Is it worth it?

[RedHerring]

I would like to tone up some, but do not have the desire to change my diet or go to a gym 5 days a week.

Therefore: Would I see some sort of result if I did a bunch of pushups and other exercises (I'm looking for my dumbells...) at home?

Or is it not worth the energy and I should go all or nothing?

And if I were to do pushups everyday, would you recommend doing them until I collapse, or start at a certain number and work my way up comfortably?

Thank you.

 

[bigforearms]

You're not likely to tone your body simply by adding push-ups. You'll get a stronger chest, shoulders, and arms if you keep at it, but you won't look very impressive.

I did the push-up, sit-up, and light curls thing when I was in sixth and seventh grade. I got a slightly stronger upper body but I wouldn't attribute any other physical changes to it. If you want to look better, you'll have to get into a real sport that works your whole body and/or lift weights. If you want to feel better, you'll have to improve your diet too.

If you still want to go the push-up route, don't do them until you collapse. Set a difficult, specific number each night before you start, and then do everything in your power to reach that number. If you have it in your mind that you'll do an exercise until exhaustion, exhaustion comes a lot quicker. Slowly increase the number you do every night so you're getting something out of it. After a few months of this, throw off the training wheels and get in a real gym.

 

[RedHerring]

If you want to look better, you'll have to get into a real sport that works your whole body and/or lift weights.

Ok, so you mean following one of the guides that are stickied?

I know nutrition is important to tone your body, but is it absolutely necessary to see results? I'm only a junior in HS next year and I think changing my diet radically like that would not be very good.

If you still want to go the push-up route, don't do them until you collapse. Set a difficult, specific number each night before you start, and then do everything in your power to reach that number. If you have it in your mind that you'll do an exercise until exhaustion, exhaustion comes a lot quicker. Slowly increase the number you do every night so you're getting something out of it. After a few months of this, throw off the training wheels and get in a real gym.

Makes sense, thanks.

 

[Mr. Latte]

There's a saying..."a great body is made in the kitchen". Couldn't be more true. I'd say 85% of the equation is nutrition. It doesn't matter HOW much you work out, if you're sitting around all day eating pasta, white bread, chips, etc, you're never gonna get a decent body. Pushups will make you stronger, but you'll reach a plateau quickly, and they won't do you any good after that. Also, they won't do a thing so far as your physique is concerned. You're not gonna lose weight, nor will you gain muscle mass (not enough to see, anyways). The only way to do what you want to do is intense HIIT (high intensity interval training), and lifting 2 or 3 times a week, for one hour, and eating CLEAN. Most people have no idea what they supposed to be eating. If you'd like, I can e-mail you an article. And whatever you do, don't starve yourself...by eating less than you should, you won't lose weight, you'll just get fatter.

 

[bigforearms]

I've only skimmed part of the stickies so I'm not entirely sure what they say, but here's my take on your questions:

If all you're looking to do is get toned, or into athletic-looking shape, you don't need to lift weights. You're in high school; join the swim team, the wrestling team, football, basketball, whatever. Get friends together to play pick-up football or basketball games every day/every few days after school. Do a sport or a game that is fun and physically challenging at the same time, and eventually you'll get a good physique without having to endure the tedium that weight lifting and running is to some people.

If greatly volumizing your muscles or vastly increasing your strength is your goal, you can't ignore the weight room. You CAN lose weight and get cut with crappy nutrition, especially during high school and middle school; however, you'll see much better results from eating right. You'll also feel a lot better. If you keep those eating habits up into college, like a lot of people do, you'll be a fat-ass with a gut and no shape. The freshman 15 is outdated, in my experience it should be the freshman 35.

You wont' necessarily reach a plateau with push-ups. If you keep increasing it, you'll get progressively better at doing push-ups and will keep seeing gains in the endurance of the associated muscles. You will reach a looks plateau though, as push-ups don't build very voluminous pecs and arms.

 

[RedHerring]

Sounds good, thanks for the help.

But can you explain what this means:

8. Suggested macro nutrient ratios:

Carbs: 1-1.2g / # body weight
Protein: 2g./ # body weight

Does it mean amount of grams of Carbs and protein recommended? Can't be....

 

[OddTech]

That means your daily macronutrients should be 1 to 1.2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of bodyweight.

For example, I weigh 150 pounds. So everyday, I have to make sure I have:

1*150 to 1.2*150 = 150 grams to 180 grams of carbo a day.

And for protein, my daily intake should be:

2*150 = 300 grams of protein taken daily.

Hope this helps.

 

[bigforearms]

Originally posted by RedHerring
Sounds good, thanks for the help.

But can you explain what this means:



Does it mean amount of grams of Carbs and protein recommended? Can't be....

That's the daily amount that that post recommended, but don't believe everything that you read. There is absolutely no reason for eating 2 g of protein per pound of bodyweight, and it's as likely to be bad for your kidneys as it is to help you. A much more supportable amount is .6 - .8 g / lb of bodyweight per day. You may even want to stretch it to 1 g/lb.

 

[RedHerring]

heh ok. thanks again