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Crumpet's avatar

I need some exercise advice?

Asked by Crumpet (1805points) September 10th, 2012

Ok guys, heres my story:

I’m 22, male, and have always been skinny/athletic and relatively active, until I went to uni 3 years ago.
My time spent at uni involved eating crap frozen microwave meals, takeaways and binge drinking 3 times a week. I was also in a relationship for the whole time I was at uni, and I got comfortable, and lazy.

No one in my family is overweight, and I always cockily though I would never be fat, but in the 3 years I’ve been at uni I’ve gained about 4 stone! I still have an overall relatively slim frame, but I’ve gained a pretty hefty beer belly and have stretch marks, and my face has took a massive hit too. Its got to the point that I’m starting to feel embarrassed and ashamed. When I see people I’ve not seen for a while it’s not uncommon to hear ”%&*$# hell you’ve put on weight!”

Now that I’ve graduated and spilt with my girlfriend I feel it’s time to start a new chapter in my life and sort myself out.

My main problem is I’m back with my parents, and am finding it hard to find a job. So I can’t afford to join a gym. Also, I don’t really have much of a say in what meals get cooked (although they’re mostly healthy, fries make often appearances).

What I do have, is access to dumbells, a bycycle and some nice trails nearby to go for a jog.

But I don’t have a clue where to begin!

How often and for how long should I run/cycle for?
What Dumbell routines can I do?
What other excersises are good to do without gym equipment?

I would really appreciate some advice!
Thanks a lot

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9 Answers

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

You need to adjust your diet and work on the exercise. I did that same thing in college and beyond. I was an athlete in high school, always slim. I went to college, ate crap and partied and I put on about 20 pounds. Then I got out, after awhile I adjusted the diet, got more exercise and I’m back to my high school weight. Still there. I also take fish oil, flaxseed oil, and borage oil capsules. I had to go to a new Dr today for something unrelated and she couldn’t believe my cholesterol numbers. Good luck.

Cruiser's avatar

Get out of the house and let r’ rip. You should focus on vigorous exercise such as fill a back pack with your dumbells and hike your ass off road. You need to burn this excess energy. Also focus on core work, crunches, lunges, curls, keep it simple but real. Biking is great for cardio so is running trails at the woods. Main thing is shake up your body. Do stay away from crap carbs like fries. Munch as much whole raw foods as you can and LOTS OF WATER!

gailcalled's avatar

A stone is 24 lbs? That’s 56 lbs.

I would start by eating less, eating more plants and skipping the fries.

I would also start a program that alternates jogging, biking and weight work. Start with a short stint and if you feel good in a few days, increase things gradually.

If you let ‘er rip too soon, you may end up injuring yourself. Do 20–30 minutes daily of some moderate work-outs. After a week, start to increase.

Shippy's avatar

Drop the carbohydrates at night, choose clean food, steamed or low fat. Start to walk everywhere. Drop sugars in fizzy drinks, choose low fat milk and yoghurt’s, and you could even offer to walk some neighborhood dogs. If you do buy packaged food read the labels, higher than 5% fat is too high, and watch out for sodium.

philipsteele's avatar

Okay, first i want to say that, we must avoid all types of fast food items and follow a good diet systems…don’t need any huge exercise, do just simple like walking, swimming, cycling, volleyball or tennis…Yoga is also one of the best thing for both mental and physical fitness..i am doing it now….:)

wundayatta's avatar

Might I suggest that you do one to two hours of bicycling each day, preferably at the same time each day. Find some nice country roads to ride on, and vary your trip from day to day if you can. I don’t know if you know what professional bicyclists look like, but they get that way from riding eight hours a day. You can have one or two days a week off, if you like.

You can also do a lot of strength training just using the weight of your body. Pushups and situps and squat thrusts are all good. You can do a half hour of this kind of exercise a day, as well.

Then you can do some yoga, if you know how to do it. Otherwise, I guess that’ll have to wait until you can get some training. Although you can get training on the internet for free. I would google weight training with no equipment to see what shows up. Also you can get a lot of yoga routines there. So that’s free and can really help.

So that’s how I’d go about it.

yuanorlla's avatar

In order to your girlfriend, for the sake of your health, in order to your future, in order to · · · so, you want to keep the body healthy!

ScottyMcGeester's avatar

Cut back on soda. Beer is actually healthier than soda. So don’t worry about the alcohol. It’s the sugar that gets you, and all those crappy chemicals. Go out and search for organic stuff that you find tastes good. The best iced tea is Snapple, I would say. As well as Joe’s Iced Tea. (Although the latter I’m not sure if it’s sold outside the US)

Do suicides. Those really warm you up before a big run or something. It’s a drill used for basketball players, but you can do it without the ball.

Run your ass off.

theeroxyamanda's avatar

Honestly I just had two babies within a year span it has been 9mo and I am back in my pants before I had both of them. I run a 26’ bar chainsaw for firewood that is the best work out! Also you have a great chance right now to find yourself and your happieness! find it! I also find that crafts make me happy and are very theraputic! you have time to think about stuff and express yourself at the same time! you are what u make of it.

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