I am 37 & want to start a quick Weight Loss diet & a exercise program to build mass. Any suggestions?
i mostly want to work on upper body & abs.
You need a good combination of aerobic activity and resistance training combined with a Healthy Diet.
It is not recommended to lose more than 1-3 lbs a week. If you want to lose weight the correct and safe way that will stay off for the long-term you need a good exercise and nutrition plan.
A good program looks like this:
Always warm up and cool down
Muscular strength & endurance-you need a good resistance training program that includes exercises for all muscle groups(hips, chest, upper and mid back, legs (quads and hamstrings), shoulders, lower back, upper arms (biceps and triceps), calves, forearms, abdomen, and the gluteus maximus).
Your intensity should be 70-80% 1-RM or 8-12-RM, 8-12 reps, 1 or more sets, 3 times a week for 6 weeks or more. You should begin with 1 exercise for each major muscle group and make sure the days you do resistance training are not consecutive meaning you don’t exercise the same muscle group two days in a row. As you continue your program you can add more exercises, add weight, and change up your program to include more days or just work specific muscle groups on specific days. As your muscles grow stronger you will be able to reduce the rest time between each set. You should rest for about 30 seconds between sets. Muscle is metabolically active and therefore when you gain muscle it burns more calories and helps to raise your metabolism.
If you do not have money for a gym membership or do not have acess to one here is a great website to create a work out plan only using your body weight.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?MainMuscle=&Equip=BodyOnly&Isolation=
You can also search for all kinds of exercises that use weight.
You also mentioned that you want to mostly work on upper body and abs, but make sure you don’t neglect the rest of your body because that could result in injury or misalignment of a certain part of your body. It’s fine to focus on a certain muscle group, just make sure to work every muscle group with basic exercises also.
Cardiovascular Endurance-this is where you can Burn Fat the most and that leads to enhancing your muscles such as the abs. You need to include a warm-up and cool-down. I have an extensive answer on this section if you would like to read it
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuX3lm8.Tv.BqmVmNUvrkGDsy6IX?qid=20060712075759AAvmuOF
Body Composition-this includes your Body Fat percentage, bone frame, as well as how much muscle you have. Most people focus on only weight, but you should not put as much focus on that as much as what your body fat percentage is (get it tested at an exercise facility with skinfold calipers). You should also get circumference measurements done. This includes your neck, shoulder, chest, waist, abdominal, hip (buttocks), thigh (proximal), thigh (mid), thigh (distal), knee, calf, ankle, arm (bicep), forearm, and wrist. You should be able to do this at a gym. You should get all of this information done before you start your program and then you can see how you improve.
Flexibility- Most people do not even think about this, but it is very important because it helps to prevent injury and it helps you to perform every day activities. It also has an effect on all your other programs. You should perform 10-12 flexibility exercises every day. Slowly stretch the muscle to a point of mild discomfort but not necessarily pain. Hold stretch for 10-30 seconds, and do 3-5 reps for each stretch. This should take about 15-30 minutes per session. If you do not have time to do this every day, try to do it 2-3 times a week.
You have to make sure that you eat right and that means following the food guide pyramid. I have another answer that discusses this
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ak.EcpJGTWNLXv_bCOXwI4_sy6IX?qid=20060712082804AA5yUNu
