my workout..a little help wanted

[Radja]

I do 3 sets of 50 crunches (two sets with a 5 pound weight behind my head, and one set with legs in the air, one with legs straight, and one with bent knees).

then I do 2 sets of double-leg pikes (25 & 20), 1 set of single-leg pikes (25 reps), 2 sets of Russian twists (40 & 30), 2 sets of scissors (25 & 25), leg raises (hold for 15 secs, 10 reps), supermans (1 set 10 reps 15 secs each), then a set of bicycles (75-100 reps, 1 set only), then leg thrusters or raises or whatever (bringing legs up and down almost to touch floor, 25 reps, 2 sets, and then I do another exercises to do obliques (chucks?).

I do this every day, so is this a good routine to develop abdominal muscle, cause I've been doing it for 2 weeks with results, but I have fat on my hips which makes the overall look not as good. Whats a good hip or lovehandle region exercise? I do sidebends, 3 sets each side using a 40lb weight, with 12-20 reps each set.

[Lady C]

I'm sorry doing tons of ab exercises will not make the abs be leaner. This is called spot reduction and no human can do that. You need to watch your diet (abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym).

I suggest you dump all of those exercises and pick up a fully body routine that includes weight training and cardiovascular exercises.

Post a typical day of eating and maybe we can help you optimize your eating plan.

[LiftGirl]

LadyC is right on. (LadyC is always right on.)

Anyway, you have to burn fat all over the body, not just on the hips/love handles, and you can't do it with ab exercises. So how do we burn fat all over the body?

1) Full body resistance training. This means all muscles, not just abs. Building some lean muscle mass will speed up your metabolism, aiding fat burning. If you're a girl, you won't get big or bulky.

2) A sensible eating plan. Like LadyC says, if you post what you're eating now we (especially LadyC) can help you improve it.

3) Some cardio. Cardio burns calories, but more importantly it speeds up your metabolism.

[Radja]

Originally Posted by Lady C

I'm sorry doing tons of ab exercises will not make the abs be leaner. This is called spot reduction and no human can do that. You need to watch your diet (abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym).

I suggest you dump all of those exercises and pick up a fully body routine that includes weight training and cardiovascular exercises.

Post a typical day of eating and maybe we can help you optimize your eating plan.

I was just talKing about my ab workout there. I still do a full weight-training workout.

[Radja]

I'm male. For weights, I start out with 3 sets of dumbbell presses, 10 reps each. Then 2-3 sets of shoulder presses, 10-12 each. Then I do some cable rows x10 for 2 sets, then barbell curls x10 for 2 sets, then kickbacks x12 for 2 sets, arm rows (?) for 2 sets of 10 reps each, and then 10 reps of 2 sets of leg press, leg curls, leg extensions, and then some dumbbell curls with both arms going at the same time for 2 sets of 8-10 reps each. Then I do 10-15 minutes of the elliptical (i know I should do more cardio) on the balls of my feet to work my calves a little more.
There's some more stuff, but I guess its safe to say I do need help.

I bike to the gym (but not a very hard ride, cept on the way back there is this huge incline) which is like 4-5miles away from where I live.

To eat, I don't have a big diet (which I should varymore) Generally, I eat a lot of sandwiches (1 or 2 slices of roast beef, cheese and lettuce), I drink a lot of water, orange juice, gatorade (which I probably shouldn't.) Sometimes I do eat bad food , though, like a cookie or some cereal that isn't that great (reese's pieces, YUCK). Then I might eat some chicken or rice at night (most of the time). I use no supplements.

I NEVER eat at fast food (only Subway, like once every 3 months). I NEVER drink soda (gave that up 3-4 years ago). I never drink nor never will drink, don't smoke...no drugs, I just need to work on my diet a lot, and a more efficient workout.

[Radja]

My body type is weird because naturally, my body is meant for almost anything physically demanding. My arms were very skinny, and my calves were, what I call, straight logs (there is muscle there, but doesn't show), but I can still run and jump pretty well. My thighs are more developed, and my arms are not as skinny as they once were, just with a little more muscle. I don't have that huge body type, i think i'm an ectomorph by nature, but the more I weightlift, I see some results, but nothing that I see that is THAT great.

[bodyshop20]

you sound like a natural runner, so muscle will be hard to gain.
so i suggest low rep high intensity
Try 1 set or max rep for each body part and see if over work has hindered your gains
Recommmmended by Dan C (1 set max rep)
Which im trying for 1 month on arms

[LiftGirl]

If you want your weights workout to be more efficient (shorter?) but still difficult and effective, try just doing this 3 times a week: Squat, deadlift, rows, bench, shoulder press. It doesn't look like much, but try it, and you'll see. I just started doing this myself after taking about 2 weeks off. I was so sore the next two days!

If you're riding your bike to the gym 4-5 miles, I wouldn't feel too guilty about not doing more cardio. You are plenty active.

For more diet help, post up what you eat and at about what time for a typical day. The more specifics you give, the better our advice can be.

[.V.]

Liftgirl has given you a suprisingly effective workout to try. It's amazing how so few exercises can really make a difference in the body. The squat, rows, and deads will work your abs too. But if you want to do direct ab work...throw some weight on your chest and do 8-10 crunches for each set instead of 50.

Want to lean out? Do what she's described M, W, F. Then on T and Th ride the bike and run.

For the diet, most likely somewhere between 10 and 15 calories/lb of bodyweight with macronutrient ratios of Carbs-45%, protein 35%, and fat-20% will give you the results you are looking for. Open yourself a free account at FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal to track your food intake, calories, and nutrient profile with. Read the stickies in the nutrition section to get even more ideas.

You've got a good support team here in this thread and on this forum who will do their best to help answer all your questions. So get on it and good luck to ya.