Personal Fitness Advice Wanted

Hey everyone, RareBuyer here. Well, as the title says, I'm looking for a little advice on how to get in shape. I'm an eighteen year old male, and I'm fairly unhealthy. I'm about 5'9" and 175 pounds. I've been looking for awhile on how to get in shape, and even though I've found tons of information on the matter, it's hard to find a place to start. I know I need to cut down on body fat, that's my main concern. Though, all the workouts I've seen don't factor in that I am not very athletic to begin with. I can do a max of fifteen consecutive pushups, about twenty or so sit-ups, and about one hundred and fifty jumping jacks. I know that if I can find a place to start, I'll be good to go. So can anyone recommend a workout that can get me going in the right direction?

 

Being out of shape doesn't mean you can't get in shape. Being able to do 15 consecutive push-ups is a good start, as I know people that can barely complete one.

A good start would be to go on walks, about 3-4 times per week. If that's not enough of a challenge, do it every other day. Start off by walking for a nice 30 minutes. If you can walk 30 minutes without getting a little tired, throw in a little run. From there, basically run as long as you can, and when you stop, walk it off to rest the exhaustion. Once you feel like you can run again, do so, and repeat. In addition to the walk and runs, try to incorporate a 1-3 sets of crunches/pushups before you go to sleep. The first stage to dedication is preparing yourself, the toning process.

Make sure you do the sets in a pattern on the same days, so the consistency of the muscles is the same throughout the week. Once you have done a week or two of those excercises, your body should be more familiar with the workout routines. From here, I would suggest changing your diet. The key idea to maintaining, or in this case achieving a healthier body, is to watch what you eat. Cut soda/energy drinks out of your diet, and stick to basic water/milk/juices (w/ vitamins of course). You'll need to drop the sweets, and other excess fats with high calorie counts. You want Carbohydrates and Proteins.

I'd suggest lifting weights, as it greatly speeds up the toning process, and it helps burn fat, too!
I'd advise using Muscle and Strength forums (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/forum/) for beginner workouts and routines. All the information you need to become healthier in your position is available for you on the forum. If you have any questions, people are always more than helpful and eager to answer them for you.

If you are looking for a good ab workout, I suggest 8 Minute Abs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-9RzIZq4Rg
The video may be old as hell, but it works, and will always work (especially for someone in your position). There are also various P90X-incorporated ab workouts found on YouTube, but those are a little more advanced.

All it takes is a consistent change in diet, excercise, and dedication to stay with it until you achieve the end results. Good luck!

 

L2YM, thank you very much You've given me a lot to look at, and I'm incredibly grateful.

 

I'm glad I could help. Let me know if you have any questions/concerns!

 

what's your diet like? getting in shape as they say is 80% diet and 20% exercise.