[Rhetro]

Looking for a few workout suggestions if some of you guys don't mind taking a few minutes. I'd appreciate it.

I'm looking to accomplish several things, two of which I'm looking for some input on.

1. Increase pec size / muscle with a specific set of exercises.
2. Lose 10-15 lbs while being terrible at anything cardio related.

Now for a little background. I'm 6"4 with a pretty big body - wide shoulders and whatnot, not pudgy all over. I've always been pretty strong naturally, even without traditional workouts. I guess I can attribute that to growing up on a farm and just being built big.

I normally weighed in at around 220-225 without being muscled everywhere or overweight, "fit" would be a good term I guess. I was the guy in high school that would get sent in to a basketball game for 3 minutes to foul people or get physical then have to go take a rest on the bench. I've always had mind boggling terrible cardio, really terrible, I can't really explain it. Even back in high school when I was working out 5-6 days a week while playing sports I consistently had awful cardio year after year.

I've gained 15lbs or so since this summer due to a combination of things including a surgery that kept me immobile for a good part of a month so I've started to develop a gut, not huge, but I don't like it. So I need to work that. I understand the concept behind losing weight (burn more calories than you gain) but I'm not really looking forward to it as, like I said, I suck at anything cardio related and probably always will. So any tips here would be great.

My second thing I'm wanting to work on is increasing my chest size. Unfortunately, I can't do pushups or bench presses because of injuries to one of my elbows - although I can do curls (i know it doesnt help your chest, but just an example of what I can do with it). Dislocated 3x - bad news. When I put any sort of weight on it it pops pretty bad, so I'm trying to find some exercises that can help me increase chest size without really straining my elbows. It's pretty sad, the first time I screwed my elbow up was when I was 14 so I haven't ever really been able to test myself to see what I *could* lift. My dad and uncle each held school weight lifting records at one point, guess I got the short end of the stick with a bum elbow . Anyways, any sort of ideas on how to increase chest mass without working my elbows too hard would be great.

Appreciate any input guys, thanks for the time.

[Bas]

hey man,

have you ever considered seeing a physiotherapist for your injury? i dont know whats wrong with your elbow, but im sure with enough treatment you might be able to lift again.

other than that...i really dont know what to suggest for chest that doesnt involve elbows. chest flies maybe? that wont really build up the muscle a whole lot tho. maybe someone else has suggestions.

i think that fixing that elbow (if possible) should be a primary concern, then you can get a good training program going.

do you want advice on improving cardio? or just losing fat and burning calories without cardio?

[Rhetro]

Originally Posted by Bas

hey man,

have you ever considered seeing a physiotherapist for your injury? i dont know whats wrong with your elbow, but im sure with enough treatment you might be able to lift again.

other than that...i really dont know what to suggest for chest that doesnt involve elbows. chest flies maybe? that wont really build up the muscle a whole lot tho. maybe someone else has suggestions.

i think that fixing that elbow (if possible) should be a primary concern, then you can get a good training program going.

do you want advice on improving cardio? or just losing fat and burning calories without cardio?

It's not something a therapist can fix - although it could probably be surgically fixed, I've never looked into it. The last time I actually dislocated it was 4-5 years ago and the doctor told me the ligaments in the joint were messed up (don't remember the exact words) but that the joint would just always be weak and I'd need to take it easy on it. I thought about the chest fly, but I wasn't sure if that targeted the right arena, I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the different muscle building exercises.

As for cardio - either or. I've started running again but it's pretty bad. I'm like Frank Mir from a couple years back, I get tired BEFORE I get to the ring, lol. I'm just concerned that my lack of cardio will stop any weight loss - I could be way wrong though, so any other exercises you could suggest I don't mind trying.

[Bas]

hmm well, im really not sure what to suggest regarding building your chest. maybe some other members have advice.

for burning fat, if you get a good weight lifting routine (not sure which exercises you can do/not do) and a good diet you will lose the weight for shizzle. especially if you incorporate some circuit training. that way maybe you wont get super bored with only cardio (like most ppl do).

how about swimming? ever considered that?

[Rhetro]

Originally Posted by Bas

hmm well, im really not sure what to suggest regarding building your chest. maybe some other members have advice.

for burning fat, if you get a good weight lifting routine (not sure which exercises you can do/not do) and a good diet you will lose the weight for shizzle. especially if you incorporate some circuit training. that way maybe you wont get super bored with only cardio (like most ppl do).

how about swimming? ever considered that?

Yeah I used to swim to stay in shape actually because it didn't give me any joint problems. Buuut.... it's 40 degrees outside right now and I don't have access to an indoor pool that's close by

[jhasan]

If you want to lose weight you're gonna have to suck it up and do cardio.
Listen man, no one likes cardio. It's just one of those things that universally sucks for everyone. There's no other way to get better cardio than to suffer and push yourself to do it.

[Rhetro]

Originally Posted by jhasan

If you want to lose weight you're gonna have to suck it up and do cardio.
Listen man, no one likes cardio. It's just one of those things that universally sucks for everyone. There's no other way to get better cardio than to suffer and push yourself to do it.

Oh yeah I know that - I'm not against doing it at all, I've just always had terrible cardio and I'm not sure how much that will affect it. I was born a hard worker so I'm not worried about how much it sucks.

Besides that, is sticking to jogging my best bet? Or should I mix it in with walking and exercises like jumping jacks or running bleachers?

[*TN*]

Do HIIT to lose fat, because jogging sucks.

As for chest size, machine flyes are the way to go.

Also, having a shitty elbow isn't a problem in seeing how strong you acan be, squats my man.