Im 31, 5' 11" and around 11 3/4 stone. I've been an super keen surfer since i was like 14, so have maintained a pretty slim build and reasonable shoulder strength. 8 months ago i was hit with an 'umbilical hernia' which i had put right through surgery, but it put me on my butt for like 2 1/2 months,..in which time ive gone a bit 'squishy'. I enjoy using free weights to keep my upper body in check, though ive stopped over this whole summer cos i cant strain too much. This is mentaly crushing me as im watching myself crumble before my eyes. Im thinking of picking up a rope and hitting your routines,.as i've found that isolating ab excercises are really uncomfortable and i feel like i just cant work them hard enough without worrying about blowing another gasket. Would you say that this would be the best way of me stripping away the 'pudge', and trimming the ab's up without direct crunches or leg lifts?

Read my newest post on abs…do crunches for maybe 3 months to increase the mind to muscle link in your abs and then do planks and vacuums, etc. You may also want to get one of those cheap ab wheels and include a few sets of those in your routine.

You may need to add in a bit more quality protein in your diet for a while. Note…I need to do a post on "sandwich meat"…not a good source of protein most of the time. Maybe eat a bit more Dairy for a while…milk, yogurt, chocolate milk, cheese, cottage cheese, etc. For breakfast make some omelet's, etc. If you do eat junk, make sure there is at least some real food mixed in.

For working out, concentrate on getting stronger and throw in a short 15 minute HIIT routine 3 times per week. It will just take some time, due to the fact that you are a bit of a hard gainer (you will love the fact that you have a higher metabolism later in life).

Hope that helps!

Rusty

I know you get A LOT of people asking for your advice, but I've been stressed over working out for quite awhile now. I've been trying to get bigger for awhile…and I haven't seen much results. I've just gotten slightly more toned.

I found your site, and it made me realize that the lean, skinny-ripped look is really much better than the massive look. I'm 5'6 and 117 pounds at the most, so obviously I'm pretty thin. I've realized that I don't want to look unnaturally big. I just want to get very ripped, and lean. Muscular, but not TOO muscular. Like Cam Gigandet, or pretty much any of the guys on here (including yourself); ripped and obviously have muscle definition, but not huge. Natural, toned muscles. That's what I want.

I have a good metabolism, and I try to eat fruits and some veggies every day. Usually for lunch at school I have a sandwich, which is basically two croissants with cheese, turky, and mustard. I'll take yogurt, a banana, apple…stuff like that. I do tend to eat a lot of Kashi cereal, and I try to eat meat whenever I can. I am guilty of eating a lot of sweets sometimes too (gotta' love the mocha lattes), but my metabolism allows it. However, I can't help but worry that I'm hurting the possibility of faster, and better results.

Any advice on dieting would be highly appreciated.

And even more importantly, my work outs. I'd love some advice on that. Just to get a little bigger, and really define my muscles, not gain 20 pounds. Plus, I am kind of planning for the future too. When I'm married, and have a job, etc., I'm only going to want to work out as much as I have to to maintain the muscle mass I already have gained by then. So any advice on that would be awesome.

Also…I am very skinny, but my abs are only slightly toned. What steps can I take to get an awesome six-pack? Do I need to do abdominal exercises other than planks to make them grow, and then once I get there just do planks to maintain?

Thank you for all the help, if you decide to. I'd truly appreciate it. Great site!

God bless!

Jake

I'm trying now planks, reverse crunches, leg raises and jack knifes (so only stabilizing and lower abs exercices). I'm guessing that I must only do very high repetitions to avoid adding even more size to my abs.

I'm sure you have a suggestion? Which exercices, how many reps, how many times a Week?

FBB is the only website around knowing what it writes about… and applying it in real life. Thank you so much for all your precious guidance!

for the past month or so i've gotten into outdoor biking. i love it! i use my mom's old road bike and go around the nearby neighborhoods. i hope to keep it up all year long 6-7 times a week (yes, even in the winter.. i'll bundle up). i've been doing about 30 minutes per day on rolling hills (since i live in pennsylvania it's so hilly here!) to keep my body fat at bay and get some muscle in my legs. i've also gotten some arm muscles to my surprise. just recently since i've been getting so lean from the biking i decided to incorporate multiple spurts of stomach exercises throughout the day (instead of one huge workout) in hopes of getting some ab definition as well.

i do 20 reps of a plank/twist type for my obliques, a standard plank for my core holding for approximately 30 seconds, 15 regular crunches and anywhere from 10-20 bicycle crunches, all with strict form and keeping my abs pulled in tight. i do this routine anywhere from 2-4 times a day depending on my schedule and when i can squeeze a session in

it's been working great at strengthening my core however there's a problem. i started doing these exercises to make my abs sleeker, tighter, and more defined when i look in the mirror from every angle (front, side, back, etc.); to "tighten" my core. make it muscular but still maintain a lean physique. however when i look in the mirror instead of seeing the individual muscles (a six pack for example) i see that my stomach is "bulky" with little definition. when i poke at my stomach it's hard; there's muscle there, not fat (except on my sides where there is a little "love handle" action there but i'm hoping to improve that as well) but i don't have that sleek, defined, slender physique that i've been looking to get. instead of my stomach being nice and thin it looks thick and chunky. i feel like my stomach is extremely bulky compared to my otherwise slender body and that's the opposite of what i want. it just seems like my muscles are building outwards instead of tightening inwards

do you have any suggestions? i eat very well; a balanced diet of about 1600 calories. (i'd like to keep that up as much as possible since i ran into a bit of a problem over the summer so i need my fats and carbs and protein and vitamins but if you have dietary suggestions i can throw in/exchange/whatever please mention!) i burned off about 200-220 calories when i biked over the summer for 30 minutes but now that school's in i walk around a lot, so i burn about 150 when i bike (today i biked for around 17 minutes because i was really tired) and however much 40 minutes of leisurely walking burns, plus my metabolism is quite high from the constant biking and increased muscle mass. right now i'm looking to build back up to 30 minutes in addition to the walking around at school. if i can get more i'll cross that bridge when i get there.

in a nutshell i want a sleek core with tons of definition, not a bulky core with no definition! help! just an update: i am 5'4" and 111 pounds. can you suggest calisthenics (that do not require machinery; i work out at home with my body as resistance) for my upper and lower body as well? thank you so so so much for your time! i know this was an EXTREMELY long post.:) keep up the good work sir!

Read this:

Stubborn Body Fat

Rusty

What would you recommend to lose the body fat. I still have a belly I've been trying to get rid of, and the lower ab routines (roman chair, leg lifts) aren't working as well as I would like. Any suggestions? I usually do my abs after my cardio (treadmill)

Thanks in advance!

Jay

I mix it up a bit. I always try to get in the 2 minute plank before I go to bed, but sometimes in the gym I'll do 3 sets of each. The cool thing about the gym is that you can do sets on the "exercise balls". What is great about that is it will make your abs work in a different manner.

Another way of doing…start in the normal position until it hurts, the lift your left arm off the mat and get into position for the right side plank…after that hurts, go back into a normal plank…then roll over to a left side plank. Continue to do this until your abs are blitz. You are basically maintaining some sort of plank position for 5-10 minutes without resting…it works well!

Rusty

Thank you for correcting that type-o, by the way

I'm going to post your comment on the front page of my blog BTW…I do like sharing different opinions.

Rusty

That is great. I imagine planks would be a good exercise for a boxer, since it teaches the guys to keep their abs tight.

You know what you might want to try? Have them do some cardio like jump a rope until they are breathing hard, then have them do a plank at that point. This would teach them to keep their abs tight when they are winded and out breath (kind of like they would feel towards the end of a tough round of boxing). This would hopefully translate over to the ring, so they could take shots to the body better even when they are worn out.

I've developed tighter obliques and lower abs from doing this and it has made my waist tighter as well. It really targets every muscle in the abdomen really well. Much healthier for your spine as well!

Thanks for the compliment. I am doing my best to make sure this isn't just a bland fitness site with generic fat loss articles. I have no problem talking about controversial stuff or offending anyone with my strong opinions.

If people want typical bodybuilding info, there are a million sites on the net. If they want to look attractive, they will hang out here.

Cheers,

Rusty

Hey – this is a damn good site btw!