Help out a beginner?

[Retr0xx]

Alright, here's the scenario / my stats:

I'm 16 years old, I weigh about 116 lbs, and I'm about 5'4''.

I'm looking to get definition in my midsection / abs and biceps.
As it stands, I'm skinny (with a 'gut', kinda... hard to explain), but I can definitely get definition if I tried.

I don't have much cash to spend, and I just want to get results. I don't care if it takes a week or 25 weeks, I just want results.

What can I do to work on my abs / midsection? I have a pretty decent diet; I eat fruits and vegetables and protein and whatnot.

I've just started doing:
Flutter kicks
Pushups
crunches
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exe...leg-raise.html <--- And that. the lying bench leg raise.

I literally started today, is this a decent routine or should I modify it?
Help me out :\

[Scrutiny]

Welcome to the forum mate.

These two links should be of good use to you, they have links and questions/answers for beginners to training.
Frequently Asked Newcomer Questions
BEGINNERS: Reference Guide

[LtL]

Ab's are revealed by diet. Your body fat levels must be low enough to reveal them. At the same time though the muscles must be big enough to be seen when the body fat has gone. At your height and weight my guess is that you need to bulk up a bit to grow the muscles. Cutting now will leave you looking skinny which is not what you want.

Have a read here:

Frequently Asked Newcomer Questions

Work out your calorie requirements using the BMR calculator in the tools section, add at least 500 to that and you're good to go.

If you have more questions, let us know.

LtL

[santosa]

If you just started, you should try the beginner's workouts to get your body used to weight lifting. You can find them here. Once you're done with these, you should use one of the muscle building routines here.

As far as your abs, LTL is right. Your abs will show when your body fat is low. When I started, I was at 12%. My abs wasn't showing unless I flexed. Now it's showing a little bit without flexing. My guess is because I've done some abs work and maybe my BF has gone down a little too.

Depending on your starting point, it can take a few months to a few years to get a body to die for. But if you diligently stick with the correct diet and work out, you should start seeing some results in 2-3 months... whether it's lower BF or smaller waist or anything else, depending on your goal.

[BukAndrew]

If you currently don't have a gym membership or don't have access to any weights at all then I'd be aware of the fact that body weight exercises will limit you gains.

[santosa]

The least you need to have are adjustable dumbbell and pull up bars. They're pretty inexpensive (just buy them at SEARS or Walmart) and you can do a lot with those.

Dumbbell exercises
Pull up bar: pull up, chin up, twisting hanging knee raise, etc.
Bodyweight exercises

[IvanTheTerible]

Originally Posted by santosa

The least you need to have are adjustable dumbbell and pull up bars. They're pretty inexpensive (just buy them at SEARS or Walmart) and you can do a lot with those.

Dumbbell exercises
Pull up bar: pull up, chin up, twisting hanging knee raise, etc.
Bodyweight exercises

I agree if you are just starting out today then use your own body weight & maybe invest in the dumbbell but if you are going for a "healthy" look and not body builder you can probably attain that via Pull ups Push ups and Situps / leg raises / twists along with a calorie reduced died , create a deficit of calories and incrase output if you want to cut , Eat quality protiens so you are not starving your muscles!

GO do some excersies right NOW

Good luck !

[Retr0xx]

Originally Posted by BukAndrew

If you currently don't have a gym membership or don't have access to any weights at all then I'd be aware of the fact that body weight exercises will limit you gains.

I have a bench with total 400LBS potential weight; right now I have two 6.8KG weights on there (one on each side, that's roughly 25lbs?)

I know I can do more, that just feels comfortable right now :\ Is that pathetic?


And uh, thanks for the feedback so far guys.

[myca]

Originally Posted by Retr0xx

I have a bench with total 400LBS potential weight; right now I have two 6.8KG weights on there (one on each side, that's roughly 25lbs?)

I know I can do more, that just feels comfortable right now :\ Is that pathetic?


And uh, thanks for the feedback so far guys.

Do whatever feels best to you, and once you feel like your strength has increased. Move up the weights until you find the right weight that is comfortable to you.

[santosa]

Originally Posted by Retr0xx

I have a bench with total 400LBS potential weight; right now I have two 6.8KG weights on there (one on each side, that's roughly 25lbs?)

I know I can do more, that just feels comfortable right now :\ Is that pathetic?


And uh, thanks for the feedback so far guys.

6.8 kg is roughly 15 lbs, not 25 lbs. So the total you have there is roughly 30 lbs. 1kg is 2.2 lbs.

If you want to build muscle, you don't want to use the weight that's comfortable for you. You want to push a little harder. You want to create muscle overload. You can't achieve this if you use a load that doesn't feel much for your muscles. Since this 30 lbs weight is already comfortable for you, try to add the weight a little bit... for a total of 35 lbs and do 10 reps for 4 sets. If that's still comfortable, next time, increase it by another 5 lbs. Keep doing that until you feel you have to actually "work" to finish 4x10. Be careful with bench press though. Don't force yourself to do too much because it can be dangerous for you, especially if you don't have a spotter to help you out when you're in trouble.

Also, since you're only 16 yo, don't lift too much weight. I think some veterans here have more knowledge on the limit of someone your age should and shouldn't do.