UKC

Just changed jobs. The new place has a small but well appointed gym, free weights, machines and cardio stuff.

Going to aim to go for an hour each day. However im a bit of newbie when it comes to this, anyone have any programs they follow?

My diet is quite good dont eat much rubbish, like to get my 5-a-day.

Regards goals, it's my honeymoon is 5/6 months would like to be in decent shape, maybe a six pack.

Suggestions, flames, hints and tips all welcome

Personal stats, 174cm and 77kgs.

In reply to goldmember:
Is your "decent shape" going to be orientated towards clmbing, running, cycling? Each would require a different use of the hour per day.

In reply to goldmember: I suppose as a general workout tip id say work a different group of muscles each day and let the others have about two days rest.i.e. back day, legs day, arms, chest, abs etc. Also fit in some compound exercises to aid with core strength and add a bit of cardio. But generally dont overdo one particular exercise as muscle is repaired and rebuilt in the rest periods.

In reply to Mark Harding: a bit of social climbing. But mainly team sports.
With a serious eye on getting ripped for honeymoon.
Failing that a crash course in Photoshop!

In reply to goldmember:

If having a six-pack is your goal then you only need to eat properly. However if you have a more definite, interesting and somewhat less narcissistic (tongue in cheek) goal then train for it accordingly.
Personally I would keep your specific goals to yourself, after all that is why you are training.

Read up on your chosen sport or the goal you are aiming for and find out how to achieve it. The most interesting part of a training program is finding out what works for you. Pick those athletes you admire, and respect, and learn how they trained. It is likely they will have a blog or book you can follow. Or a look for a related forum to engage with.

If you want something generic to get you started have a look at the Waterbury Complex. A quick Google search takes you to an article on the T-Nation website; there are several complexes to keep you entertained.

Good luck and never stop learning.

Unless you want to get massive, I'd recommend starting with basic bodyweight exercises before building up to more advanced stuff. Advantage of this is that for example whilst doing a pull-up or a press-up, you're working the core as well.
In order to keep progressing, try increasing the difficulty of the exercises you do rather than increasing reps, pull-ups with the hands very close together, or with the knees raised.

If you want to be able to see your abs the most important factor is to have low enough body fat! Other than that focus on exercises that develop strength (NOT the ab crunch, it's useless!) such as the hanging knee/leg raise.

In reply to goldmember:

You have so many options. As mentioned above it's worth defining your goals first.

As said, the 6 pack is mostly bodyfat/diet. Don't get too obsessive early on though as 6 months is a long time.

I would just say that you have loads of time to make a significant change, so realise what may be possible and attack it.

In reply to goldmember:

1hr running to every 1hr of weights and 1hr of body weight exs can be a basic start, with a 3 day on:1 off format.

Make the specific exs anything you like to get the ball rolling, then specific as you find your strengths and weaknesses. Getting volume, form, diet, rest and consistency matters more at first than specific training. Learn to train.

Getting ripped and staying ripped is very hard without a decent foundation.

In reply to goldmember:

Most people avoid every day as it hinders muscle development by not having a log enough rest for your muscles to recover.

People tend to go for a split (a, rest, b, a, rest, b, rest, repeat) were a is arms, back shoulders, b is legs, chest abs (or what ever you fancy).

Personally I just do compound lifts when I can as they hit most muscle groups (back squat, dead lift, oly lifts.).

Searching for work out routines on the internet is a nightmare - so many also claiming different things, just go with one you feel comfortable with/ enjoy the most

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That's all to build muscle.. If you do weights for 4-5 months you will put on some muscle mass, then cut down to abs with diet and cardio for a month or two before the wedding. At 77kg you might need 3 months diet to get down to having abs though.

Get enough protein and good luck!

In reply to goldmember:

If its a work gym I guess it will be a bit "soft" but willing (and even hopeful) to be wrong. So squats and heavy deadlifts might not be an option.

If you have a bar With plenty of plates and squat rack ace, deadlifts once a week over head squats the next day and front squats after a couple of days (leg) rest. They burn a lot of calories and strengthen the whole body and do abs...

General advice would be exercise your patience, build a strong integrated body with compound lifts, wide range of movement, 'light' weights.

For showy abbs add a bit of weight to your crunches, do toes to the bar,
make your reps super slow, and do tummy vacuums

In reply to andic:

Dumbbells are good for activating stabiliser muscles in the shoulders and do as much as you can standing up to keep working your trunk at the same time