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Alright =]

First here's my body type:

height: 6' 1"
weight: 165
age: 18
average body, i have a little bit of a tummy

So, I know i dont eat really healthy (what teen does), every day at school i have a coke and usually fatty food (i know i know it's horrible) i pretty much dont exercise at all.

That being said what do i need to do? i know i need to stop drinking carbonated drinks and eat better things. but i know you guys have tips.

And a schedule for exercising and working out? should i do it in the morning or afternoon/night? what kind of exercises?

Whats driving me is wanting to look good with my shirt off, i want to be able to like what i see. i know im not fat or anything, but I want to look like a model - so I'm going to make it happen. thanks in advance for the help.

Jordan

Jordan,

Firstly, howdy neighbor! <--in Memphis!

Secondly, this is kind of a loaded question. Lol I would definitely recommend going through some of the articles and forum stickies on this site, because there's a LOT of really good information on what to eat, what to drink, best ways to get motivated/started, etc.

Just to hit some of the highlights that worked for me:

1.) Drop the carbonated drinks, period. No excuses, no exceptions. There's not a single one out there worth drinking if you're out for that kind of body. If you're like my little bro' (14) and into the energy drinks, chuck those, too! Furthering that point, start drinking more water. If you don't like the taste of water, there are some ways around it. One is to put a bit of lemon and/or lime juice in with it to give it a citrus taste. SpecialK also makes a powder that's high in protein and fiber that you can mix in with water to give it some flavor.

2.) Start brown bagging your lunch to school if you don't already, and start doing it wisely. Start packing fruits, sandwiches made with turkey or chicken and whole grain breads (there's all kinds out there). You may also want to consider keeping a bag of stuff to keep in your locker or backpack for stuff like small cans of almonds and other nuts, raisins, etc. to snack on throughout the day between your classes. If you can, try to spread your caloric intake across the whole day, rather than taking it all in at lunch time.

3.) Cardio. Start walking, outdoors if you can manage it, on a treadmill if not. One thing I always did in high school was keep a brisk walking pace even when I was in school, for all the times that I couldn't be out on a bike or running. If you don't like running or otherwise can't run, try rollerblading or biking. If you have access to a gym, elliptical machines are also excellent. Most people recommend doing cardio 3x a week for at least 25-30 minutes per session.

4.) Sleep more. At 18, you shouldn't have any problems getting lots of sleep anyway - - but if you don't, I would advise you correct that. People underestimate how important sleep is to trimming down and bulking up. The body does a LOT of repair in your sleep; depriving it of that time only hurts you.

5.) I'm no PT, so I would suggest you do some research before you just take my advice on weights. If you've never really worked out with weights before, I'd start easy. Stick to low-weight, high-repetition routines (ie, shoulder press 15-20 lbs 15 times, rather than trying to shoulder press 35-40 lbs 5 times). There's a lot of good information on different workout routines on this website. I'm actually going through the muscle building one myself, and I'm really liking it so far. Whatever you end up doing, just go easy at first, figure out your own limitations, and start working through them.

Hope this helps. As I said, I'm not certified or anything. I just know what has worked for me. Do your homework (for class AND this!), and pay attention to what your body tells you. If you pick up a weight, and it's all you can do to keep a grip on it walking back to the bench, you might not want to try to hoist it over your head. If you're stretching or lifting or whatever, and you feel something pop, or tighten, or otherwise feel out of place, stop for a minute, stretch a bit, and maybe do something else. The last thing you want to do is hurt yourself.

Good luck!

I'll agree with a lot of what mtown said, its great advice as you'd hear it over and over again. Definitely stop drinking soda, and try to eat healthier foods and don't eat out often either.


Mtown pretty much touched a lot of things as theres plenty to discuss, however i do suggest getting a book, as they help is SO many ways. Body for life, Body sculpting book for men, Scrawny to Brawny, are a few i own and are good reads. There are soo many, with soo much useful information that can steer you in the right direction.


To lightly touch a few points you've mentioned:
Working out times are for whenever your schedule will permit you to exercise. Idealy, its best to do cardio in the morning before eating, however, it doesn't matter too much for younger individuals. I'd start with cardio and core strength before getting into any lifting just so you can reduce any fat, get some endurance, and be ready for the next step. For doing cardio, the best exercises in my opinion are running, riding a bike (either stationary or not), and swimming. If you want to get involved in sports, i'd suggest soccer for the best cardio.


Once you've done cardio and a few other exercises you feel like doing to get comfortable with, use RJ's (or other book's/site's) workout plans and you'll be good to go. Its best to have the knowledge and then make your own routine yourself, for some people it makes them more likely to follow it if they've made it.

Hope that helps, send me an email if you've got any questions or care for anymore advice on a particular subject.

as far as eating goes, if you're really into finding out more there is a book called "burn the fat feed the muscle" it goes into an enormous amount of detail about eating healthy. it can be a bit much though. Really depends on if you are into details. this one can be found online if you look.
It goes into exercise plans too.
I've also seen suggested "the new rules of lifting"

aim for 200g of protein a day. shakes are your friend here.
try keeping a food diary. there are electronic versions available.
Free on web fitday.com - also has a $20 download
free download cronometer

If you're new to working out i recommend a trainer. The knowledge they have, plus the help with keeping "to form" when doing exercises is invaluable. You can hurt yourself by doing exercises wrong. Even if you can only afford one for a couple weeks, it can save you. Plus it helps out with the intimidation factor of walking into a gym and seeing all this strange equipment and not knowing what it's for.
If you can't afford one, try finding a friend who knows what they're doing. or if that fails ask around at the gym.

as far as timing goes, do what works for you and your schedlue. better you pick a plan you can stick to, then something you only hit half the time.

I'm guessing you're also an ectomorph. which basically means that you are naturally thin. it also means that it will be harder for you to add muscle. But on the plus side, it means you can cheat a little more on food. You can search on that for different diet / workout tips.

Thank you guys so much! This really helps a lot =] so how long do you think until I'll see results?

I'd say about 2-4 weeks. At least that's how long it took for me... from stick arms and flat chest at the start of April, to a little bit bulgy arms and chest after 3 weeks. Good Luck!

NYCGuy74 mentioned this, and I'll reiterate: find a friend to work out with. You probably need someone that can push you.

At your age, your metabolism is super high. Unless you're super overweight, you can actually probably continue to eat all the crap you want and still get the body you want. You just have to do tons of work! Tons of running, biking, hiking and jogging, and then tons of resistance training (so pushups, pullups, situps, leg lifts). All of those exercises don't involve weights, and you should be able to do them easily. If you do lots of non-resistance exercises (running, jogging) you'll lose whatever fat you do have. What will put on the muscle is the resistance exercises (pushups, pullups, etc). Getting more muscle will burn the fat faster too.

Diet is important, but at your age, I'd say you just need to do tons of exercise. At 18, your body is like a big charged battery just waiting to explode. Use that energy to do tons of exercise, and you'll get the body that you want.

(Of course, cutting down on all of the bad food is a great idea, and definitely read as much as you can on all of this, and see a personal trainer if you can. I just think the key is to do tons of work, and push yourself as much as you can. Working with a friend will be great for this if the friend pushes you harder than you'd push yourself).

Good luck!