Rack & a heavy duty incline/decline bench, amazing quality for the price.

Nige.

peteruk · 17 Jul 2006 at 19:10

Alright people, I've been saving heavily and will soon have some money to spend at Gymratz (unless anyone else has a better idea).

I have a question though, is it worth upgrading my dumbells? They are useful for occasional convenient excersizing ( yeah I know, not very professional but still

), but do you think the extra money would be better spent on the barbell + bench (and push up bar perhaps) ?

Thanks again

FeFiDoh · 17 Jul 2006 at 21:08

Morba said:
most of the time it wont matter how big your abs are if you are carrying a high percentage of body fat. head to a gym to get yourself checked, anything around 15% and you will be starting to see your abs, less is better. are you just doing crunches? make sure your working your obliques as well.

15% bodyfat? i just joined a gym today and aiming to bulk up a bit, already have a basis to build from as i was a labourer for years and had quite a stocky build at one point. My bodyfat is about 19% tho so ill have to get that down i see

Morba · 18 Jul 2006 at 00:23

R5Rich said:
15% bodyfat? i just joined a gym today and aiming to bulk up a bit, already have a basis to build from as i was a labourer for years and had quite a stocky build at one point. My bodyfat is about 19% tho so ill have to get that down i see

definitely work on the bf% for a few months.
bulking will make you bigger and unless its a very tight bulk it will put on more fat (has to be done really!), you wont see that much change in your body which can really effect your enthusiasm after a while.

ive got my review next monday, im hoping to be under 20% bf, tho tbh figures mean nothing, 20% on me is not the same as 20% on someone else.
just like 15% isnt a rule as to when you will see your abs, for some people its a lot less than that (if you dont have the muscle there then it will mean more fat needs to be lost).

good luck in the gym, plenty of people on here who are willing to give some help where they can if you have any questions :]

Raz · 18 Jul 2006 at 21:26

Morba said:
definitely work on the bf% for a few months.
bulking will make you bigger and unless its a very tight bulk it will put on more fat (has to be done really!), you wont see that much change in your body which can really effect your enthusiasm after a while.

ive got my review next monday, im hoping to be under 20% bf, tho tbh figures mean nothing, 20% on me is not the same as 20% on someone else.
just like 15% isnt a rule as to when you will see your abs, for some people its a lot less than that (if you dont have the muscle there then it will mean more fat needs to be lost).

good luck in the gym, plenty of people on here who are willing to give some help where they can if you have any questions :]

How are you getting the BF% measured? I'm pretty scared to get mine checked, as I think it will be 30%+ lol.

Morba · 18 Jul 2006 at 22:31

dont worry about what it is, all that is is a number, an old number of what you were, now your changing and the number is history ;]

i got back in the gym this year at a hefty 22st and just over 27% bodyfat. not good. im not either of those anymore and neither will you be.

finding out what you are now means you can set more realistic goals, meaning you wont feel bad if you havent lost 10%bf in 6 months (for example, tho it is possible). you need to know a base measurement to work out the targets.

there are 3 ways to test for bf%:

machine at places like boots / fitness first / jjb fitness: they send an electric pulse through your body and measure electrical resistance iirc. not that reliable.

body fat calipers: generally taken over 4 places of your body. a trained person will use calipers to measure the amount of fat on the muscles in 4 pre determind spots of your body - waist, bicep,tricep, sub scapula i think - this is then calculated to make a number which gives you your bf%. quite reliable is done by a trained person consistently.

water imersion tank. you get imersed in water, something says your bf% = x . tbh im not too up on this process as its quite rare. not many gyms will offer this i doubt, preferring to use calipers.

i would imagine most gyms will do a caliper test for you if you ask, failing that your doctor should have the equipment i imagine.

Raz · 19 Jul 2006 at 19:49

Morba said:
dont worry about what it is, all that is is a number, an old number of what you were, now your changing and the number is history ;]

i got back in the gym this year at a hefty 22st and just over 27% bodyfat. not good. im not either of those anymore and neither will you be.

finding out what you are now means you can set more realistic goals, meaning you wont feel bad if you havent lost 10%bf in 6 months (for example, tho it is possible). you need to know a base measurement to work out the targets.

there are 3 ways to test for bf%:

machine at places like boots / fitness first / jjb fitness: they send an electric pulse through your body and measure electrical resistance iirc. not that reliable.

body fat calipers: generally taken over 4 places of your body. a trained person will use calipers to measure the amount of fat on the muscles in 4 pre determind spots of your body - waist, bicep,tricep, sub scapula i think - this is then calculated to make a number which gives you your bf%. quite reliable is done by a trained person consistently.

water imersion tank. you get imersed in water, something says your bf% = x . tbh im not too up on this process as its quite rare. not many gyms will offer this i doubt, preferring to use calipers.

i would imagine most gyms will do a caliper test for you if you ask, failing that your doctor should have the equipment i imagine.

Thanks for that. I do sometimes think of giving up. but I will stick with it. It's early days, and while I have gained strength (seeing how I'm lifting more weight) I still need to lose a large amount of fat. Need to up the CV and work harder to sorting my diet out.

peteruk · 11 Aug 2006 at 02:44

OK, I'm now looking to spend £100 - £150 on my new equipment from Gym Rats (unless you can suggest a better supplier).

I'm thinking that if I get some weights (their 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 7.5kg sets add up to 70kg in total) and a bar (not entirely sure how long this needs to be, but 6" looks fine) it will come to £90, and I should be able to source a basic bench else where (it won't be incline/decline able, but it will certainly be a start). If I can find a pair of short (say 30cm) 1" bars then I could use the weights on them too and then I'll have suitable dumbell substitutes

. I'll get a screen print of my basket soon.

Unfortunately, they have no push-up bars for sale, so I'll have to look for them elsewhere. Another question though, which out of these 2 will I need for my bar:

Thanks

Tasocahtfu · 11 Aug 2006 at 15:57

The standard spring ones should be fine for your bar mate, that's all I use at the gym

Morba · 11 Aug 2006 at 18:18

yeah spring ones are good for a bit of weight, the L type ones are good for lots more weight.
generally i use nothing when using an olympic bar, teaches you to be stable from the start

peteruk · 12 Aug 2006 at 16:17

Although no one had mentioned any other suppliers, I did a quick google, and found a few other places that had some good combo deals.

This for instance, although it only has 50kg of weight with it (I'm sure that'll be pleanty to begin with) is only £129.99 and comes with both dumbells and a barbell and those stands. Then all I'd need was a bench of sorts (I'm guessing the floor's no good

. It also occured to me that maybe you could use the stands as some kind of pull up/push up bar with the barbell on it.

It's certainly grabbed me now anyway.

peteruk · 14 Aug 2006 at 00:56

All right, if no one has any objections to me getting that, then I'll just go complete the order, with an additional 2x 10kg weights.

Those stands could be overspending, but hey, I'll stick with it and see how it goes...