A tan and exercise

[Morgenstern]

I have a very deep voice and once a guy commented to me, "All you need is a tan and six pack and you're set." This made me think, why not do this? I'm tall (6"1') and I have a great personality or at least no one said I don't have one. :cool: I'm still very much in my youth so in terms of a biological clock I'm solid and being male may help with the building of muscle? (I heard males had an easier time building muscle)

I'm quite pale, while I doubt it has a major bearing all my ancestors are Eastern Poles so unlike many Italians I don't have the advantage of olive skin. So the objectives are to get better muscles and to get a tan. How many minutes a day should I tan in the sun? I can spend 3-4 hours working in the sun and not get sunburn, though perhaps the UV index wasn't too high that day.

Also how will I work on my muscles with a focus on the abdominal muscles? I'm only slightly overweight (though I doubt overweight isn't the proper term), though it isn't too bad. The sides of my stomach are sort of shaped and all that is left is a little bit of a hangover of fat in the center. I am by no means fat.

So, can we do this?

[Bitter Ashes]

Stick to a few safe rules while tanning:
1) DO NOT USE SUNBEDS! These WILL cause permanent damage to your skin and possibly even cancer.
2) Always wear suntan lotion/sunscreen. Contary to popular belief, you do not tan any faster by not wearing it. Reapply it hourly.
3) Avoid the midday sun. There's a very good reason why the people on the Meditarrian have a seiester. You run a real risk of sunstroke.

Spending an hour a day between 10am-11am and an hour between 2pm and 3pm in the summer should get you nicely tanned if the sun's out (although you can still burn/tan in cloudy days).

As for muscles that's very simple. Run a mile and a half a day, do 2 minutes of pushups and 2 minutes of situps a day. Keep a record of your achievements and try to make small gains each day. Try to get more protein in your diet while you do it. 15 minutes of your life a day and you'll see results within a few weeks and it doesnt cost you a penny to do.

The pushups build your biceps
The situps build your abdomen (six pack)
The run burns fat and improves your stamina (which will get you in the good books with the ladies :))

If you fancy broader shoulders/a stronger back then you can start running with a backpack filled with water bottles too.

[Morgenstern]

Stick to a few safe rules while tanning:
1) DO NOT USE SUNBEDS! These WILL cause permanent damage to your skin and possibly even cancer.

Oh I know, should I go for a full body tan (minus the area covered by shorts) or a farmer's tan?


2) Always wear suntan lotion/sunscreen. Contary to popular belief, you do not tan any faster by not wearing it. Reapply it hourly.

Really? Interesting.


3) Avoid the midday sun. There's a very good reason why the people on the Meditarrian have a seiester. You run a real risk of sunstroke.


Thanks, I'll make sure to do that.


Spending an hour a day between 10am-11am and an hour between 2pm and 3pm in the summer should get you nicely tanned if the sun's out (although you can still burn/tan in cloudy days).

So should I do one side at one time slot and the other side at the other time slot?


As for muscles that's very simple. Run a mile and a half a day, do 2 minutes of pushups and 2 minutes of situps a day. Keep a record of your achievements and try to make small gains each day. Try to get more protein in your diet while you do it. 15 minutes of your life a day and you'll see results within a few weeks and it doesnt cost you a penny to do.

The pushups build your biceps
The situps build your abdomen (six pack)
The run burns fat and improves your stamina (which will get you in the good books with the ladies :))

If you fancy broader shoulders/a stronger back then you can start running with a backpack filled with water bottles too.

Thanks, about how long should this take?

Thanks for the help. :)

[Invincible Summer]

The pushups build your biceps
The situps build your abdomen (six pack)
The run burns fat and improves your stamina (which will get you in the good books with the ladies :))

If you fancy broader shoulders/a stronger back then you can start running with a backpack filled with water bottles too.

Pushups are actually a great overall upper body exercise. They work your triceps, chest, biceps, and lats. I'd recommend mixing up pushups - say, 20 "normal" pushups, 20 plyometric pushups (explosive pushups, e.g. the "clapping" pushups), 20 diamond pushups (to work triceps more), then 20 wide pushups (to work chest). Adjust the number to your abilities, of course. By doing a variety of pushups, you focus on slightly different muscles.

Recent research has suggested that situps and crunches are actually pretty bad for your spine. I'd recommend doing v-sits, side planks and front bridges to work your core. Also, the "stir the pot" exercise is great as well (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JEj7t6Cy9s). It's important to have a strong core (abs, back) than just washboard abs.


Also I'd say if you don't have time to run, at least do lunges, wall-sits, etc to build your legs. A great exercise I like to do is getting a bench/chair/whatever that's a bit taller than my knee, putting one leg on it, then using that leg to propel me as high as I can go. Mid-air, I switch legs so the opposite leg is now on top. Repeat a whole bunch of times. It's a great dynamic exercise that really gets your heart rate up.

But yeah like Hannah Kay said, get protein in your diet. Also, don't be afraid of eating carbs for energy, especially pre-workout.

Finally, do you want to go for strength, muscle size, or just tone up your body? Generally, if youre hitting the weights, then low reps + high weight will make you bigger, high reps + low-mid weight will get you more endurance and strength. For toning up, it's mainly working on your diet, getting lots of cardio in, and doing some basic strength exercises (e.g. pushups) to keep the body burning calories.


EDIT: In terms of how long it will take, it depends on how good you are at maintaining a diet and doing exercise. Also, some people just genetically don't have defined muscles (or at least certain muscles). To get a 6-pack you need to be at around 3-5% body fat I think...

[Tifosi]

Whatever you do don't burn, it's horrable when you are burnt to a crisp, as I'm sure you know. I burnt my back badly in Germany two years ago, I found it hard to sleep as my back hurt on the mattress. If you are doing a lot of exercise you will need your sleep, so don't burn and run the risk of getting no sleep.