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STW Friday Six-Pack Club

89 posts & 41 voices | Started 1 year ago by BadlyWiredDog | Latest reply from FoxyChick

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BadlyWiredDog - Member

I know I'm going to regret this, but the Friday blokes thread has made me really aware of my own shortcomings. I'm five nine and a half and weigh around 14-stone, I'd say a fair bit of that is muscle, but I'm also painfully aware that there's a thick layer of fat on top. It's fair to say that I can pinch somewhat more than an inch

I'm not really bothered about general health benefits or owt like that, I just think I'd feel better about myself if I had a really well-defined set of abdominal muscles. I'm sure there are lots of others like me out there who'd like to look a bit more 'Men's Health' and a bit less Ricky Hatton.

What I'm planning is to get a six-pack by Christmas. Before people start off slagging me and saying it's vanity, trust me, it's not, nor am I planning to do any drastic training or severe dieting because I'm sure neither are healthy.

Instead I'm hoping that by trimming down my consumption of three main food groups I can strip away the fat in double quick time - beer, cake and choclate. My plan is to limit myself to no more than four pints in any one session and never to go drinking more than three times a week, maximum, not minimum in case anyone was wondering. Cake - plan is only to eat cake after a ride when I've properly earned it and not mid-ride unless it's a really long one, more than 20 miles or so. Finally, I'm going to cut my chocolate consumption drastically from my normal mid-morning Green and Blacks bar to only half.

I'm hopeful that by doing the above and maybe adding a few extra short, fat-burning walks to my schedule, the fat will fall off. Also by eating more lean protein, lamb shops, sausages, that sort of thing, I'll encourage muscle growth.

Anyone else fancy joining me? We can support each other virtually and cajole and encourage when things seem hard?

And before people start laying into me about vanity, that's simply not the case. I don't want to do this for myself, only so other people can see my abs more clearly.

Thanks for reading, who else is in on this?

Posted 1 year ago #
Jamie - Member

You're doing it wrong.

Autumn/Winter > Get Fat and grow a Xmas beard.

Spring/Summer > Get Fit and shave yerself smooth

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

That's not a very helpful comment, if you can't be positive, don't bother posting, thanks.

Posted 1 year ago #
Onzadog - Member

I admire the idea but Christmas is closer than you think and there's a lot of hard work in building a six pack.

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

If you read my post, you'll see that I'm quite prepared to do the hard graft, what I'm hoping for is some support from like-minded STWers. So far all I've had is two negative comments

Posted 1 year ago #
sc-xc - Member

I did type out a reply - but having reread your post I reckon this is a wind up. If you are serious, forget the beer/cake/chocolate, don't pretend that sausages and lamb chops are lean protein, and consider some proper core and stomach exercises.

But I think you know that

Posted 1 year ago #
monksie - Member

Can I say in a completely non biblical way, I love the author and I wish you the best of luck in the challenge you have set yourself :-).

Posted 1 year ago #
Onzadog - Member

Mine's not a negative comment, I'd like to do the same. My concern would be setting an unrealistic goal (which I believe it would be for me). Easter is a less significant date but a more do-able time frame I think.

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

What sort of 'proper core and stomach exercises' would you suggest. I'm just focussed on my abs, I don''t really care about the rest of my body.

Posted 1 year ago #
Surf-Mat - Member

Shed fat - that is all you need to do.

Posted 1 year ago #
The Southern Yeti - Member

I think the measures you're taking are far too drastic! You risk burn out by Guy Fawkes night!

Posted 1 year ago #
fadda - Member

BWD -
I'm in. I suspect that a six-pack may be ambitious, but getting rid of some of this gut will be good thing!

I sometimes give up biscuits, sweets, cakes and chocolate for lent but, with a bit of "encouragement" on here, I shall do it again, starting now.

Posted 1 year ago #
andy_hamgreen - Member

good luck !
my son is 18 pretty fit - goes to the gym several times a week working out and he seems to have trouble getting a clearly defined 6 pak like wot they have on the front of them mags - I'm not sure it's just a case of dropping half the chocolate bar and a bit of cake....
but if it is I'd definitely say you had a commercial winner on your hands

Posted 1 year ago #
sc-xc - Member

In line with the rest of your regime (hard as it sounds)...perhaps try getting up to change channel on your telly, instead of reaching for the remote.

Posted 1 year ago #
sparkingchains - Member

Sit ups!

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

What might be extra motivation is that we all commit to post topless pictures of ourselves here on, say, Christmas Eve? The threat of public humiliation should harden resolve and make us work harder at it.

As far as discarding cake, beer and chocolate goes, these are parts of a normal diet, I don't want to go all faddish, my belief is that by reducing rather than stopping the consumption of these, I can massively reduce my fat levels in a relatively short time frame. As far as lean protein goes, none of those things I mention contain visible fat, which is good enough for me.

Posted 1 year ago #
rOcKeTdOg - Member

if someone can hide all the custard creams in the world, then i'm in

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

'Shed fat', what exactly is 'shed fat'? I know there are different types of fat out there, cholestrol and other 'bad fats', is this one of the healthy ones?

Posted 1 year ago #
The Southern Yeti - Member

'Shed fat', what exactly is 'shed fat'?

It's what you need if you want to be built like a brick sh1t house.

[Edit] have a smiley, i made a funny [edit]

Posted 1 year ago #
Surf-Mat - Member

Shed fat - as in get rid of it!

TSY - you don't "need" fat to be built like a brick outhouse.

Posted 1 year ago #
davidtaylforth - Member

I'm an overweight mountain biker. I cant stick to the iDave diet plan cos I have no self control.

This diet plan sounds much better. Where can I get a copy?

Posted 1 year ago #
Torminalis - Member

quite prepared to do the hard graft

cut my chocolate consumption drastically from my normal mid-morning Green and Blacks bar to only half

Drastic times require drastic measures...

TSY - you don't "need" fat to be built like a brick outhouse.

Whooooosh

Posted 1 year ago #
Hairychested - Member

I'll just get riding instead.
BWD, a proper traumatic experience can help you loose weight too. Or a lot of sleepless nights. Or, even better, loads of sex.

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

I'm wondering if it's all as simple as people seem to think. I seem to recall that mixing different food groups can be detrimental. Would it make sense not to mix say, beer and chocolate in one sitting. What sort of gap do I need to leave between the two to maximise fat burning?

Generally, which foods burn fat most effectively?

Posted 1 year ago #
Jamie - Member

Generally, which foods burn fat most effectively?

That does not make sense.

Posted 1 year ago #
feenster - Member

Cutting DOWN to 12 pints a week in three sessions of 4 pints.

How many pints/sessions would you normally do?

Lets say 20 mins a pint, three times a week, that's 4 hours in the pub a week, stationary, consuming usless calories.

This feels like a wind up to me too.

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

This diet plan sounds much better. Where can I get a copy?

I'm planning to post regular updates as I go. As an initial step and to clear the runway, metaphorically speaking, obviously, I'm going to drink the four bottles of beer in the fridge and also any cake that's still in the tin. And before people say that's counter productive, I'm going to compensate by not eating a chocolate bar this morning. That way I start with a clean sheet tomorrow. I may also write about it on my blog. Watch this space I get. Thanks for the supportive posts and the advice, though a lot of it, I think, in purely scientific terms, is bunk - I know it's well intentioned though and that in itself will help me 'shed fat'.

Posted 1 year ago #
BadlyWiredDog - Member

Cutting DOWN to 12 pints a week in three sessions of 4 pints.

I didn't say I was going to do that every week, that's a self-imposred maximum. On some nights I might drink only three pints and a whisky chaser, for example and never more than three times a week. Like I said, I'm prepared to graft and make sacrifices, what I don't want to do is get into some faddish, obsessive framework which in my case at least, will be counter productive.

What do people think about ice cream? Good source of lean protein? Would it make sense to eat more of that rather than cake?

Posted 1 year ago #
The Southern Yeti - Member

I seem to remembet that the ultimate fat burning food need to conatin a 60:40 mixture of fat and protien. The most readily available foodstuff with this 'magic' ratio... pork scratchings.
Limit yourself to one pack per pint though!

Posted 1 year ago #
monksie - Member

I seem to remember reading somewhere (can't remember where though) about the benefits of removing a tooth on your chainring, making it harder to pedal your bike. That would help, surely? You'd have to work your core muscles harder to get the leverage missing from the tooth on the chainring. Wouldn't cost much, hacksaws are a quid each in the pound shop.

Posted 1 year ago #
The Southern Yeti - Member

monksie - that is sound advice. The effect can be accentuated by only using one pedal on your bike. Carry the spare in an obsecenely large camelbak stuffed with rocks and make sure you swap over at around the half way point on your ride to the pub.

Posted 1 year ago #
andy_hamgreen - Member

i'd say that with the swingeing cuts to your intake and the other measures you've put in place that a bristling 6 pack will be yours come Christmas - no problem
hats off to you sir !

Posted 1 year ago #
psychle - Member

This feels like a wind up to me too.

I suspect he's taking the mickey out of me...

And before people start laying into me about vanity, that's simply not the case. I don't want to do this for myself, only so other people can see my abs more clearly.

Quality line . Don't other people know how hard it is to be really, really, really, really ridiculously good looking?

Posted 1 year ago #
fettling - Member

'Dog, whilst I am not up for the six pack by Christmas challenge, I do some Gym work over the winter. I have been using a great book "Weight Training for Cyclists" by Ken Doyle and Eric Schmitz
Ok it isn't targetted at a siz pack, but it is aimed at improving your core strength (something a lot of cyclists lack).

The best bit of kit you could get for helping in your goal is a Swiss ball. Doing the usual exercises such as Plank, sit ups etc on the ball will really help the six pack out.

Favourite exercise to make the abs burn is cycle crunches....

Good luck with the plan, it is certainly ambitious. I think I would be hard pressed to achieve your aim and I don't have any fat to loose!

Posted 1 year ago #
monksie - Member

This is great! It's like sitting by the side of the road in Nairobi again. Laughing at all the minor and regular car crashes but everybody just carries on regardless

Posted 1 year ago #